Legacy 18-Elite caps historic season with AAU National Championship
It’s never safe to assume, but it sure seemed like a safe bet that Legacy 18-Elite was going to find its way to the AAU National Championship last weekend. After claiming the title at the Triple Crown Invitational in February,…
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Continue ReadingIt’s never safe to assume, but it sure seemed like a safe bet that Legacy 18-Elite was going to find its way to the AAU National Championship last weekend.
After claiming the title at the Triple Crown Invitational in February, Legacy 18-Elite established itself as the top 18U team in the country and they followed that up with victory after victory.
This past weekend in Orlando saw more of the same.
Legacy went 8-0 for the three-day event and 16-0 in sets. It’s championship match saw a dominating 25-16, 25-16 win over Mizuno Northern Lights 18-1.
“As hard as these girls have worked hard all year, to see them go out on top was an amazing feeling,” Legacy 18-Elite coach Rick Cottrill said. “To be able to win eight of nine tournaments is pretty special. They came out last weekend poised and ready and I know it was something I will never forget and I hope they will never forget it either.”
The opening set saw Legacy get out to a quick 3-0 lead that it never lost. The lead would grow throughout the set and end on a service error by Northern Lights.
The championship set had Northern Lights run out to a 5-3 lead, but Legacy quickly turned the corner. Legacy would take the 5-3 deficit and turn it into a 15-10 advantage after a kill from Jessica Mruzik (Michigan). The championship point would come off a kill from Jessica Robinson (Michigan).
“That was just a great moment, but as a coach you never think it’s over until that final point lands,” Cottrill said of the championship point. “I was just so proud of the girls for how they played and so impressed with their composure in such a big match against such a talented team.”
Legacy 18-Elite finished the club season with a stellar 72-4 record overall. They won all but one event they took part in this year and finished ranked tops in the nation by multiple volleyball publications and websites.
Top-level talent in every position, Mruzik was joined by fellow standout outside hitters Paige Briggs (Western Kentucky), Morgan Verheyen (Buffalo) and Allyson Severance (Miami University). Along with Robinson, Legacy had tremendous middles Desiree Becker (Northwestern) and Taylor Venuto (Loyola-Chicago). Celia Cullen (Michigan State) and Madison Dowd (Michigan) ran the offense while Hannah Grant (Michigan State) and Ciara Livingway (Ohio) handled the defensive duties in the back row.
All but Cullen and Mruzik will now move on to their promising college careers while Cullen prepares for her senior season at Brighton and Mruzik will be part of Farmington Hills Mercy, a Division 1 semifinalist from 2018.
For Legacy, this marks their second national championship in program history.
Stick with PrepDig Michigan for more on Legacy 18-Elite in the days to come.