Standouts and takeaways from the Mercy Volleyball Tournament
A star-studded Mercy Volleyball Tournament featured some of the best teams and players in the state of Michigan on Saturday. Here’s some thoughts on each of the eight teams that reached the gold bracket, and which players stood out for…
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Continue ReadingA star-studded Mercy Volleyball Tournament featured some of the best teams and players in the state of Michigan on Saturday. Here’s some thoughts on each of the eight teams that reached the gold bracket, and which players stood out for them this weekend.
Emma HallLowell: The Red Arrows are for real. It’s not just that they beat Mercy, they dominated them. Granted Mercy is without Jess Mruzik (Michigan), but that hasn’t kept the Marlins from beating a lot of other very good teams. This weekend should really give Lowell a lot of confidence and that could take the Red Arrows to the next level going forward. Jenna Reitsma is a star. She’s got a great all-around game, but really shined in the back row with her powerful attacks. She can finish from anywhere on the floor. Meghan Meyer (Northern Michigan) also was a strong finisher and both have to credit setter Sophie Powell for putting the ball in perfect spots. Emma Hall was also great at libero. She kept the team in system and had some great serving to compliment her defensive play.
Mercy: It says a lot about the depth of talent the Marlins have that they can be without arguably the best prep player in the nation and still be among the best teams in the state. Julia Bishop (Michigan State) has a lot to do with that. Her court intelligence and awareness is hard to match and she makes everyone around her better. Charli Atiemo and Ellie Tisko are hard to handle in the middle with their power and length and Kaylin Collins looked strong as the primary outside for Mercy this weekend. With Mruzik back in the mix this week, the Marlins should only be stronger than they were before she left.
Lake Orion: Inconsistency has been somewhat consistent for the inexperienced Dragons this year. Point-to-point, set-to-set, the Dragons are a bit of a roller coaster. When on, Lake Orion is still a state contender. When off, it’s another story. We saw flashes of both this weekend, but the Dragons are trending toward longer stretches of being on. That should continue to happen as the season moves on. Freshman Nina Horning is getting better each week and she was able to go toe-to-toe at the net with a lot of big hitters in the state on Saturday. She continues to develop her back-row game to get closer to being a complete player. Middles Kendall Robertson and Reagan Goeke have been the most consistent parts of Lake Orion in terms of execution. They were the standouts for the Dragons in this tournament.
Harper MurrayAnn Arbor Skyline: Skyline was fortunate to make the gold bracket, as it was just 1-2 in pool play. But, the Eagles still managed a run to the semifinals. That’s kind of where Skyline is at right now. They have some big-time talent, but haven’t been able to consistently put together good sets against good competition. Kendall Murray (Michigan) is who she is. She’s one of the best in the state, a Miss Volleyball finalist, and a just a calm and cool competitor. The Eagles get one season of her with freshman sister Harper Murray, and they a great 1-2 option. Harper plays all over the court and is showing strong back-row ability and the confidence of an upperclassman.
Utica Eisenhower: Ike had a strong weekend, with its losses only coming against Lowell and Mercy. The Eagles showed the ability to hit with some of the top-hitting teams in the state, they just need to sharpen the rough edges to really be in the mix. Sydney Palazzolo was one of the best players in the entire tournament. She could finish points and had a quick swing that was hard for opponents to time. A junior, Palazzolo has been a go-to, six-rotation players for Eisenhower for multiple seasons and is trying to make a name for herself in the Class of 2021. When you mix in strong senior middle Meghan Dombrowski (West Virginia) and junior middle Kira Buza, the Eagles have a lot of weapons at the net to make them a threat going forward.
Oxford: The Wildcats won their pool before getting bested by Skyline in the quarterfinals. Like Lake Orion, Oxford has stretches where it looks unbeatable, but then has its lulls where it’s hard for them to stop an opponent’s run. Outsides Molly Miller and Sydney Richter had standout efforts during the tournament, as well as libero Madelyn Weiss. Oxford has a lot of length and hitting to work with, but when Weiss is playing well, the Wildcats are really a team to watch out for.
Bloomfield Hills: A young team with six sophomores that contribute a lot, the Black Hawks have a few too many mental lapses to win consistently against the best in the state, but that is something that can be corrected. The Black Hawks have the athletes and talent, they just need to gain a little more confidence from their younger players. Alexa Rousseau (Northwestern) is a Miss Volleyball finalist and one of the best setters you can ask for. She is leading the team in nearly every stat and posting amazing all-around stats while still being the primary setter on the floor. Senior Alivia Slazinski showed a lot of all-around skills on Saturday as well while Ava Petrucci is one of the sophomore hitters that has risen to the occasion for Bloomfield Hills.
Cass Tech: The Technicians were overmatched by the top-flight teams in this field, but still played well enough to earn a spot in the gold bracket. Cass Tech has one of the best sophomores in the state in outside Kimani Johnson. Her length and power give her a world of potential going forward. She is currently seventh in our first Class of 2022 players rankings. Junior libero Jordan Williams also played well in the back row for the Technicians, especially against some powerful hitters.