2020 Central Zone Invitational Recap: Legacy 15-1 Adidas adds another title
This is starting to look familiar. We saw Legacy Volleyball Club put up a memorable 2019 season behind its 18-Elite squad which went on to win a national championship. That squad started the season very strong, winning tournament after tournament.…
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Continue ReadingThis is starting to look familiar.
We saw Legacy Volleyball Club put up a memorable 2019 season behind its 18-Elite squad which went on to win a national championship. That squad started the season very strong, winning tournament after tournament.
There’s a lot of 2020 to go, but the Legacy 15-1 Adidas squad couldn’t be performing any better. The young team is a perfect 2-for-2 on tournament titles this year after coming away with the Central Zone Invitational 15 Open championship this weekend in Indianapolis.
Here’s a rundown of what took place in Indianapolis.
15 OPEN
Legacy 15-1 Adidas didn’t drop a set through eight matches and held opponents to less than 20 points in 11 of their 16 sets. Circle City 15 Purple game it a scare in the first set of their semifinal, but Legacy still came away with a 27-25, 25-20 victory. The championship saw Legacy steamroll past A5 Mizuno 15-Bob by scores of 25-22, 25-13.
The key throughout the weekend may have been the strides forward taken by middles Abby Reck and Laurece Abraham. They combined for nearly 50 kills and 40 blocks this weekend and opened up the court for everyone else. Harper Murray put down another 67 kills this weekend while hitting .487. Becca Apsey came through with 45 kills and 14 blocks while Erin Kline amassed 179 assists and totaled 13 aces. Kaitlyn Hoffman also shined at libero, passing 2.44 for the weekend. 15-Adidas will be off for a few weeks before really stepping up the competition level at Triple Crown NIT on Feb. 15-17 from Kansas City.
FaR Out 15 Black put up a top-10 finish in the 15 Open as well, landing ninth thanks to a 3-3 record. After a 1-3 start, FaR Out came through with a pair of nice wins on Sunday. Michigan Elite 15 Mizuno (17th), Five:1 15-Black (21st), MVA 15 Black (22nd) and TeamD 15-Red (24th) were also in action.
In 15 Premier, Legacy 15-2 Adidas finished runner-up to Circle City 15 Black in a three-set battle, 25-18, 19-25, 15-9.
16 OPEN
Of all the divisions, Michigan really had a strong collective showing in the 16 Open this weekend. Legacy 16-1 Adidas finished runner-up while Michigan Elite 16 Mizuno was third and FaR Out 16 Black was fifth. All three teams had a winning percentage over .666 in a very competitive field.
Legacy had a grind of a weekend, playing in four three-set matches. They went 3-1 in those four matches, including a 24-26, 25-22, 15-12 win over AVC Cleveland Rox 16 Red in the semifinal. The championship match saw Legacy fall to A5 Mizuno 16-Gabe by scores of 25-18, 25-13. Passing was a big strength this weekend for Legacy. Josie Bloom passed a 2.20 and finished with 102 digs and 14 aces. Setter Karlee Stoll added 34 digs and finished the weekend with 92 assists and 11 kills. Cari Bohm was strong in the middle, posting 31 kills, 26 blocks and eight aces while hitting .304. Mikayla Keefer had 20 kills and 16 blocks while hitting .469 from the middle.
Michigan Elite went 5-2 for the weekend and 10-6 in sets. They were able to win a pair of three-set matches during the weekend where they dropped the first set. 16 Mizuno also saw their bracket run ended by A5 Mizuno 16-Gabe in the semifinal, 25-16, 25-20. Serena Nyambio and Kimani Johnson both stood out for Michigan Elite once again. Nyambio had a number of dominant stretches as the net while Johnson really raised her game against the stronger opponents. Ava Petrucci really played well in the back row, passing at a high level.
FaR Out 16 Black was 4-2 for the weekend and 8-5 in sets. They started fast with three wins on Saturday before dropping two of their last three matches. That included a 25-22, 25-18 loss to Legacy to conclude their weekend. Evie Doezema was a big addition to this roster and it is really helping take the team to the next level. Taylor Humphrey joins her on the outside to make 16 Black’s hitting among the best in the region.
Other local teams in the 16 Open were TeamD 16-Red (17th) and Unified 16-1 (25th).
In the 16 Premier, Michigan Elite 16 Elite finished third for the weekend while Legacy 16-2 Adidas landed ninth. In 16 Club Blue, both Five:1 16-Blue and Five:1 16-Gold each finished tied for third.
17 OPEN
In the 17 Open, a number of Michigan teams were in the field, but none of them were able to crack the top 15. MVA 17 Black (17th) led the way for local programs while Five:1 17-Black (20th), TeamD 17-Red (21st), Legacy 17-1 Adidas (22nd), Michigan Elite 17 Elite (23rd), Unified 17-1 (24th) and FaR Out 17 Black (25th) were all in the mix.
Legacy 17-2 Adidas did manage to land runner-up in 17 Premier, getting edged in the final by NKYVC 17-2 Tide, 26-28, 25-18, 15-10. MVA 16 Black landed in the top 10 as well, placing ninth. In 17 Club Blue, Five:1 17-White placed third while HVVC 17 Blue finished fifth.
18 OPEN
FaR Out 18 Black led the way locally, finishing tied for fifth after going 5-1 on the weekend with a 10-3 set record. Their only loss of the weekend came to the eventual champion, UNION 18-1 Asics, by scores of 25-20, 25-21.
FaR Out 18 has some great leadership to work with behind setter Jordyn Gates, libero Alli Wiese and outside Andelyn Simkins. A collection of the best from the West side of the state, this team has the talent to really push for top-10 tournament finishes throughout the country.
The only other local team in the Open field was MVA 18 Black, which finished 13th with a 2-4 record.
In the 18 Premier, Five:1 18-Black put up a third-place finish while FaR Out 18 Gold finished fifth.