We are nearing the end of tournament season but not before a couple more major ones take place this coming weekend. It includes the Asics Challenge hosted by Mother McAuley IL on Friday and Saturday in Chicago. Compared to last weekend’s Durango Fall Classic made up of 64 teams, the Asics Challenge is smaller with 24 schools. However, with five programs ranked in the Top 30 of vballrecruiter.com’s National HS Rankings it packs a punch. Below, we highlight the ranked teams in the field, the 3, 4 and 5-star athletes to know, as well as offer a preview and our predictions for the weekend.
Number of Teams: 24
vballrecruiter.com’s Nationally-Ranked Teams (5):
- 8. Assumption KY
- 11. Divine Savior Holy Angels WI
- 12. Notre Dame Academy KY
- 22. Marist IL
- 26. Mother McAuley IL
5-Star Athletes to Know:
- Madison Quest JR OH DSHA WI (Wisconsin)
- Addy Horner JR S/RS St. Francis/Wheaton IL (Wisconsin)
- Kristen Simon JR L Assumption KY (Wisconsin)
4-Star Athletes to Know:
- Ellie White SR OH Mother McAuley IL (Michigan)
- Paisley Douglas SR L Skutt Catholic NE (USC)
- Lauren Salata SR OH Nazareth Academy IL (Illinois State)
- Olivia Durst JR L DSHA WI (Michigan State)
- Bella Bullington JR OH Marist IL (Northwestern)
- Georgia Watson JR MB Huntley IL (Kentucky)
- Ava Tilden JR OH Notre Dame Academy KY (Xavier)
- Riley McCloseky JR RS Notre Dame Academy KY (Memphis)
- Audrey Dyas SO MB Notre Dame Academy KY
3-Star Athletes to Know:
- Jenna Meitzler SR S Barrington IL (Iowa)
- Ava Vetter SR OH New Trier IL (Wake Forest)
- Samantha Falk SR L Mother McAuley IL (Loyola Chicago)
- Ellery Rees SR MB Mother McAuley IL (Alabama)
- Charlotte Moriarty SR OH Assumption KY (Xavier)
- Chloe Smith SR OH Assumption KY (Wofford)
- Morgan Jones SR OH Huntley (Missouri)
- Bailey Blair JR MB Assumption KY
- Emilee Fuller JR S Assumption KY
- Sydney Buchanan JR OH Mother McAuley IL
- Julia Grace JR L Notre Dame Academy KY (Xavier)
- Francesca Lorenzo SO OH Montini IL
- Brooklynne Brass SO OH Minooka IL
- Grace Portwood SO OH Notre Dame Academy KY
- Aubree Deshetsky SO OH North Branch MI
- Addison West SO OH Skutt Catholic NE
- Brooke Baldwin SO S/RS Hamilton WI
- Peyton Heatherly FR S Mother McAuley IL
Outlook: Before getting to the actual tournament, there are a pair of heavyweight contests Thursday before the event even gets underway. One of them features Assumption taking on Mother McAuley. The other is Notre Dame Academy facing Marist. Assumption and Mother McAuley have a long history. The most recent meeting took place earlier this month when Assumption defeated the Macs in three sets in the semifinals of the Louisville Invitational Volleyball Tournament. Assumption went on to beat Notre Dame Academy in the final. That loss remains NDA’s lone setback. That leads us to NDA facing Marist. Marist also has only one loss to date, having fell to Benet Academy, which is not in the field. Marist picked up a huge victory over Mother McAuley last week. There’s no doubt all four teams in Assumption, Mother McAuley, NDA and Marist will be in contention for the tournament title. However, none enter as the top seed. That honor goes to Divine Savior Holy Angels. DSHA is entering the tournament riding a 42-match winning streak dating back to last season. The last team to defeat DSHA? That would be Marist at last year’s Asics Challenge. DSHA barely kept its winning streak intact by downing Hamilton WI in a five-set thriller earlier this week, taking the final set 15-13. Hamilton is also in the field and could be a dark horse. Another team of note is North Branch MI. The Broncos entered the week with a 28-1 record, with their only loss to Hudsonville in early August. With DHSA coming in undefeated, either Notre Dame Academy or Marist sitting on one loss along with North Branch, something will have to give this weekend. DHSA and North Branch have not faced the strength of schedule like Assumption, Mother McAuley or NDA has. As for Assumption, the Rockets are coming off a seventh-place showing at the Durango Fall Classic and are traveling for the second consecutive weekend. Meanwhile, Mother McAuley is aiming to go back-to-back at its own tournament.
Prediction: Even as the top seed, DHSA is facing a challenging task to finish on top. The winner of the NDA-Marist match is going to be coming in riding high and feeling confident. Mother McAuley is out to defend its home court. However, in the end Assumption and NDA will have a LIVT rematch in the final, with NDA getting revenge and leaving town victorious.
