That is “Dots,” VolleyballMag.com’s weekly have a look at 10 issues in membership volleyball, previous or current, that curiosity me and hopefully will curiosity you. Search for Dots each Tuesday by way of Junior Nationals this summer season:
• It’s qualifier season! It was once that President’s Day Weekend marked the unofficial begin to the membership season, however ever since USA Volleyball pushed up the 18s Junior Nationwide championships by two months and created separate 18s qualifiers, Martin Luther King Jr. Weeks is now the unofficial begin to membership volleyball in 2023.
Qualifier season kicked off with two 18s occasions: Windy Metropolis in Chicago and MLK in Kansas Metropolis. 5 of the 48 Open bids to 18s Junior Nationals, April 28-30 in Columbus, had been awarded. The recipients are: Sunshine 18 LA, WAVE 18 Juliana, Mintonette m. 81, MAVS KC 18-1 and Premier Nebraska 18 Gold.
• The 30-team 18 Open division at Windy Metropolis was uncommonly aggressive. No workforce completed the three-day occasion unbeaten. The highest two qualifying groups mixed to lose 5 matches. Solely Mintonette misplaced simply as soon as. Solely 5 groups received one or fewer matches.
Sunshine 18 LA overcame pool play losses on the primary two days to win with a 9-2 document. The workforce, coached by Cari Klein, misplaced to North Pacific Juniors 18 Forefront, out of Oregon, on Day 1; then fell to Legacy Adidas 18-1 on Day 2 earlier than successful its final 5 matches. NPJ completed 13th, Legacy 15th, a testomony to how aggressive the occasion was.
Klein mentioned that depth of the sector required a full workforce effort to win. She singled out pin hitters Torrey Stafford and Olivia Babcock for carrying the offensive load taking units from Sydney Floyd and Kahealani Carvalho. Drew Wright was “loopy good” defensively and MB Dior Charles was very efficient behind the service line.
Sunshine swept area rival WAVE within the championship match after being pushed to a few in Gold pool motion by each Mintonette and FC Elite 18 Elite.
WAVE reached the ultimate by going 3-0 in its Gold pool, together with a three-set win over Membership V 18 Ren Reed and a sweep over Circle Metropolis 18 Purple.
Mintonette defeated Circle Metropolis for the second time in as many days to clinch the third and closing bid.
Adversity 18 adidas tied for seventh regardless of taking part in with out its libero, who was at a nationwide seaside qualifier. The workforce needed to survive two one-set tiebreakers to make it to Gold on a Saturday by which the workforce spent 11 hours within the gymnasium.
“We needed to have a number of folks taking part in out of place, and it was an ideal displaying,” mentioned director Kyle Masterson. “The women discovered lots and confirmed enchancment every match.”
• AVA of Texas 18 Adidas received 18 USA with a 7-2 document, Iowa Rockets 18R went undefeated to win 18 Liberty and VC United 182 Elite handed 1st Alliance 18 White its solely defeat within the closing of 18 American.
“I’m very happy with these younger athletes for his or her exhausting work and dedication!” mentioned 1st Alliance coach Dina Kyriakoulis. “We be taught, we construct, we develop!
Solely two 18 Open bids had been awarded on the Kansas Metropolis MLK Event, as a result of the sector had solely 13 groups. MAVS KC 18-1 received the qualifier with a 6-2 document. The workforce, which options setterLogan Jonesand hitters Betsy Goodenow and Reagan Fox, received its first two matches of Sunday’s Gold pool, together with a revenge win over Premier Nebraska 18 Gold; to clinch first within the four-team Gold pool.
The second bid got here all the way down to the ultimate match within the Gold pool between Premier and MN Choose 18-1, the pre-tournament No. 1 seed. Premier received that match in two shut units.
Premier head coach Shannon Smolinski took us by way of the bid match:
“We knew getting into that they’d good size and dimension on the internet. So for us we needed to try to get our hitters in tempo as usually as we might and in several hitting patterns. We had served and handed nicely all weekend, however in that match particularly our servers, led by (Nebraska commit) Liv Mauch, did a pleasant job of getting them out of system. The match as an entire was backwards and forwards. The primary set we trailed by as a lot as three however labored again to take a 20-17 lead that prompted MN Choose’s first timeout. Forwards and backwards we went, and a service ace by (Creighton commit) Future Ndam-Simpson gave us set level (24-22). A closing day trip taken by MN Choose and a 3 level run gave them set level. Alanna Bankston (Louisville commit) gave us three stable swings and kills to battle off set level and safe the set 1 win.
“Set 2 was a mirror picture of set 1, with backwards and forwards lead modifications for each groups. We pulled forward late within the set with a robust service efficiency from Bankston at 22-20 to pressure a MN Choose timeout. Stella Adeyemi (Hawaii commit) and Grace Heaney (Purdue commit) took cost of the web to provide us set level at 24-20, however a serve error and a MN Choose kill pressured us to take a timeout at 24-22. Our women had been centered to shut the match out after that timeout and an ideal move by Mauch arrange Heaney for a primary ball kill to finish the match in 2 (25-22).”
HPSTL 18 Royal received the 18 USA division with an 8-1 document. Battle Membership 18-1 overcame two losses to take 18 Liberty. And Missouri Juniors 18s went 10-0 to win 18 American.
• Windy Metropolis and MLK KC are however two key occasions on the docket within the month of January. The Lone Star 18s Qualifier is that this weekend in Austin, adopted by the Florida Fest in Fort Lauderdale, Salt Lake Metropolis and Northern Lights in Minneapolis from January 27-29. Lights additionally will host a 17 Open qualifier the identical weekend.
One other massive January occasion, the CZ Invitational, takes place January 28-29 in Indianapolis.
• The Tour of Texas, a perennially sturdy multi-stop occasion that showcases the most effective of Texas, held its first of simply two stops this 12 months final weekend in Austin.
Alamo 18 Premier received the 18 Nationwide division with out dropping a set (6-0 (12-0)), received higher because the event progressed and defeated a workforce from Mexico for the title. Alamo has 4 standouts from highschool energy Cornerstone Christian on its roster, together with setter Taylor Anderson.
“That is Alamo 18 Premier’s second Gold medal in again to again weekends,” mentioned coach Jen Montoya. “Final weekend we took first place on the Countdown Metropolis Basic, defeating Austin Juniors 18 Adidas in three units within the semifinals; then defeated TAV Houston 18 Adidas within the closing, 25-20, 25-19. Alamo 18 Premier went 6-0 that weekend as nicely.”
Houston Juniors 16 Elite went 7-0 to win the 16 Invitational Division. Tara Cross-Battle’s workforce began the event seeded fifth general however dropped simply two units all weekend, capped by a sweep of A5 16-1 Gabe within the closing. .
“It was an ideal workforce win,” Cross-Battle mentioned. “OH/RS Sydney Bryant led the way in which with 9 kills, 2 blocks and 4 digs. OH/RS Aaliyah Smith added 5 kills, 2 aces and 4 digs, Libero Sydney Black contributed with three aces and 4 digs and MB Jordan Taylor had three kills and 4 key blocks to assist pull the victory over a robust A5 workforce.
“I’m so happy with all the members of HJV 16 Elite. All of them contributed to the seven matches received over the weekend. I can’t wait to see how this workforce matures and develops because the season continues.”
A5 17-Jing and Madfrog 15s Nationwide Inexperienced every received their respective Invitational divisions.
A5, from Atlanta, made the trek to Austin with their high 15s, 16s and 17s groups to gauge their early-season power. A5 got here away with first and second-place showings and the 15s workforce received the Silver bracket, all in all a robust event.
“It was an ideal displaying, with very excessive degree competitors, and the Texas groups all bent over backwards and had been very gracious in having us,” famous A5 director Gabe Aramian.
• Week 2 of the JVA Rock ‘N Rumble in Cleveland occurred this previous weekend. A Canadian workforce received 18 Open, RockCity 17-1 took 17 Open and Pittsburgh Elite 16 Elite prevailed in 16 Open, in a event that was not as sturdy as in years’ previous. That as a result of JVA stalwarts like Munciana, KiVA, FaR Out and K2, amongst others, had been in Ft. Lauderdale for a brand new occasion sponsored by 3Step Sports activities and Underneath Armour. Perennial 18s bully Munciana Samurai received 18 Open, FaR Out 15 Black received 15 Open and OT groups, one from Orlando and one from Tampa, received 17 Open and 16 Open, respectively.
For those who check out the 18s qualifier schedule, you could discover that the Music Metropolis Invitational, which had spent 5 years in Nashville, shall be in New Orleans this 12 months and for the foreseeable future. The occasion is scheduled for February 24-26.
Event Director Lauri Dagostino mentioned that the event liked being in Nashville however the price and the lack to schedule out years prematurely precipitated the transfer from the house of nation music to the jazz mecca.
“The primary cause for leaving is that an occasion like this wants a ‘residence;’ a spot you’ll be able to depend on 12 months to 12 months and hopefully develop,” Dagostino mentioned. “We had been turning away groups because it was, so we confronted a call of changing into an 18s solely occasion or shifting. A ballot of some golf equipment instructed us they actually appreciated with the ability to carry extra age groups than simply their 18s. In order that began the ball rolling for searching for a brand new residence.”
• Michigander Harper Murray was introduced because the Gatorade Nationwide Participant of the 12 months. Lengthy considered one of many premier abilities within the Class of 2023, Murray elevated Ann Arbor Skyline to new heights throughout her 4 years there. The Nebraska signee amassed greater than 700 kills and 400 digs in her senior 12 months alone.
The Gatorade of us, of their thirty eighth 12 months doing this, requested me to jot down a bit about Harper for his or her press launch. With a bit assist, that is what I despatched them:
“Murray has been a star since delivering 700 kills to open her highschool profession. She is simply so quick and vertically explosive that it’s exhausting to get in entrance of her. Even when a protection is ready, her arm swing is explosive and eats up defenses. She additionally has each shot within the e-book. Give her a set and she’s going to rating, regardless of the place she is on the ground. Regardless of her loud offensive ability set, Murray is an entire participant. She makes passing easy and her ft enable her to pursue with abandon. She is a pure chief who not solely needs the stress; she thrives on it.”
To be taught extra about Harper and her wonderful, athletic household, learn the article I wrote concerning the Murrays for VolleyballMag.com final 12 months at this hyperlink: https://volleyballmag.com/murray-sisters-27-022821/
• ECJVC 17 Nationwide completed third on the Metropolis of Oaks Problem, going 8-1 over the three-day weekend.
“For a primary occasion, this workforce linked very nicely and had very sturdy defensive play in opposition to excellent groups on Saturday and Monday,” famous director Kelley Kraniak. “I used to be impressed with our setter serving, protection, and setting choices throughout crunch time.”
ECJVC 15 Nationwide completed second on the Metropolis of Oaks, additionally ending 8-1. The workforce misplaced to Triangle 15 Black in a three-set closing match.
“We introduced again some heavy hitters (Britni Silver, Brook Evans, and Lainy Evans) and improved considerably on again row play all through the weekend,” Kraniak mentioned
• The SPVB 16 Elite workforce went undefeated within the 17 Open division of the 815 Elite Invitational in Rockford, Illinois this previous weekend. OH Bella Bullington, libero Morgan Asleson, MB Sidney Hamaker and setter Audrey Aselson led the way in which.
Till subsequent time …
