Добавить новость
ru24.net
News in English
Март
2022

Tawa’s Club Volleyball Dots: MEQ was MASSSIVE, PNQ notes, 18 Open qualifying concludes

0

This is “Dots,” VolleyballMag.com’s weekly look at 10 things in club volleyball, past or present, that interest me and hopefully will interest you. Look for Dots every Tuesday through Junior Nationals this summer.

• Two qualifiers, the Mideast in Indianapolis and the Pacific Northwest in Spokane, took center stage this past weekend. MEQ was MASSSIVE (so big I added an extra “S”), with 1,013 teams over four age groups and 16 divisions. PNQ was less large, probably because of smaller venues and travel difficulties in and out of Spokane; but 394 teams across four age groups and 14 divisions is still fairly robust.

Qualifying in 18 Open concluded this weekend, with six more teams joining the party in Phoenix April 22-24. The 48-team field has 44 representatives, with four yet to be filled through an At-Large process.

• In Indianapolis, A5 Mizuno 18-Marc made its — shall we say it? — marc by running roughshod over a full 18 Open field of 48, which included 14 previously qualified. The Georgia squad won 10 matches (20 sets) over three days. The team, which is ranked No. 1 nationally by AES was challenged, it went to deuce four times, including once in the semifinals and once in the finals; but managed to leave Indy unblemished and in possession of first place hardware.

“We just came in focused after taking second in the NEQ in Philly a couple of weeks ago,” head coach Marc Jones said. “They used that as motivation and wanted to end the qualifier season on a strong note. They just played relaxed and never panicked and were having fun. We respected every team we played and knew they were going to give us their best, so we made sure that we came out engaged and trusted one another on the court. It has been a culmination of hard work, trusting in the process and respect from coaches to players and players to coaches. I also believe their humility and family bond as a team are our strong suit. They know what they have accomplished so far is amazing, but know that there is a lot of work ahead to accomplish our season goal.”

The tournament A5 won was so strong that two qualified teams were eliminated from contention after Day 1 and another five dropped out after Day 2, leaving seven teams with bids and five hopefuls among the final 12 in the four, three-team Sunday Gold Pools. With bids trickling to eighth place, the goal for the seekers was clear: win once and that would likely be good enough.

Minnesota Select 18-1 won twice and was first to clinch.

Drew Rongere’s team had attempted to qualify twice previously. At the Winter Championships in Chicago. Select finished one win out of bid position in fourth place. At Northern Lights, the team never had a chance, as its libero missed the tournament sick, an OH went out on Day 2 sick, a middle broke her nose on Day 1 and the team’s right side suffered a concussion on Day 2. That left the team with six players and it still ended up ninth!

“The Mideast Qualifier was our last chance to get an Open bid,” Rongere said. “The lineup of teams at the MEQ reminded me of Triple Crown. So many of them had already got their bid and we knew it was going to be a tough road to get to the gold bracket. We’ve been focused on our goal of returning to USAV Nationals at the Open level since we started the season.”

MN Select 18

MN Select opened the tourney with a 3-0 Day 1, sparked by OH Brynn Reiner, MB Megan Wetter and RS Katy Riviere.

Day 2 demonstrates the difference between qualifying and placing outside the top 10. MN Select went 1-2 on the day and the match it won, over Vital 18-1, was 30-28, 26-24. But the sweep was enough to get the team to Gold on a three-way 1-2 tiebreak and it came away with two strong Sunday wins, including a nail biter over Tri-State Elite 18 Blue, 29-27, 24-26, 15-13, that Rongere said was “the most intense and closest match that I’ve coached in a while.” Libero Ella Voegele starred in that match, which featured incredible defense on both sides.

Setter Elle Cotton and pin Adri Rhoda helped Select past Six Pack 18s to secure the Open bid.

Rongere, who has coached the team for three years, said that he saw the fight in this team this weekend that he has come to expect over the years.

“We’ve beaten teams time and time again that have rosters lined with Power 5 commits,” he noted. “We are up for any challenge and are looking forward to competing against the best of the best again in a few weeks at nationals.”

Tri-State Elite 18

Tri-State, which tied for third at Triple Crown, also qualified out of the same pool. Tri-State is a JVA club that goes to AAU Nationals, but with USAV’s Junior Nationals now in April, the club can do both. Tri-State qualified in its lone qualifier of the year.

“The great depth of this roster paid off on Day 3,” noted club director Kelly Crowley. “We had nice contributions from MB Kate Hafer, MB/RS Gracie Reisman and OH/RS Maggie Butkovich, as the tournament wound down, to complement the play of OH Lucy Trump, MBs Tessa Jones and Raelyn Sanders, libero Cammy Niesen and setter Sophia Hudepohl.”

KC Power 18

KC Power played its best volleyball of the season to claim the third and final bid. Mike Stowell’s team had dealt with injuries as season and had been doing its best with a limited roster but was as healthy as it could be – one of its outsides was out with a season-ending injury – heading to Indy.

“We played terrific volleyball and really came into the tournament prepared and focused on finding our best volleyball of the season,” Stowell said.

The Open bid was the first for this group since their 14s year. The team’s goal was to play Open or skip Junior Nationals, so it stepped up at the right time.

The team had spectacular play all weekend from libero Kam Farris, who was playing with a hurt elbow she suffered from the State Basketball championships the weekend before.

“She just showed a gritty performance and played lights out while leading the team in digs and serve receive efficiency,” Stowell said.

Power also had standout performances from all three middles, Olivia Mae Van Der Werff, Lauren Schutter and Kate Frakes. OHs Sydney Handel and Chloe Kaminski continued to get it done both offensively and defensively. Sydney Draper was great at setter, as was RS Belle Zimmerman. The team also had great DS play from Tori Hamilton and Kali Henry.

“I’m recognizing all of the players, as we really played our best volleyball of the season,” Stowell emphasized. “It was nice to punch our ticket to Nationals with everything on the line and not wanting to sweat it out for an At-Large bid.”

• When you write Dots on Tuesdays, a Monday qualifier finish is most inconvenient. Thanks to those from PNQ who found time in short time to share their stories.

Three qualified teams topped the 20-team 18 Open field at PNQ. Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar, Absolute Black 18-1 and Rage Westside 18 Michelle went a combined 23-4 to snag the top three spots.

Renovators

That made the other three teams in Gold, NPJ 18 Forefront, Excel Northwest 18-1 Rox and Renovators 18-Allen, automatically in.

Oregon’s NPJ went 5-3 to qualify in fourth place.

“Coming into the weekend, we felt like we had a great opportunity, and figured that if we just played well we would likely get it done,” said director Adam Ellis. “Once the pools were announced, it seemed like a top six finish would be enough to head home with a bid.”

The team was tested on Day 1 and dropped a match to Excel NW. 

“We realized that it was going to take a lot more than simply playing well to get one of the three Open bids available,” Ellis explained. “Once the team figured out how to be supportive of one other while simultaneously competing against each other, they were able to make each other better.  They needed to become selfless, and they did.”

Standouts for the weekend were sophomore setter Alexis Haury, senior libero Emily Wood, senior S/RS Sydney Harrington and senior MB Bella Snyder.

It was, overall, a great weekend for NPJ. NPJ Bend 18 National won 18 USA to punch its ticket to Phoenix. NPJ Seattle 18 National won 18 American, making it the team’s second qualifier championship this season.

Excel NW, which lost in revenge to NPJ in Gold Pool play; and Renovators, a club on the Washington/Idaho border; also qualified. Renovators director Rob White said that his team made history by qualifying in Open. It could have opted to play at the club level but wanted to challenge itself.

“We chose the tougher path by competing in U18 Open at PNQ and accomplished our mission,” he said.

• Turning back to MEQ, the 17 Open field in Indy was outrageous. Expect the top four finishers there, TAV 17 Black, Circle City 17 Purple, Drive Nation 17 Red and Legacy 17-1 Adidas, all to be quarterfinalists or better at Junior Nationals.

Those four teams lost only to one another in compiling a combined 35-3 record in the 48-team event.

TAV won the Gold Ball, beating national No. 1 Circle in the finals after gaining revenge from Triple Crown over Drive Nation in the semis.

TAV spokesperson LJ Sariego said that ball control and defense carried the team to victory.

Kyndal Stowers, Emily Simmons, Sydney Breon, Zoe Winford and McKenna Gildon were all standouts.

The team is running a 5-1 offense with Audrey Clark, Sariego said, until setter Emma Henry returns and 6-2 MB/RS Kate Hansen works towards full strength. Stephanie Gutierrez has stepped up in the middle and done a great job for the club.

The final, between TAV and a Circle City team that’s been running roughshod on the nation, was epic. Circle made the finals on the strength of nine wins, eight by sweep. Only Academy 17 Diamond took a set off of Chris Due’s team.

TAV won the first set of the final, 25-23. The Texas team led 19-12 and 24-19 and had to hold off Circle City rallies to prevail. Circle controlled Set 2 early and never looked back to force a third set for the title.

In Game 3, the home town club led 5-2 before TAV went on top 10-9. The match was back and forth after that, with TAV never relinquishing the lead. The match went to extras, where TAV’s defense helped the club to a 16-14 win and the title. 

Circle fell to 46-2 this year with the loss.

“I thought we competed really well in a loaded field,” Due said.  “We had great service pressure at times, but needed to vamp it up a little more in the finals.  I thought our back row players balled out defensively and we were connecting really well with our right side attack.  The great thing about this team is that we are playing really well, but we have so much more room for improvement.  I’m very optimistic with what we could be doing by the end of the year with so much room for growth.”

Drive Nation tied for third to qualify. DN, which lost to A5 Mizuno 17-Jing* in the finals at Triple Crown, is coached this year by Ping Cao, the longtime TAV coach. This is Ping’s first team to qualify at Drive Nation.

“The team played well this weekend, showing improvement handling the ball in serve receive, which led our offense to be successful,” noted assistant Noel Caballero. “Defensively we played well at the net showcasing one of our biggest strengths: our blocking. The team showed improvement in serving as well and is steadily improving in all facets of the game. Unfortunately, the team ended with more unforced errors during the semis and fell short of moving on to the championship match. Overall, the team is demonstrating improvement and played consistently well over the weekend at MEQ.”

*Note: A5 OH Jurnee Robinson, injured on the final kill of the TC final, is set to return this weekend at the Sunshine Classic qualifier in Orlando.

Legacy, the 2021 AAU national champs, took the final bid. The Michigan squad lost three times at Triple Crown but was dominant at MEQ, dropping sets only in the semis to Circle City.

“We finally got our line up sorted out and are healthy so will continue to improve as year goes on,” noted coach Jennifer Cottrill.

Dynasty 16 Black was in the 48-team 16 Open field at MEQ. That meant losses for the teams that took the court against them. Coming off of a dominant effort the weekend before at Northern Lights, Dynasty was at least as dominant this past weekend. Cassie Rockers’ team now has two qualifier wins to go along with a Triple Crown NIT title this season.

“MEQ was a battle of mentality, focus and pride for our team.” Rockers said. “Going into the weekend we talked about how valuable each of the upcoming qualifiers would be for us in terms of preparation for Nationals. We know we have to play well to make the gold pools and gold bracket each time because we want to compete against the best teams we can! It can be hard to keep the same focus and drive after you’ve secured a bid, but these girls play to win! We focused on sharpening our defense this weekend and it was evident in our blocking schemes! We had 55 blocks as a team this weekend (5.5 blocks per match). When we weren’t blocking for points, we were getting good touches, affecting a lot of swings and slowing hitters down or filtering the ball where we wanted it to go within our defense.”

The 16 Open bids went to 1st Alliance 16 Gold, KC Power 16-1 and OT 16 T Jason.

1st Alliance qualified after going 2-5 at Triple Crown in February.

“Since NIT we have been putting in a lot of work and building on the versatility we have,” said coach Trish Samolinski. “We have incredible athletes that are capable of playing multiple positions, but, more importantly, understanding the role they are in and how it strengthens our team and builds on our success.”

With four six-rotation players, Calli Kenny, Grace Nelson, Samantha Falk and Ellie White, showing off their athletic ability and versatility, 1st Alliance prevailed in battles that lesser teams might not have survived.

“I am proud of the way the girls approached that grind head on all weekend, Samolinski said. “It was a complete team effort with everyone contributing in many different ways.”

KC Power qualified T-3 at MEQ.

“I am proud of my athletes,” said head coach Dave Johnson. “They did a great job of staying focused and playing with passion.  We are excited to get back to work and continue to get better before Nationals.”

The passing of Rachel Van Gorp and Mya Bolton keyed the effort. Middles Tatum Grimes, Zoe McDonald and Julia Headley where fantastic at controlling the net and transitioning fast.  Pin hitters Hope Hickman, Alea Goolsby, Jill Huckabee and RVG did a great job of hitting out of system and playing tip defense.  Finally, setter Janelle Green did a great job of keeping her hitters humble and hungry.

“Getting an Open bid is one of the coolest things ever,” Johnson said. “It is a hard thing to get and we won’t take that for granted.”

OT 16 T Jason also tied for third to snag the final big. OT’s third place finish marks its second T-3 in a little over a month, matching its strong finish at Triple Crown.

OT went 8-1 in Indy, not losing until the semifinals against 1st Alliance.

“This tournament was a total team effort all weekend to finish third and qualify for JO’s,” noted coach Jason Partington.  “They just have so much heart, competitiveness, tenacity, will, love for the game and each other. Overall, I felt like we had a great tournament, continued to get better with every point, game, and match up until our semifinal match against a great 1st Alliance team.”

OT won while playing with just nine players all weekend and all contributed heavily.

Setter Taylor Parks did a great job distributing the offense.

“She efficiently made great decisions all weekend, giving all our hitters great opportunities,” Partington said.

Libero Bella Lee passed and played great defense all weekend.

“She’s just so consistent and steady,” the coach remarked.

RS Bailey Higgins was OT’s leading scorer and blocked really well. OHs Taylor Bedinghaus and Hannah Hankerson took a ton of swings and did a great job in all aspects of the game. MB Maria Happ was a force all weekend blocking and attacking.

•  Dynasty 15 Black, 1st Alliance 15 Gold and Circle City 15 Purple all had identical 9-1 records in 15 Open this past weekend. They are all going to Junior Nationals.

Dynasty dropped a 26-24, 25-23 decision to previously qualified Austin Skyline 16 Royal but was otherwise just about perfect in taking the title.

“As a smaller team we have to be able to have consistent serving pressure and play relentless defense,” noted coach Brian Tate “We did that. Our offense was as balanced as ever, always having three hitters who could score at the net.”

Triple Crown winner 1st Alliance did what it needed to earn a bid.

“Overall, a strong weekend for the crew,” coach Jocelynn Birks said. “We were pretty consistent in our serve/pass and defense, which allowed us to spread our offense around to make our game a little more unpredictable. It was fun to be able to play some high level competition on Day 3 and they showed some grit to pull out the wins to get the bid.”

Circle City did a lot of mental toughness work heading into MEQ.

“They came out laser focused all weekend,” noted coach Jenna Tadros. “This is a really special group of athletes. I can’t express that enough. They have all of the talent to compete with the best at our level.”

The team’s two captains, Isabelle Brown and Reese Dunkle, were great leaders this weekend. Avery Freeman, Logan Bell, Bradee McDonald and Taylor Woods were ball control gurus in the back row all weekend.

“Our passing was phenomenal and scoring against them was frustrating because they didn’t let much hit,” Tadros said.

Dunkle and Ellen Zapp were dominant in the middle not only getting their share of kills but also working hard and getting blocks and touches on so many attempts.

“I want to especially shout out setter Isabelle Brown,” Tadros said. “The kid is as tough as nails, she cares passionately about her teammates and the game and also is truly one of the hardest workers I’ve ever coached in 11 years. She puts our hitters in great positions, plays defense at a high level- not just for a setter but for any back row player, and is constantly winning the net game against players a lot bigger than her- when she goes up to joust I feel very confident that she’s going to win each time. I had several high level coaches come up to me this weekend and talk how you can just see the competitiveness in her eyes when she steps on the court. She has been an integral part of the team’s success.”

• At the Pacific Northwest Qualifier, in 17 Open, Madfrog 17’s National Green, Idaho Crush 17 Bower and Austin Juniors 17 Adidas had enough juice to qualify.

The Frogs dropped their first match, to Rage 17 Greg, then won out to claim the title.

“We are coming together in all areas of the game,” said coach Shelly Tucker. “Our offense is being run well by both our setters, and the hitters are moving their shots around the whole court. Our block is setting up well, allowing solid defensive play around the block. We are trusting in ourselves, each other, and the coaches.”

ID Crush also lost its first match but did not lose again until it had become only the third club team from Idaho to qualify for Junior Nationals in the Open division. Crush’s path to a bid include winning a three-set match over Absolute 17 Black on Day 1 to remain in contention.

Crush went 3-0 on the second day, all sweeps.

“We really hit our rhythm and we were able to keep that momentum through the Day 3 pools,” said director Caroline Bower. “Madfrog simply beat us. They are well coached and deserved the win—I thought they were the most dominant team all three days.”

“I’m super proud of our girls,” Bower continued. “They just figure out how to win.  Qualifiers reward grittiness and grinding match after match.  The key in any of these tournaments is to string to together wins and that is what we did—winning 7 consecutive matches.”

OH Alex Acevedo (Oregon recruit) and setter Alex Bower were dominant all weekend but, said Bower, “Our success this weekend was predicated on our other players really stepping up and making big plays.  This was an absolute team effort from girls 1-10 –every player on our team made a key play that allowed us to advance.”

AJV qualified third. Coach Mike Garcia said the match for third and the final bid between Austin and NorCal 17 Black was a back and forth affair before his team prevailed.

Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar, Austin Juniors 16 Adidas and Madfrog 16’s National Green all punched tickets in 16 Open.

We heard from the Frogs – remember this is such short notice because of the Monday finish!

“Overall, it was a great team win this weekend,” said assistant coach Brian Gatlin.  “The team overcame adversity throughout the weekend, and found ways to win when things started to go astray.”

Setter Carson Eickenloff was a key component to the team’s overall success in Spokane.

“Carson’s leadership and vision of the court helped our team secure victories when things got tight,” Gatlin said.

Lainee Pyles, transitioning from the middle to the pin, did well and is getting more comfortable in all aspects of the position. MB Kate Mansfield, a newcomer to the team, also was a key contributor.

“The team is excited to continue their growth as they know this season’s journey is not over,” Gatlin said. “They are dedicated and determined to put in the work that will be needed for Nationals this summer.”

Absolute 15 Black, NorCal Black 15-1 and Madfrog 15’s National Green all finished top four in 15 Open, which was good enough to earn bids, as Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar, which tied for third; had qualified previously.

NorCal placed second in the 24-team field. Coached by Shelby Salonga, NorCal won its first five matches, before succumbing to some of the field’s strongest teams. OH Lucy Chertock and pin Ellie Hunt were standouts. MB Charlotte Kelly did a nice job controlling the net, setter Sophia Allison did a nice job running the offense and serving, too, OH Abby Krause was scrappy and MB Sophia Vella contributed in critical moments.

Serving and blocking keyed Madfrog’s qualifying effort, noted coach Deja Erwin.

“After losing our 4th seed on Day 1, we came in strong Day 2 to take over the 1st seed,” Erwin said. “The team took coaching instruction, and was able to dominate over Surfside and Vision.”

Among the standouts for the Frogs were right sides Naya Salfiti and Anna Barr, middles Olivia Wayne and Kylee McCoy, outside Karson Barcelona and libero Maddie Smotherman (who has a name we’re all going to remember for the next three years).

• Once again, we use the 10th dot to write about other things besides Open qualifiers.

Last year, after graduating, Destiny Love Ayala unknowingly ingested Fentanyl at a graduation party.  She overdosed, never recovered and died seven days later.

Ayala was a member of the Central Valley Starlings throughout high school, and was now also assisting as coach with the 12U team.

This week the Central Valley Starlings remembered Ayala by hosting the first “D-Love Ayala Birthday Bash.”

“We will use this event to warn and inform others about the dangers of Fentanyl, and drug use,” the club said.

All 12 teams wore green ribbons in their hair, the color of Ayala’s graduation dress.  These green ribbons are not just to remember her, but are a commitment to make good choices, and to protect one’s own “destiny.”

Their motto goes, say “No” to all drugs, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because there is 50% chance that “one time” could kill you.

***

Aspire 17-Premier had a great Sunday in the Arizona Region tournament.

“Although we came in with the top seed in the Arizona Region, it was a tough battle against the top Arizona teams,” said coach Beth Nuneviller. “We had a right side and a middle missing from our roster (and a setter due to a season ending injury that happened in January), so that put 5-7 libero Lauren Mullings playing MB for three rotations and our setter hitting two rotations. What a fun day, beating EVJ 18-1, Aspire 18-Premier, Revolution 18-Premier, all in two sets, and then dropping a tough 3-setter, 16-18 in the third, to AZ Storm 18-Thunder.

“Everyone stepped up as it was a great team effort and just a lot of fun,” Nuneviller said.

***

Sunshine 17 LA tied for third in the PVL.  They were missing some kids but played with a player from anther Sunshine team, director Cari Klein said. “They went 5-1 and lost to Coast in the semis.  They are hoping to have Grace Thrower back for Red Rock Rave this coming weekend.

***

Metro 16 Travel is 46-0 on the season…What?? Metro 18 Travel triple qualified in Indy on Sunday.

***

JJVA 17 Teal had to overcome some travel “challenges” to get to Indy for MEQ.

Six players had their flight canceled at 10 p.m. Thursday night in Jacksonville.  The group drove to Tampa and got on a 6 a.m. flight to arrive in Indianapolis by 12:15. Two others drove to Atlanta and got flights to Chicago, just to have the airline say the crew needed rest. The next flight wasn’t until 1 p.m. and the team had reffing duties at 2:30, so they drove from Atlanta to Chicago.

JJVA ended up winning its first two matches and finished tied for ninth overall. Riley Mansfield, who slept little, starred that first day. 6-3 setter Veronica Sierzant also did well.

***

NorCal 16-Black has gotten hot. The team went undefeated to win Power League and had great momentum going into PNQ in the 16 USA division. The team, coached by Emerson Salonga, won its first eight matches to qualify and reach the finals opposite Madfrog 16’s National Black. NorCal had defeated the Frogs the day before, but their defense and serving prevailed in this one.

The team had three goals going into the weekend: 1) earning a bid; 2) passing at a high level; and 3) converting on point scoring opportunities.

“We crushed all three of  them,” Salonga said.

“Overall, the team is very proud of their efforts and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Salonga added. “Paige Bennett, our six rotation outside hitter, carried much of the offensive load and stayed steady in the passing lanes. Brooke Johnson, our quick-armed middle, showed up when the team needed her finding seams, took care of the overpass with authority, and played the best volleyball of her career. Katie Salonga, our 5-1 setter, created offensive opportunities which were pretty astounding. Isolating attackers one on one and creating large seams in the block made our hitters’ jobs very efficient. She also dispelled the myth that setters can’t play defense.”

Until next time …

PLEASE JOIN THE TEAM!
Keep free volleyball journalism free by becoming a VolleyballMag.com Sustaining Member:  https://volleyballmag.com/sustaining-membership/  
Or make a contribution through Venmo @VolleyballMag 

The post Tawa’s Club Volleyball Dots: MEQ was MASSSIVE, PNQ notes, 18 Open qualifying concludes appeared first on Volleyballmag.com.




Moscow.media
Частные объявления сегодня





Rss.plus




Спорт в России и мире

Новости спорта


Новости тенниса
Australian Open

Джокович стал рекордсменом по количеству матчей на турнирах "Большого шлема"






СОВЕТ ПРОВЕРИТЬ ВЕРСИЮ О НЕ САМОУБИЙСТВЕ ЯНИСА ТИММА БЫЛ НА ПОРТАЛЕ RUSSIA24.PRO ! И ДЕЛО ГЕНЕРАЛА КИРИЛЛОВА. НОВОСТИ. Россия, США, Европа могут улучшить отношения и здоровье общества?!

Синоптик Цыганков спрогнозировал нулевую погоду в крещенскую ночь в Подмосковье

Жилой дом в Казани включат в реестр объектов культурного наследия