Maroon and Orange Classic Top Players and Recap
Ray Vance
In this article:
<p>The Maroon and Orange Classic was also held over the Martin Luther King Jr weekend in Roanoke, Virginia. There<img class="alignright" src="https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/140022108_3571037909642917_5268426454805307100_o.jpg?_nc_cat=100&ccb=2&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=5K-KH7hMfroAX-zGBHF&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=9b3d1ea13be5321f82cf0930e5b220ec&oe=6032E78A" alt="May be an image of 14 people, people standing and text that says ’2021 MAROON & ORANGE CLASSIC 2 16U NATIONAL 17U DIVISION 2ND PLACE IN GOLD BRACKET’" width="421" height="421" /> we 47 teams from various states who made the trek on I-81 to compete at the Classic headquartered at the Spectrum Sports Academy. The Maroon and Orange Classic is part of the Maroon and Orange (M&O) series. It is a two-day tournament hosted by Atlantic Coast Events (ACE) in Roanoke, Virginia. This is a series of tournaments with the last tournament of this series, Maroon and Orange Super Regional, which allows teams within each division to compete for a portion of the entry fee to enter into the AAU Nationals Championship held in Orlando, Florida in June. AAU Nationals is the largest girls sporting event in the world. The tournament offered Club Division competition for 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18’s age groups.</p>
<p>Liberty Elite Volleyball Club (MD) was the dominant team in the tournament, winning the 14s and 18s division and finishing as runner-up 15, 16, 17, and 18 Club. </p>
<p>The 17’s division gold champion was the Biltmore (Maryland) 17 Elite, who also finished undefeated as well, also only losing one set on the weekend. </p>
<p>Stonebridge</p>
<p><img class="size-medium wp-image-127025 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/01/IMG_6673-copy-crop-3215x2111-1611156919-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></p>
<p> Volleyball Club’s 16 Blue dominated the 16 Open division to take home the Gold.</p>
<p>The 15 Open division was dominated by Club Attack 15-1 team from Beckley, WV. The lost one set the entire tournament en route to their Gold Medal performance.</p>
<p>The 14 Club division was also dominated by Liberty Elite, this time their 13 National team was the only team with a perfect weekend, not losing a set en route to the championship.</p>
<p>The event had some solid talent from the commonwealth:</p>
<p>[player_tooltip player_id="111436" first="Grace" last="Bickley"] is a familiar name with her success during the VISAA season for Portsmouth Christian, earning All-State honors in 2019. Grace is playing for the Stonebridge 18s Blue as an Outside Hitter. She’s a solid 6 rotation outside hitter with solid fundamentals and is a top-scoring outside hitter in the VISAA. Grace also won an AVCA Player of the Week and Portsmouth Christain Player of the Year. </p>
<p>[player_tooltip player_id="111422" first="Jessica" last="Cleveland"] is a stellar libero for Liberty Elite 18U. The Winchester, VA native is a strong defender with a great platform and does an excellent job of getting to the ball balanced to make for better first contacts. She has a solid serve and could complete for a spot on most college levels including some NCAA Division 1 programs. Jessica was also Region 4C 2nd team and Class 4 Northwestern District first team.</p>
<p>SERV Volleyball Club has a couple of players to watch. The first to watch is junior Linnea Ankney. She’s a 5’11 <img class="alignright" src="https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/23155144_1467461216642650_5333697090235209542_o.jpg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=2&_nc_sid=09cbfe&_nc_ohc=6luBe0JD8GcAX_BFdEx&_nc_oc=AQlM6rzKNmo7sahTpfPshorPGBPKJbX8WSgWxro0Zabs0Qg2UdA8g-_L0XVc3aaIuFI&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=9db3d6c57b737d495bde5400137b9956&oe=6032CAF3" alt="No photo description available." width="361" height="361" />Opposite who can play middle as needed. To be able to play effectively at outside hitter, she will need to remedy her approach footwork. She has a strong arm and is above average athletically. She projects as a mid-D3 level prospect. </p>
<p>Auzhanik Custis from SERV has great potential as a sophomore from Great Bridge High School. At 5’8, she’s below average for a high-level program but is extremely athletic. She plays both pin positions and is a strong backcourt player and can also attack from the back row. She could be a solid D2 6 rotation player and could possibly play for some Division 1 programs as she gets stronger and refines her overall game. </p>
<p>Other Virginia team finishes:</p>
<p>Rampage Volleyball Club 18 Kim team finished 5th in the 18’s club division.</p>
<p>Stonebridge’s 16 Blue was the 16s champion. </p>
<p>Manassas Volleyball Club’s 16’s Storm . The 18 Shockwave took 7th.,</p>
<p>Charlottesville 16s finished 6th</p>
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