Northern Virginia Teams Earning a 16 Junior National Bid
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Metro 16 How They Earned Their Bid – They double qualified, taking third in the Windy City Open to get an open title bid. They also won the Northeast Qualifier. Originally, they won the Chesapeake Regional Bid to earn a…
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Continue ReadingMetro 16
How They Earned Their Bid – They double qualified, taking third in the Windy City Open to get an open title bid. They also won the Northeast Qualifier. Originally, they won the Chesapeake Regional Bid to earn a National spot, but it was only a matter of time before they would win an Open bid and the trickle down process would take effect.
Other Major Tournament Results – They are rated 7th in the country according to the Advanced Event Systems (AES) ranking systems. No club has won more than their 70 games and only Dynasty Black has lost fewer than their four games. They win about any tournament they play in, even beating their big sister Metro 17 in the Hampton Mid-Atlantic Power League (MAPL).
Players to Highlight – This team has so much depth. It all starts with their outsides. It would be hard to find any club with two better left side hitters than the 6’4″ Emerson Sellman Emerson Sellman 6'4" | OH Academy of Holy Cross | 2024 State #5 Nation VA and 6’3″ Macaria Spears Macaria Spears 6'3" | OH Prestonwood Christian | 2025 State #5 Nation TX . At this point Emerson is the more consistent player with her hitting, passing and defense but Macaria is more explosive, with a greater vertical and more velocity on her kills. Emerson is number one on our Virginia 2024 rankings and Macaria is number one on the 2025s.
They have three setters they can bring in at any time. The 6’1″ Erin Debiec Erin Debiec 6'1" | S Bishop O'Connell | 2024 State #92 Nation VA would set a 5/1 for most teams with a blocking jump that almost reaches 10 feet but Metro has right sides that can jump even higher, so they usually run a 6/2. They also have the smaller 5’5″ Natalie Nguyen Natalie Nguyen 5'5" | S Flint Hill | 2024 State VA to run a quick tempo offense. She has been the primary setter for Metro for the last four years and the veterans on that team click well with her. The third setter is Clara Yu Clara Yu 5'10" | S Georgetown Day | 2024 State VA , who is listed at 5’10” and would be a primary setter for any club in Virginia or Maryland. Mix them and match them and you can’t go wrong.
The middles are loaded with the 6’2″ Ryla Jones Ryla Jones 6'4" | MB Flint Hill | 2024 State #80 Nation VA , Madison Bowser Madison Bowser 6'2" | MB Bishop O'Connell | 2024 State VA and the 6’3″ Rori Gray Rori Gray 6'3" | MB Jackson Reed (DC) | 2024 State VA . Jones has a twin sister Renee, who plays right side and an older sister Rainelle Jones, who played middle for Maryland last year and led the country in blocks. Madison is still relatively new to volleyball, but she is extremely athletic and strong. She just needs the repetitions to enhance her game.
The right sides are the 6’5′ Renee Jones Renee Jones 6'5" | RS Flint Hill | 2025 State #132 Nation FL and the smaller 5’9″ Lilah Stevens Lilah Stevens 5'9" | OH Stone Bridge | 2024 State VA , who can leap out of any gym. Lilah won Class 5 player of the year, leading Stonebridge to a State championship. Renee teamed with her sister Ryla to lead Flint Hill to the Independent League state championships.
The libero Mailinh Godschal can be overlooked in this sea of explosiveness, but her passing and defense makes this engine churn. She also can accumulate aces with her serving. It is hard to focus on her when spikes are being buried to the floor, but one has to ask the question why?
The National team has also invited three of their players to train in June in Chicago. The two Jones sisters for the U16 and Emerson Sellman Emerson Sellman 6'4" | OH Academy of Holy Cross | 2024 State #5 Nation VA for U18.
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How They Earned Their Bid – They lost to Metro in the Chesapeake Regional bid finals to get an American bid but got a bump up to National when Metro qualified for open.
Other Major Tournament Results – They took third in the Hampton and Raleigh Mid Atlantic Power League, playing in the 16-18 division. They fell short of the open, finishing ninth in the Northeast Qualifier and 15th in the Sunshine. They finished second to Metro in the Capital Hill Classic. Last year, this group playing at 15’s earned an Open bid.
Players to Highlight – This team is led by the hitting of 6’0″ outside Lameen Mambu Lameen Mambu 6'0" | OH Chantilly | 2025 State #64 Nation VA and 6’1″ middle Kiylah Presley Kiylah Presley 6'0" | OH Bishop McNamara | 2024 State #114 Nation VA . Similar to Metro, Mambu is ranked second behind Spears in our class of 2025 and Presley is ranked second to Sellman in our class of 2026. Both have the athleticism to get better as they get experience playing against better competition.
At 5’6″ Paige Ahakuelo Paige Ahakuelo 5'8" | S James Wood | 2024 State VA orchestrates the offense with her superb setting, peppering sets to all quadrants of the court. Despite her small stature she likes to jump set and when she is in the front row she is not afraid to dump, so you have to be aware of her presence.
The 5’10” Keleigh Chrisman has a powerful swing and can hit from both the right side and the left side. The defense is enhanced by libero Ava Dunnigan Ava Dunnigan 5'4" | DS/L Musselman | 2024 VA , who is ranked number 6 in our Virginia 2024 rankings. Both players are products of West Virginia’s Musselman High School, who regularly accumulate State championships.
Harlan Wyche Harlan Wyche 5'11" | MB South Lakes | 2024 State VA is another player gifted with some physical talent. She stands 5’9″ but can play middle, left or right side. She has long arms that when extended can hit over many blocks and a vertical approach that can get her close to 10 feet.