AAU Summer Solstice Recap
One of the last tournaments of the season in Southern California was the AAU Summer Solstice that took place at Clava in Lake Forest for most age divisions and Laguna Beach Volleyball Club in Rancho Santa Margarita for the 17/18s…
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Continue ReadingOne of the last tournaments of the season in Southern California was the AAU Summer Solstice that took place at Clava in Lake Forest for most age divisions and Laguna Beach Volleyball Club in Rancho Santa Margarita for the 17/18s division. For some teams, it was a last hurrah for the season, while for others it was the last chance to work on things before leaving for nationals.
In the 14s division, A4 14-Torrey took the top spot, going undefeated. United took second, going undefeated until they met up with A4 in the final where A4 prevailed in two sets 25-9, 25-18. Seal Beach 14-Blue and Volitude 14 Elite finished in third, both going undefeated until losing to the teams that ended up in the final in the semi-finals.
In the 15s division, Volitude 15-1 took the top honors going undefeated in the tournament and only dropping one set in the entire tournament. CITY Volleyball 15 Blue finished second, with Culver 15-Tanner and Laguna Beach 14-Lael landing in third. In the 16s division, Inland Elite won age division. They dropped a close one to Club Koa enroute to the gold bracket but were able to rebound and with their matches in the gold bracket to earn first place.
In the 17/18s division, Hana Hou from Hawaii took the top spot without dropping a match. In fact, they only dropped one set in the tournament. United 17’s Arete took second place, utilizing the tournament as preparation for nationals. Outside hitter Hailey Oldham and middle blocker London Braithwaite looked solid at the net for United. Volitude 17-1 was smaller but a scrappy team with good chemistry and finished in third place along with SoCal VBC 18-Brian. SoCal’s middle blocker, Arden Khanna, gave her team some size with good height. She put up a nice block and moved well offensively.
There was an all out battle between Empower 18 Angie and Sunshine had an all-out battle with 310VBC 18-1 en route to the silver bracket final, eventually coming out on top in three sets (25-18, 16-25, 15-8). Class of 2023 middle blocker/opposite, Malana Owens, came up big for Empower scoring with a quick arm and patrolling the net well laterally. Though a smaller middle blocker, Owens is springy and quick. Empower then faced A4 Volley 17-Aaron in the silver bracket finals where ultimately A4 prevailed in three sets (25-18, 16-25, 15-8).
There were several other standouts in the tournament. Sunshine 17 Extreme outside hitter, Lauren Becker, was feisty in defense and didn’t let anything hit the floor. She also attacked well from the back row. Envision 18-1 had a big middle blocker in Itzel Aguayo who had a lot of length and showed a lot of potential to put up a big block for her team. Oaho middle blocker, Jubilee Allen, is another big middle with a ton of potential. Allen has the ability to hit a heavy ball and has very good coordination. She can also put up a very big block.