Recapping 16 Open Championship Monday at GJNC
We’ve done it. The 2022 club season is complete, and we have a new national champion. I’ve been privileged to follow the 16 Open division throughout this exciting weekend at USAV Nationals, and we celebrate July 4th with plenty of…
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Continue ReadingWe’ve done it. The 2022 club season is complete, and we have a new national champion.
I’ve been privileged to follow the 16 Open division throughout this exciting weekend at USAV Nationals, and we celebrate July 4th with plenty of on-court fireworks.
For the final time in the 2022 season, here’s your daily recap of some championship volleyball.
Round of 8
To help set things up, here is our write-up on the 16 Open bracket the night before it all went down on Monday.
If you’re trying to identify some early storylines from Monday’s action, this might be good: the event’s top two seeds came to play. Dynasty 16 Black and A5 Mizuno 16-Gabe entered the Round of 8 and swiped emphatic victories to reach the semifinals.
Dynasty’s big quarterfinal triumph came against NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami, perhaps the hottest team in the tournament up to that point. NKYVC reached bracket play as the only 16 Open team without a loss over the entire weekend, but facing Dynasty in a single-elimination format is a daunting proposition for any team. 16 Black battled to a two-set victory and was again back in the final four.
I’ve used this line before in 2022: all business for @dynastyvbc 16 Black!
On to the 16 Open semifinals. #GJNC pic.twitter.com/k6rExqLgP7
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) July 4, 2022
Across the convention center, A5 Mizuno 16-Gabe has similar success against Colorado Juniors 16-Sherri. And, close by, Premier Nebraska 16 Gold made an early impression with its sweep of Top Select 16 Elite Blue. This trio of winners appeared to be laser-focused on the championship chase after dominant performances in the Round of 8.
On to the 16 Open semifinals for @Premier16_G!
Way to represent! 💪 #GJNC pic.twitter.com/PRHvxOpav9
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) July 4, 2022
The outlier in this round was the nail-biting affair between MADFROG 16’s N Green and 1st Alliance 16 Gold. The seven seed in the championship bracket threw the first haymaker, as 1st Alliance got on the board with a comfortable win in the opening set. As the match progressed, though, MADFROG found more of that title-winning form that it had shown late in Round 2 pools. After tying up the match with a deuce second-set win, 16’s N Green repeated that close margin of victory in the third and won a 17-15 thriller to move on.
Wow.@MADFROGVBALL 16’s N Green advances to the 16 Open semifinals after a huge roof from Brianna Watson! 17-15 in the third set. @PrepDigTX #GJNC pic.twitter.com/RCNsk3BciX
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) July 4, 2022
Semifinals
The spectator aisles packed in as the 16 Open field was pared to four.
Dynasty and A5 met for perhaps the most anticipated 16s matchup of the entire tournament. It was a rematch of March’s Northern Lights Qualifier championship match that went to Dynasty in a two-set decision. The Kansas City squad looked determined to repeat that prior victory in Indianapolis and jumped out to an early lead in the opening set.
However, that’s when A5 hit the gas. The team’s left sides (whom will surely discuss in upcoming features) continued their huge weekend can terminated on some tough swings throughout the match. A5 was quick to demonstrate that it has the physicality to match up with Dynasty, and that helped yield a 26-24 win in the first.
Extra points in the first set seems just about right for these two.@a5volleyball 16-Gabe wins the first 26-24! #GJNC pic.twitter.com/HSRhDM9umg
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) July 4, 2022
The second stanza was almost a mirror of the first. 16 Black initially jumped out to a slim lead before A5 came charging back thanks to its dominant corps of frontcourt attackers. This clutch Monday morning outing produced what is likely A5’s biggest win of the season.
What a win for @a5volleyball!
16-Gabe pushes past Dynasty to advance to the #GJNC 16 Open championship! pic.twitter.com/VybXU6QXKi
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) July 4, 2022
Now we address the other matchup. Remember that championship form we mentioned earlier when discussing MADFROG? 16’s N Green kept that same energy in the semifinals. 16’s N Green led throughout its contest with Premier Nebraska and displayed a lethal combination of solid ball control and brilliant attacking range. This weekend was quite a rollercoaster for the Texas team, but that culminated in the huge Monday breakthrough that put MADFROG in the 16 Open finals.
16 Open finals are set!@MADFROGVBALL 16’s N Green gets it done in two sets to reach the championship match! #GJNC pic.twitter.com/maJpH0T6Oo
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) July 4, 2022
A Champion is Crowned
Perhaps this championship match was a case of one team playing its best under pressure. Maybe it was the big stage that made the difference, or maybe this title match was a moment of flawless execution. I’ll take a little more time to break down the film this week, so stay tuned.
Here’s what I’m getting at: MADFROG 16’s N Green put together a spectacular championship performance that eventually gave the Texas club another national title. After all this talk of 16’s N Green finding its stride as the weekend progressed, the peak of MADFROG’s dominance came in the year’s final match. After the first handful of points in the title match was closely contested, MADFROG found a new gear and ran away with the rest of the match. I’m going to be reflecting on this one for a while.
Texas on top!@MADFROGVBALL 16’s N Green is your #GJNC 16 Open champion! pic.twitter.com/zlLiUfkLgV
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) July 4, 2022
Speaking of reflection, it’s almost time to get into our player highlights. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed diving into some day-by-day recaps as we navigate the GJNC’s 16 Open division. Now that the final whistle has blown, we’re about to get into some player features and top tournament standouts.
I hope you’ll join me for that, and thank you again for an unbelievable 2022 club season.
So bittersweet to be wrapping up the 2022 club season.
Great to see teams get rewarded this weekend for all their hard work, but I’ll miss shuffling around these convention centers every other weekend.
Until next year. pic.twitter.com/9fAOihM2MM
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) July 4, 2022