Big Teams Winning the Gold at National Harbor

The Open Division for National Harbor had three days of volleyball. When it was done four winners emerged with the gold in the 15-18 age divisions. A number of new players emerged into the spot light.   18 Open   Last year Virginia Juniors won the 18 open, losing just two sets. This year Virginia Juniors appeared to be plowing through their opponents, again losing just two sets. One of those opponents was a sweep of Vienna Elite 25-19, 25-13 the day before.   This Virginia Juniors team was packed with power. Auburn bound [player_tooltip player_id='209180' first='Jasmine' last='Okeoma'] and [player_tooltip player_id='181184' first='Chelsea' last='Colter'] plugged up the middle. [player_tooltip player_id='224016' first='Kezia' last='Francis'] fired missiles from the left side. They were so confident of their passers they used libero [player_tooltip player_id='239270' first='EllaMae' last='Fitzgerald'] and [player_tooltip player_id='209182' first='Sofia' last='Hardy'] in a two passer serve receive. [player_tooltip player_id='181180' first='Kelsey' last='Holmes'] and [player_tooltip player_id='200199' first='Ava' last='Ray'] orchestrated the offense with their sets. They had nine players ranked in the class of 2023 top 100.   Vienna Elite appeared to lack the same firepower of Virginia Juniors. They lost their first match of the tournament to VAVA. Zaylie Tamashiro, Marla Scott and Emma Sawruk are three outsides who will not match the power of Juniors but they will find ways to score points using their intelligence by finding the hands of the blockers or the open areas of the court. The taller Madeline Schamaun sets in the front row while the smaller [player_tooltip player_id='209175' first='Trisha' last='Guevara'] sets in the back row. They rely on a steady passing game with [player_tooltip player_id='238097' first='Angelina' last='Barrera'] and [player_tooltip player_id='239319' first='Emma' last='Cortez'] in the back row. Only three of their players were ranked in the top 100, Angelina, Emma and Trish.   Vienna Elite also has one middle who stands just 5'8" in [player_tooltip player_id='273061' first='Aileen' last='Richardson'], but she is quick from pin to pin and jumps well. Their other middle Prinzez Zeck is in just her second year of club volleyball. Her main sport was basketball. What kind of harm could she cause on the volleyball court.   As it turned out, plenty. Prinzez can put super ball bounce on the ball when she hits the quicks in the middle. Listed at 6'1" she appears taller, but no matter the height she dominated the middle. She has quickly created some buzz with college recruiters who have seen her play so her availability will be short.   As it was the previous day Virginia Juniors took the first set 25-20. Vienna Elite surprised them in the second set 25-22. The third set turned into a battle with a [player_tooltip player_id='181184' first='Chelsea' last='Colter'] block pulling Virginia Juniors to within 13-12. Emma Sawruk came through with a kill to put Vienna Elite within a point of winning the match at 14-12. A hitter error then gave Virginia Juniors the serve, behind 14-13. The serve went deep and the Vienna Elite celebration began. That was certainly an unexpected surprise.   Maryland Juniors and VAVA finished tied for third.   17 Open    Last year at the National Harbor Vienna Elite defeated Virginia Juniors in three to win the 17 open. This year DMV Elite faced off against Virginia Juniors in the championship match.   Just like the 18s Virginia Juniors carried lots of firepower on their roster. [player_tooltip player_id='181230' first='Lydia' last='Darville'], [player_tooltip player_id='209790' first='Aubrey' last='Hatch'], [player_tooltip player_id='243772' first='Charizma' last='Lofton'], [player_tooltip player_id='181235' first='Sydney' last='Mayfield'] and [player_tooltip player_id='181234' first='Samia' last='Sayd'] provided excessive firepower on the outside. [player_tooltip player_id='182776' first='Brianna' last='Clay'] and [player_tooltip player_id='181805' first='Madison' last='Smith'] blocked the middle. The two whose star shined the brightest, especially in the finals were the two setters [player_tooltip player_id='182753' first='Isabel' last='Ostvig'] and [player_tooltip player_id='244159' first='Jaylyn' last='Simon'].   At 5'10" Isabel impressed with her all around game. She hits with authority from the right side, creates havoc with her jump sets and unloads a vicious serve that disrupted the usually solid passing of Vienna Elite. Jaylyn also hit well in the finals from the right side, burying a back set to the floor in the first set to tie the game at 24-24. [player_tooltip player_id='181230' first='Lydia' last='Darville'] stood out as the most surprising performer, a relative unknown (at least to me) coming out of Christ Chapel Academy in Woodbridge. She stood out in the finals, leading the offense with critical kills.   DMV carried the electric arm of [player_tooltip player_id='242038' first='Sidney' last='Powell'] from the outside and [player_tooltip player_id='238099' first='Samantha' last='Ferguson'] taking charge in the middle. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='242126' first='Isha' last='Uppalli'] impressed me with her quickness in the back row and her great anticipation. [player_tooltip player_id='238098' first='Ankita' last='Kamath'] controlled the offense with her consistent sets and steady composure. Eliana Behrens and Lillian Soska also contributed from the outside.   [player_tooltip player_id='182753' first='Isabel' last='Ostvig'] bullet serves turned the game around with six straight points to turn a 15-17 deficit into a 21-17 lead. DMV bounced back with some nice defensive saves by [player_tooltip player_id='242126' first='Isha' last='Uppalli'] and a kill by Eliana Behrens high off the hands of the Juniors block to tie it at 22-22. Juniors got the lead back on a tip over the block by [player_tooltip player_id='244159' first='Jaylyn' last='Simon']. A [player_tooltip player_id='238099' first='Samantha' last='Ferguson'] kill and ace serve by Lauren Sateri put the DMV ahead 24-23.   A beautiful jump back set by [player_tooltip player_id='182753' first='Isabel' last='Ostvig'] led to a buried spike to the floor by [player_tooltip player_id='244159' first='Jaylyn' last='Simon'] to tie the game at 24-24. Isabel put the team ahead with a deep tip to the corner "5" spot. [player_tooltip player_id='181805' first='Madison' last='Smith'] finished it off with a block to give Juniors the 26-24 win in set one.   The second set was all Juniors 25-11. [player_tooltip player_id='244159' first='Jaylyn' last='Simon'] and [player_tooltip player_id='182776' first='Brianna' last='Clay'] combining for an end of the match block. Virginia Juniors got their championship, coached by the daughter of Claudio Borgiotti, Isabella Borgiotti, who was not even born yet when I was playing volleyball with Claudio. My, how time flies.   Premier Edge swept MVSA Stars 26-24 and 25-21 to take third place.   16 Open   Premier Edge from Delaware took advantage of a depleted MVSA Sparks roster to win the championship 25-17 and 25-19. The Sparks were playing without their libero [player_tooltip player_id='235749' first='Kareena' last='Rathnam'] and middle Corinne Howard. Kareena played for them the first two days. The Sparks looked exhausted when playing their championship match, their bench down to two players.   The first time these two teams played the Sparks won 25-19 and 25-20. However, Premier took control of the championship match. Elaina Millaway led the way with her six rotation play. She carries a good swing and a tough serve. She took advantage of deep "1" for three consecutive aces in the second set. Libero Kate Hines plays a stout defense. The setting duties were shared by Caitlyn McGonigal and Kennedy Pavlekovich.   [player_tooltip player_id='235748' first='Ema' last='Djordjevic'] ignites this Sparks offense. The more I watch Katie Tomaszewski and Iris Duan set the more I come away impressed. Sherry Ye played a solid libero in the absence of [player_tooltip player_id='235749' first='Kareena' last='Rathnam'], but losing that extra back row replacement hurt the overall passing.   Baltimore Elite tied for third with Liberty Elite.   15 Open   Last year at the Harbor Premier Edge 15 took second place. It took three games but this year they won the gold. Their only loss was to Virginia Juniors in three in a crossover match. They got some revenge by beating them 15-13 in the third game of the semifinals of the gold bracket playoffs.   Kaitlyn Leberstein provided leadership to this pack. She set well and used her left handed swing on the right side to complete her kills. Katherine Greenplate performed well on the left side, ending the match with a kill. Annalise Lewis put up a good block in the middle and also provided the team offense with her quick middle hits.   Maryland Juniors had beaten Virginia Juniors earlier in pool play. They lost the opener in the finals 25-17, but bounced back to win game two 25-20. They were never in game three, pulling to within three 10-7, but that was the closest they got.   Loved the enthusiasm of Maryland Juniors left side Isard Bernades. She carries an electric arm that led Maryland to a game two victory. She fell short in game three. Isard plays three rotations. Meredith Brown carried some length and power from the right side. Avery Hubbard hits from the right side and sets when she rotates to the back row. Miranda Ball occupies the other left side.   American and Virginia Juniors tied for third.   Chesapeake Chirps: Witnessed a lot of enthusiasm at the tournament. For parents, paying for parking as well as admission costs had to be a little expensive...The Virginia Juniors 16 team did not qualify for the gold bracket. But [player_tooltip player_id='181300' first='Alexis' last='Ewing'] has clearly improved her game. Her back row play still needs some improvement, but she has great extension on her hits and at 6'2" the ball was being hit over the smaller blocks...Metro 18 earned a bid competing in the Florida Fest. It appeared the final game was won by forfeit, 25-0,25-0, but the team they were supposed to play (Mavs) had already earned a bid. Don't know how that would have impacted the bidding selections if the two teams had played and the MAVs won. Only three teams in the Gold Division went home without a bid, since two teams had already earned a bid and three more were distributed.

The Open Division for National Harbor had three days of volleyball. When it was done four winners emerged with the gold in the 15-18 age divisions. A number of new players emerged into the spot light.