Big Teams Winning the Gold at National Harbor
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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…
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Continue ReadingThe 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 Jasmine Okeoma Jasmine Okeoma 6'3" | MB Forest Park | 2023 State VA and Chelsea Colter Chelsea Colter MB Robinson | 2023 State VA plugged up the middle. Kezia Francis Kezia Francis 5'9" | OH Charles Colgan | 2023 State VA fired missiles from the left side. They were so confident of their passers they used libero EllaMae Fitzgerald EllaMae Fitzgerald 5'8" | DS/L Episcopal | 2023 State VA and Sofia Hardy Sofia Hardy 5'7" | DS/L Independence | 2023 State VA in a two passer serve receive. Kelsey Holmes Kelsey Holmes 6'0" | S Reservoir (MD) | 2023 State VA and Ava Ray Ava Ray 5'7" | S Riverside | 2023 State VA 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 Trisha Guevara Trisha Guevara 5'3" | S Stone Bridge | 2023 State VA sets in the back row. They rely on a steady passing game with Angelina Barrera Angelina Barrera 5'2" | DS/L Chantilly | 2023 State VA and Emma Cortez Emma Cortez 5'3" | DS/L Robinson | 2023 State VA 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 Aileen Richardson Aileen Richardson 5'7" | MB Centreville | 2023 State VA , 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 Chelsea Colter Chelsea Colter MB Robinson | 2023 State VA 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
Highlights
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. Lydia Darville Lydia Darville 5'10" | OH Christ Chapel | 2024 State VA , Aubrey Hatch Aubrey Hatch 6'1" | OH Colgan | 2024 State VA , Charizma Lofton Charizma Lofton 5'10" | OH Gainsville | 2024 State VA , Sydney Mayfield Sydney Mayfield 5'10" | RS Bullis | 2025 State VA and Samia Sayd Samia Sayd 5'11" | OH Marshall | 2024 State VA provided excessive firepower on the outside. Brianna Clay Brianna Clay 6'2" | MB Battlefield | 2024 State VA and Madison Smith Madison Smith 6'1" | OH Homeschool | 2025 State VA blocked the middle. The two whose star shined the brightest, especially in the finals were the two setters Isabel Ostvig Isabel Ostvig 5'10" | S Colonial Forge | 2024 State VA and Jaylyn Simon Jaylyn Simon 5'9" | S Holy Cross | 2024 State VA .
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. Lydia Darville Lydia Darville 5'10" | OH Christ Chapel | 2024 State VA 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 Sidney Powell Sidney Powell 5'9" | OH Rock Ridge | 2024 State VA from the outside and Samantha Ferguson Samantha Ferguson 5'10" | MB Riverside | 2024 State VA taking charge in the middle. Libero Isha Uppalli Isha Uppalli 5'5" | DS/L Rock Ridge | 2024 State VA impressed me with her quickness in the back row and her great anticipation. Ankita Kamath Ankita Kamath 5'6" | S Rock Ridge | 2024 State VA controlled the offense with her consistent sets and steady composure. Eliana Behrens and Lillian Soska also contributed from the outside.
Isabel Ostvig Isabel Ostvig 5'10" | S Colonial Forge | 2024 State VA 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 Isha Uppalli Isha Uppalli 5'5" | DS/L Rock Ridge | 2024 State VA 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 Jaylyn Simon Jaylyn Simon 5'9" | S Holy Cross | 2024 State VA . A Samantha Ferguson Samantha Ferguson 5'10" | MB Riverside | 2024 State VA kill and ace serve by Lauren Sateri put the DMV ahead 24-23.
A beautiful jump back set by Isabel Ostvig Isabel Ostvig 5'10" | S Colonial Forge | 2024 State VA led to a buried spike to the floor by Jaylyn Simon Jaylyn Simon 5'9" | S Holy Cross | 2024 State VA to tie the game at 24-24. Isabel put the team ahead with a deep tip to the corner “5” spot. Madison Smith Madison Smith 6'1" | OH Homeschool | 2025 State VA finished it off with a block to give Juniors the 26-24 win in set one.
The second set was all Juniors 25-11. Jaylyn Simon Jaylyn Simon 5'9" | S Holy Cross | 2024 State VA and Brianna Clay Brianna Clay 6'2" | MB Battlefield | 2024 State VA 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 Kareena Rathnam Kareena Rathnam 5'3" | DS/L Winston Churchill | 2025 State VA 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.
Ema Djordjevic Ema Djordjevic 6'0" | OH Richard Montgomery | 2025 State VA 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 Kareena Rathnam Kareena Rathnam 5'3" | DS/L Winston Churchill | 2025 State VA , 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 Alexis Ewing Alexis Ewing 6'3" | OH Bullis | 2025 State VA 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.