Teams Rising in the Rankings at MAPL

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were some quality teams playing in the Mid Atlantic Power League, or M-apple. The format allows the winning team to take the seed of the losing team, which creates some interesting finishes when the tournament is complete. How can a team that finishes 0-5 in match play and 0-10 in sets place 19th out of 48 teams? Because they started the tournament as a fairly high seed and did not lose to a team seeded less than 19.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16-18 Black Division</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["181242"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63d959d6760cb"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top two teams came out of the Carolinas. <strong>Chapel Hill Area Volleyball Club</strong> (CHAVC 17 Black) went the entire tournament without a loss, until they faced their fellow Carolina foe <strong>East Carolina Junior Volleyball Club </strong>(ECJVC17 National). After Chapel Hill squeaked out a 25-23 first game set, East Carolina came back and won the second set 25-17. Chapel Hill regained their composure by winning the final set 15-10.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two <strong>Beach Elite teams 17B and 18B </strong>tied for third. The 17's team only two losses came against <strong>East Carolina 17</strong>, the second loss coming in the semi-finals. The Beach Elite 18 team won all their matches until the semi-final match against <strong>Chapel Hill</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The <strong>Beach Elite 18</strong> team has a talented roster with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='245595' first='Reagan' last='McGee'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='245597' first='Teagan' last='Engdahl']</strong> as outside candidates. They have a quality setter in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='245596' first='Alden' last='Roberts']</strong>. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='233484' first='Aulie' last='Huff']</strong> plays the middle with passion and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='246933' first='Jessica' last='Christman']</strong> can play a solid back row. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Beach Elite 17</strong>B team counters with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='245600' first='Peyton' last='McGee'],</strong> younger sister of Reagan, on the right side. They also bring two power hitting left sides in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='233007' first='Alexis' last='Keeter']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='246935' first='Avery' last='Hanly']</strong>. Future Michigan State Spartan <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='248630' first='Kayla' last='Foley']</strong> plays libero while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='242358' first='Megan' last='Stone']</strong> also contributes to consistent back row play. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Virginia Elite </strong>claimed the highest finish from the Chesapeake Region at fifth place. Their only loss was to <strong>Beach Elite 17B </strong>in a first round gold bracket playoff match. They were the only Chesapeake team to reach the gold bracket, upsetting <strong>Metro Travel 16</strong> in three to earn the spot. The third set was an intense 15-13 win after losing the opening set 25-19. Virginia Elite also upset their 17 older sister team in a grinding 25-23, 26-24 sweep that had to be very emotional.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181298' first='Ana' last='Toumazatos']</strong> played phenomenal six rotation ball, especially bringing her "A" game against Metro, hitting and passing her team to their fifth place finish. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181243' first='Evelyn' last='Jurden']</strong> shined in the middle and the right side. Her 9'.9.5" reach ranks the highest on the team. She too played exceptionally well against Metro. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181242' first='Shylah' last='Swope']</strong> made the right choices when setting her hitters, keeping the blockers guessing. She varied her locations and never fell into a pattern. <strong> [player_tooltip player_id='181279' first='Kadi' last='Pynchon']</strong> battled in the back row, saving a number of potential kills from hitting the floor. An overall amazing effort for Virginia Elite.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Paramount 17</strong> finished in 7th, taking a tough 18-16 third set loss to <strong>Beach Elite</strong> <strong>17B</strong> that prevented them from advancing to the gold bracket. Thier only other loss was to the eventual champion <strong>Chapel Hill</strong>. Sharing the setting duties for them were <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180285' first='Clara' last='Yu'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180282' first='Paige' last='Ahakuelo']</strong>, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180294' first='Kiylah' last='Presley']</strong> provided their main source of offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Metro 16's</strong> only loss of the tournament was to <strong>Virginia Elite 16 </strong>but it dropped them down to 13th place. They did have some quality wins in beating <strong>Blue Ridge 17</strong> and <strong>Virginia Elite 18</strong>. Their roster is talented with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181763' first='Jada' last='Aksu']</strong> on the right side, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181303' first='Isabelle' last='Bardin']</strong> setting, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181307' first='Leni' last='Stanton-Parker'] </strong>middle and outside and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238358' first='Evie' last='Huang']</strong> at the libero position. This team has too much talent not to win their share of tournaments. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>14-16 Blue Division </strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["301696"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63d9e7d8df1ab"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Metro 15 </strong>won the Blue Division without losing a match. They were led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='303701' first='Caydence' last='Doolan']</strong>, whose 57 kills over the weekend led the team. The other outsides who shined were <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='227251' first='Morgan' last='D. Williams']</strong> from the left side and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='301696' first='Nadiya' last='Johnson']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='210539' first='Emma' last='Gardner']</strong> from the right. Libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick'] </strong>kept the ball from hitting the floor to keep rallies alive, allowing her outsides to end them in Metro's favor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Their biggest match may have been against <strong>East Carolina Jr. Volleyball Club </strong>in the semifinals of the gold bracket. Metro won the first 25-22 but then lost the second 25-20. The third set was one for the ages with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='301696' first='Nadiya' last='Johnson'] </strong>stringing together 11 kills and two blocks to lead Metro to an intense 19-17 win. Last year these two teams played in the gold at the 14 level in the Capital Hill Classic. Metro came out on top in that one as well 25-22 and 26-24.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Britini Silver</strong> led the East Carolina team with 14 kills and two blocks. This was the only match they lost in the tournament, just as it was at Capital Hill. Perhaps they will get a rematch later this month. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Blue Ridge 15</strong> took second place in the tournament. They swept <strong>Paramount 15</strong>, 25-23 and 25-15. Leading the team were their two outsides <strong>Skylar Norris</strong> and <strong>Gracie Brown</strong>. Gracie covers all six rotations of the court contributing to both the offense and defense. Their 6'2" middle <strong>Sammy Stephens</strong> made it tough for teams to find the center of the court. Setter <strong>Blanca Hutzler</strong> made the right choices with her sets and contributed with excellent defense. Libero <strong>Alycia Miller </strong>led the team in digs. Unfortunately, in the finals they stumbled against <strong>Metro 15 </strong>with 25-16 and 25-11 losses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":307966,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/01/blue-ridge-15.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-307966" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: provided by coach</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Paramount 15</strong> also played well, finishing tied for third. Four of their first six matches went three games and they won them all. They finally ran out of gas in the semi-finals against Blue Ridge 15. Lots of big time talent on this team with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='249330' first='Charlotte' last='Arrington'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='221415' first='Lindsey' last='Canty']</strong> hitting the outside. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238341' first='Teodora' last='Stamenkovic'] </strong>at 6'1" can dominate the right side and play middle. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top 16 team that did not play in the Black Division (16-18) was <strong>St. James Navy. </strong> They went the whole tournament without losing a set until a sweep by Metro 15 knocked them down to 5th place. They have two excellent back row players in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='235292' first='Zana' last='Royster'] </strong>and<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='235295' first='Hanna' last='Kotb'].</strong> <strong> [player_tooltip player_id='250614' first='Harper' last='Travis'] </strong>provides the offense in the middle while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='235778' first='Payton' last='Vieselmeyer']</strong> contributes from the outside. <strong>Caroline Christensen</strong> and <strong>Vivian Nitowski</strong> share the setting duties.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["292644"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63da950e1bf77"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Metro 14</strong> captured an impressive seventh place finish. They won only one match, over a very talented <strong>Paramount 14 team</strong>. Two of their other matches against <strong>Delaware United 16 </strong>and <strong>Paramount 15</strong> took three. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum']</strong> leads this offense with her setting. She won the best setter award for the 13's at the Capital Hill Classic last year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["296486"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63da950e1bfca"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Paramount 14 </strong>dropped to 13th place after losing to Metro 14. They almost pulled the upset of the tournament after beating Metro 15 in the first game 25-15. Metro bounced back to win the last two 25-15 and 15-10. The 6'1" middle [player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington'] won the best blocker award at Capital Hill Classic last year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->