More Top Prospects Playing in the Qualifiers
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This is an opportunity to write about some of the top prospects from the Chesapeake Bid Regional Championships whose team did not finish in the top four of the tournament. The more competitive the Region the greater likelihood that good…
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Continue ReadingThis is an opportunity to write about some of the top prospects from the Chesapeake Bid Regional Championships whose team did not finish in the top four of the tournament. The more competitive the Region the greater likelihood that good teams will get eliminated from earning a bid. Below are four teams who brought talent to the court but came up short.
Virginia Juniors 17
Highlights
Finishing second in their pool gave them a tough road in the playoffs. They rolled past Metro North which brought them to the number one seed in the tournament Paramount. They battled well but ultimately lost 26-24 and 27-25.
Not a lot of teams have the fortune of carrying three strong left sides. Charizma Lofton Charizma Lofton 5'10" | OH Gainsville | 2024 State VA , Samia Sayd Samia Sayd 5'11" | OH Marshall | 2024 State VA and Aubrey Hatch Aubrey Hatch 6'1" | OH Colgan | 2024 State VA play the position well. Samai may be the strongest passer and defensive player. Charizma brings a lot of quickness to the court. Aubrey can dominate in the front row. For the most part Samai and Aubrey played left side in the game against Paramount, but Charizma came in at one point for Aubrey. They can mix and match among the three depending on needs.
The two setters for Virginia Juniors, 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 handle offense. They distribute the ball to all areas of the net. Isabel can also bring an offensive presence to the game, banging balls from the right side as well as sweeping across the middle to produce a kill. In the match against Paramount she may have been Virginia Juniors most effective hitter.
At 6’2 Brianna Clay Brianna Clay 6'2" | MB Battlefield | 2024 State VA blocks the middle well and is adept at hitting the quicks. Libero Lanie Goff Lanie Goff 5'7" | DS/L Patriot | 2024 State VA plays a strong back row. She put together some nice digs against Paramount, especially a couple bullets by Kiylah Presley Kiylah Presley 6'0" | OH Bishop McNamara | 2024 State #114 Nation VA .
East Coast Power Marble 17
Highlights
East Coast was coming off an impressive third place finish in the American Division at the Mideast Qualifiers (pictured above). They won their first playoff match against SRVC Seagulls, but that led to a match against Blue Ridge, the eventual winner of the 17s. While the first set turned into a battle East Coast came up short 25-21, 25-14.
Left side Kendall Washington Kendall Washington 5'8" | OH Lightridge | 2024 State VA may not be the tallest player on the court but she may have been one of the more effective hitters. The 5’8″ dynamo blocked, hit back row and did everything a left side needs to do to score points. Conversely, Maura Fay Maura Fay 6'1" | OH Woodson | 2024 State VA at 6’1″ brings height to the left side. She can also hit right side. Adrienne Long Adrienne Long 5'10" | OH McLean | 2024 State VA fits in between those two at 5’10”. She bunched up a number of kills against Columbia Academy that kept EC competitive in the match.
A nice way for clubs to strengthen their lineup is to find a good set of twins to fill one third of the the floor. East Coast has that with setter Audrey Monlux Audrey Monlux 5'10" | S Georgetown Visitation | 2024 State VA and middle Julia Monlux Julia Monlux 5'10" | MB Georgetown Visitation | 2024 State VA . Both stand around 5’10. The lefthanded swing of Audrey gives her an advantage when she sets front row. Emily Reyburn Emily Reyburn 5'8" | S Bishop O'Connell | 2024 VA normally comes in to set from the back row.
Libero Autumn Richardson Peters provides the setters a consistent pass to fuel the offense.
Virginia Academy (VAVA) 16
They did not finish in the top two from the pool so they failed to advance into the playoff bracket. I witnessed their match against Paramount and came away impressed with their setter Michelle Kim Michelle Kim 5'8" | S Rock Ridge | 2025 State VA . Her hands float the ball nicely to a consistent spot at the pins, though at times they can drop a bit inside. She can also fire a quick shoot to the middle.
VAVA has a number of setters on their roster with Julie Xu Julie Xu 5'11" | RS Oakton | 2026 State VA and Emma Adiacontei Emma Adiacontei S Dominion | 2025 VA also capable setters. This leaves Jenna Hathaway Jenna Hathaway 5'10" | RS Independence | 2025 State VA , who set for Independence High hit the right side for VAVA. She banged some big kills in their game against Paramount to keep the team competitive.
Makenzie Dvorznak Makenzie Dvorznak 5'10" | OH Independence | 2025 State VA played a strong left side. She also contributed kills from the back row.
Virginia Jrs 16
Highlights
They finished pool play sweeping their competition to advance to the playoff bracket. Unfortunately, their first match came against a very strong MVSA Sparks team that finished second to eventual winner Metro 16 in pool play. MVSA came out on top 25-15, 25-22 and would later go on to capture a bid.
No player brings more potential talent to the floor than outside Alexis Ewing Alexis Ewing 6'3" | OH Bullis | 2025 State VA . Her whip like arm swing puts the ball to the floor as hard as anyone when her timing kicks in. Once the timing comes consistency follows. A girl filled with tremendous talent.
Juniors carries a number of pin hitters in Angelique Desamours Angelique Desamours 5'9" | OH bullis | 2025 State VA , Racquel Frazier Racquel Frazier 6'1" | OH St. Johns | 2025 State VA , Skylar Johnson, Destini Pickett Destini Pickett 5'10" | OH Forest Park | 2025 State VA , Zoe Strachan Zoe Strachan 6'0" | RS Forest Park | 2024 State VA and Ewing. Finding stage time for this large but talented cast has got to be a challenge.
Megan Phan Megan Phan 5'7" | S Bullis | 2026 State VA and Daisy Penthorn share setting duties. Sometimes they run a 5/1 and at other times a 6/2. A 6/2 allows four of the pin hitters to play.