Paramount Plays Big in Junior Nationals

In the big three day tournaments it does not matter how many games you win to finish at the top of the standings. It matters most when those wins occur. Paramount finished 4-3 (9-8) but found themselves playing in the gold bracket. Their ultimate fifth place finish could be the highest by a Chesapeake club in Junior Nationals history, at least in the Open Division. Up until a few years ago Chesapeake teams did not find themselves competing in the gold brackets at the Open level.   In a tightly contested pool Paramount found themselves deadlocked in a four way tie for first place at 3-2. Despite four of the five teams in their pool with a better point percentage, including the three other 3-2 teams, Paramount took first place in the pool despite giving up more points than they earned. The first tie breaker was set win percentage. Paramount won out with a 58.33 win percentage, taking first place in their pool.   The next objective was winning the crossover. A match against a highly favored Club V Ren Reed team stood in their way for a gold bracket appearance. Club V finished 4-1 in their pool, but that got them only a second place finish.   Paramount won the first 25-17. Club V destroyed them in the second set 13-25. It came down to that all important 15 point third set to establish their destiny. They won that game 15-13 and a spot in the top eight. [player_tooltip player_id='181098' first='Grace' last='Maria'] led the way in that win with her eight kills that included a .389 hitting percentage.   Last year Metro 17 lost to Club V 42-40 in an epic second set. They failed to convert on a number of match point opportunities. A third set loss eliminated them from a gold bracket appearance. Club V finished in third place while Metro dropped to 19th. This year at the 18 level Paramount finished fifth while Club V dropped to 13th.   Unfortunately for Paramount, their first match in the gold bracket came against the number one seed Drive Nation. Up until this point Drive Nation had not lost a match and had lost just one set. Drive Nation eliminated Paramount 25-11, 25-18. In the next match Wave would upset Drive Nation 26-24, 29-27. Wave would also win the championship match against Premier Nebraska. It went to a third set, with Wave winning 17-15.   Sometimes it comes down to a player making a play to win a point that can turn a two point loss into a two point victory. The more positive plays you make the better chances you have of winning those two point games. Interesting to note Paramount defeated second place Premier Nebraska in pool play, winning the second set 27-25 to get to a third set. Paramount won that third set 15-10.   Last year the 17 Paramount team earned their way to a gold bracket in the National Division. They lost a three set match to Rev City Raptors to finish fifth. This year the 18 team made some changes to improve their roster. [player_tooltip player_id='181098' first='Grace' last='Maria'] came over to play left side to strengthen the outside hitting. [player_tooltip player_id='181201' first='Hannah' last='Howard'], who hit left side last year moved to libero, a position she will fill at UMBC. Grace and Hannah were the primary passers in serve receive, sometimes the only passers in a two person serve receive rotation. [player_tooltip player_id='181201' first='Hannah' last='Howard'] earned a selection to the All Tournament team for Paramount.   Paramount improved their middles with the addition of [player_tooltip player_id='236647' first='Elizabeth' last='Stackpole'] and [player_tooltip player_id='233486' first='Elysa' last='Pulliam']. They also supplemented their roster by bringing up [player_tooltip player_id='180294' first='Kiylah' last='Presley'] and [player_tooltip player_id='209795' first='Harlan' last='Wyche'] from their 17 team. The promotions worked. Both Kiylah and Harlan contributed big kills and blocks to win critical games and bring a physical presence at the net. While it remained the same fifth place finish as last year, this one carried more satisfaction as it occurred in the Gold Bracket.   Metro finished their pool play with the same 3-2 record as Paramount. Despite having the second highest point differential in their pool they finished in fourth place. Skyline and Triangle, the only two teams to beat Metro during pool play both finished 4-1. Both games went three sets with Metro losing the first to Skyline 15-10 and the second to Triangle 16-14.   Metro would lose a crossover match to MIZ Long Beach in three. Dropping down to bronze they would win their last two matches to win the Bronze B bracket. Despite what had to be a disappointing finish, the overall season was a success for Metro with an overall end of season top 20 ranking (17th) in AES. For many of those players it is now on to their college careers.   None of the other Chesapeake or Old Dominion teams came away with winning records in their Divisions. This just shows how tough it can be to compete at the national level. The one exception was EC Power Delaware, who finished 6-2 (12-8) at the American Division level. The two losses came in their first two matches, which resulted in a third place finish in pool play, dropping them down to the second division. They won Flight two defeating the Houston Stars 18-16 in a third set.

In the big three day tournaments it does not matter how many games you win to finish at the top of the standings. It matters most when those wins occur. Paramount finished 4-3 (9-8) but found themselves playing in the gold bracket. Their ultimate fifth place finish could be the highest by a Chesapeake club in Junior Nationals history, at least in the Open Division. Up until a few years ago Chesapeake teams did not find themselves competing in the gold brackets at the Open level.