USAV Junior Nationals Recap Four – The Undefeated

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Day one has ended for the 16s and 17s. Six teams finished the day undefeated. Consistency separates the champions from the also rans. We will see what tomorrow brings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["180296"],"_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-64a3a68758543"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Metro 17</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Day one did not come easy. While they swept all their games, three of the six games went into overtime. Four of the six were won by just two points. Two of the three wins came against teams seeded ahead of them. As I have said a number of times, the difference between winning by two points and losing by two points is just one person making a play. For Metro that one person seemed to come through.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180289' first='Lilah' last='Stevens']</strong> stepped it up in game one. With blockers focused on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180288' first='Emerson' last='Sellman']</strong> setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180281' first='Erin' last='Debiec']</strong> frequently dished the back sets to Lilah who consistently put the ball away against one person blocks. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu']</strong> showed improvement on her passing and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180296' first='Madison' last='Bowser']</strong> came up with some big blocks in the middle. Houston Skyline was the first to go down 27-25, 25-19.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I did not get a chance to watch the second match, but Metro battled it out to win 25-21, 26-24. The second team 1st Alliance Gold also went down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the third match Metro had two fairly big leads late in both sets and lost them against number one pool seed KC Power. In the first set KC played an out ball when ahead 26-25. Given new life, Metro was able to tie the game and ultimately, it finally came to an end with an <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180288' first='Emerson' last='Sellman']</strong> kill for a 32-30 win. The second game <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu']</strong> got the kill to give Metro a 24-23 lead and a KC hitting error ended the game 25-23. The third team KC Power went down. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["233000"],"_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-64a3a687585b2"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>EC Power Marble</strong> 2-0 and <strong>Virginia Jrs</strong> 17 2-0</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the Freedom Bracket both EC Power Marble and Virginia Juniors finished 2-0. They were the late games. EC Power swept the two teams seeded below them. Tomorrow will be their most challenging day when they have to play the three teams seeded ahead of them. Virginia Juniors lost the first set in the first match but bounced back to win the next four sets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["209795"],"_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-64a3a687585fc"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Paramount</strong> 17 3-0</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Paramount is the top seed in their pool. They did their thing pretty easily, sweeping all their opponents. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209795' first='Harlan' last='Wyche'] </strong>was on fire in the middle in the first match and could not be stopped. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180294' first='Kiylah' last='Presley'] </strong>sent balls down from the left side while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='244160' first='Nia' last='Gibson'] </strong>buried balls from the right. Those are three hitters who belong to the 10 foot club with their approach jump.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180285' first='Clara' last='Yu']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180282' first='Paige' last='Ahakuelo']</strong> shared the setting duties and had the blockers guessing with their diversity of choices. Libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181240' first='Natalie' last='Carlin']</strong> and defensive specialist <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='207594' first='Paula' last='Sigurani']</strong> kept the offense in system with their passing and defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["181309"],"_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-64a3a68758641"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Paramount </strong>16 2-0 </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I regret not watching their first match when they played the top seed in their pool A5 Pat. They pulled out both games 28-26, 25-23. With the momentum in their favor they won the next two matches fairly easily. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["181299"],"_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-64a3a68758685"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Blue Ridge</strong>16 3-0</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blue Ridge is seeded second in their pool. They were led by their two outsides <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181299' first='Ada' last='McCoy']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181302' first='Kennedy' last='Spaid']</strong>. After sweeping their first two matches they were beaten by <strong>Michio Chicago</strong> in the second set. Setter <strong>Alexandria Lynch</strong> served two aces in the third set to give Blue Ridge a 12-9 lead. Ada finished the game off with a kill to win 15-12. They have three more games tomorrow before playing the number one pool seed in their early Wednesday game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players Who Made Me Go "Wow"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209795' first='Harlan' last='Wyche']</strong> middle (Paramount) - The Fairfield commit was on fire with the quicks in the middle. She transitions well from the middle to the setter. When she played middle for me at 13s she always seemed to take that long, circuitous route to get to the setter when trying to find the middle. Her GPS for the position appears much smoother now.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Adriana Aquino</strong> libero (CMass Black) - Two years ago she hit outside for me as a frosh on the O'Connell JV team. She could jump out of the gym. Later, she made the Virginia Juniors team as a defensive specialist. She is now playing libero for CMass in Boston. Her passing has improved and she moves quickly on the floor. Liberos who once shined as outside hitters always seem to do well. She made me smile with her passing and defensive play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Janelle Green </strong>setter (KC Power) - This girl just knows how to set and plays her heart out. She ranks number 65 in our national ranking. She has committed to Cincinnati. At 5'9" she could be a tad small to play front row at Division I but I would not bet against her. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='360562' first='Keleigh' last='Chrisman']</strong> right side (Blue Ridge 17) - In my Virginia rankings I have her ranked 112 out of 120. That may have to change. Playing right side she was unstoppable against <strong>Alliance Ren</strong>. I have her listed as middle, but she can put some velocity on the ball as a right side. Perhaps that is the position for her.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kaira Knox </strong>right side (Alliance Ren) - Blue Ridge could not stop Kaira. Alliance ran a 5/1 so Kaira played six rotations. A strong girl, she put serious velocity on balls she hit from both the three meter line and right side. She belongs to the class of 2025 so is playing up, but she appears to be the go to hitter for the 17 team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->