Virginia Elite and Juniors Dominate at Nike National Harbor

In the 15-18 Open Divisions Virginia Elite finished with two champions, but Virginia Juniors brought four teams to the final four with one finishing as champion. Two sisters won championships for two different clubs, [player_tooltip player_id='181234' first='Samia' last='Sayd'] helping Virginia Elite win the 18 Open championship while [player_tooltip player_id='438068' first='Ayla' last='Sayd'] led Virginia Juniors to a 15 Open championship (pictured above). They were not the only sister duos to snatch medals for different clubs. [player_tooltip player_id='284195' first='Daisy' last='Pentorn'] helped Virginia Juniors win a silver in the 17 Open while her younger sister [player_tooltip player_id='749757' first='Dakota' last='Pentorn'] helped Maryland Jrs win a bronze in the 14 Open.   As would be expected there were a number of tight games as these teams went through the final four. Below are the winners of the 15-18 Open at the Nike National Harbor tournament. Later this week there will be a discussion of the break out players, some of them mentioned below.   18 Open    Maryland Jrs got into the finals with a hard fought three set win over Virginia Jrs. Virginia Jrs won the opening set 25-16 but Maryland Jrs bounced back to win the final two 25-21, 15-10. Maryland Jrs turned to a 5/1 offense after some struggles in the first set, led by [player_tooltip player_id='515534' first='Jocelyn' last='Torres']. At one point Maryland Juniors was using [player_tooltip player_id='478765' first='Amy' last='Ye'] to set in the front row while Jocelyn set in the back row.   Virginia Juniors lost a couple of players from their 17 team to different clubs. [player_tooltip player_id='181234' first='Samia' last='Sayd'] went to Virginia Elite while [player_tooltip player_id='209790' first='Aubrey' last='Hatch'] moved on to [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] . This gave opportunities to [player_tooltip player_id='243772' first='Charizma' last='Lofton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='181230' first='Lydia' last='Darville'] to contribute on the left side. They also picked up two players from [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'], [player_tooltip player_id='209789' first='Seliz' last='Aktuglu'] provided some clutch kills on the right side but can also play left side. [player_tooltip player_id='209800' first='Sydney' last='Pham'], also from [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] usually came in to replace Seliz in the back row as a defensive specialist. [player_tooltip player_id='244159' first='Jaylyn' last='Simon'] set a 5/1 and at one point served seven points to help with the set one victory. Kiah Jackson used her height to form a wall at the net, including blocking a back row attack.   Maryland Juniors used [player_tooltip player_id='477413' first='Kiara' last='Harmon'] on the left side instead of her normal middle spot. She proved unstoppable, using her 6'2" frame to hit over blocks. [player_tooltip player_id='517498' first='Ziqing' last='Zhou'] may have been the top player at the tournament. When she swings the ball flies like bullets into the back row, cross court or down the line. When opponents were lucky enough to make a dig on one of her hits the ball usually travelled to the ceiling before crashing to the floor. She also passed well and played a scrambling defense. Her jump spin serve was powerful and would get my vote as the best serve in the tournament. It accumulated aces, hitting deep corners and diving in front of passers, with a success rate of over 90 percent.   Right side Kailani Williams came up big in the third set. While the blockers were cheating on [player_tooltip player_id='517498' first='Ziqing' last='Zhou'] from the left side [player_tooltip player_id='399506' first='Jocelyn' last='Rogers'] would slip a back set to Kailani Williams who strung together at least four kills to help win the third set 15-10. [player_tooltip player_id='399504' first='Tiffany' last='Blakely'] came on to play libero in the second set and strung together seven consecutive points on serves to lead Maryland Juniors to a second set win.   Virginia Elite also took three sets in their semi-final win over Delaware United. They won the opener 25-20, lost the second set 22-25 and took the third 15-10.   The finals between these two teams was a see saw ride in the first two sets. Maryland Jrs used the potent serving of [player_tooltip player_id='517498' first='Ziqing' last='Zhou'] to accumulate points. They also went back to the taller [player_tooltip player_id='478765' first='Amy' last='Ye'] setting front row while [player_tooltip player_id='515534' first='Jocelyn' last='Torres'] set from the back row. With the game tied 27-27 it ultimately came down to two ace serves from libero [player_tooltip player_id='399504' first='Tiffany' last='Blakely'] to win the first set for Maryland Jrs 29-27.   Virginia Elite came back to win the second set 26-24 led by the five point service run by [player_tooltip player_id='180298' first='Alice' last='Holoubek'], which included three aces as she peppered the line. She also had a kill off the block that advanced the score to 25-24. [player_tooltip player_id='180284' first='Chloe' last='Hokenson'] ended the game with a redirect block, 26-24. [player_tooltip player_id='180301' first='Elle' last='Jubeck'] had an ace serve to put Virginia Elite on the edge of victory 24-23 but her next serve went long by inches otherwise the game could have ended earlier.   Elle began game three with the serve, stringing together eight straight points. She began the game with an ace. [player_tooltip player_id='180298' first='Alice' last='Holoubek'] then led the offense with two kills and a block to score three of the first five points. She also contributed another block to make it 8-0. The duo of [player_tooltip player_id='181234' first='Samia' last='Sayd'] and Holoubek seemed to neutralize [player_tooltip player_id='477413' first='Kiara' last='Harmon'] on the left side. [player_tooltip player_id='180298' first='Alice' last='Holoubek'] virtually finished the game serving three points down the line, including one ace to advance the score to 14-3. The 6'5" [player_tooltip player_id='237239' first='Azavia' last='Thomas'] contributed two kills towards the victory, including a third game wining kill to end the game 15-3. Maryland Jrs. just did not have the block on the right side to stop her.   17 Open    Virginia Elite also won the 17 Division, losing only two sets along the way. One of those two sets was a 25-19 second set loss to Virginia Juniors in the finals. They were able to win the third set 15-11 to take home the gold.   Virginia Elite are led by pins [player_tooltip player_id='181298' first='Ana' last='Toumazatos'], [player_tooltip player_id='464589' first='Julia' last='Kelly'], [player_tooltip player_id='181243' first='Evelyn' last='Jurden'] and [player_tooltip player_id='475116' first='Jocelyn' last='Pye']. [player_tooltip player_id='181242' first='Shylah' last='Swope'] mixes it all together with her setting, along with [player_tooltip player_id='235328' first='Isabella' last='Tran']. This team has a number of weapons including a top libero [player_tooltip player_id='181279' first='Kadi' last='Pynchon'], whose defense can silence an offense.   Unfortunately, we did not get to catch any of the Virginia Elite 17 playoff matches. We were able to see Virginia Juniors eliminate Premier Edge in a semi-final match 25-22, 25-21. The big hitter on that team is their left side [player_tooltip player_id='235283' first='Racquel' last='Frazier']. She pounced on a set for the match winning kill. Her back row play has really improved since the last time I saw her play. Her passing is no longer a weak point in her game and she shows quick movement on defense, something usually not seen in players standing 6'1" in height. Teams still have a tendency to serve her to mess with her rhythm but she stays true to her form and provides a good pass before getting prepared to make a kill.   Jasmine Oduru looks good in the middle, along with [player_tooltip player_id='230817' first='Riley' last='Lynch'], allowing them to move [player_tooltip player_id='235324' first='Rowan' last='Johnson'] to block right side. The setting duties are shared by [player_tooltip player_id='284195' first='Daisy' last='Pentorn'] and [player_tooltip player_id='181245' first='Anisa' last='Flowers']. [player_tooltip player_id='223581' first='Skylar' last='Johnson'] also came up big on a number of plays from the right side. The back row responsibilities are shared by libero [player_tooltip player_id='184604' first='Nia' last='Thomas'] and class of 2025 defensive specialist [player_tooltip player_id='245602' first='Bridgette' last='Templeton'].   16 Open    Virginia Elite cruised over MVSA Sparks 25-13, 25-20. [player_tooltip player_id='377336' first='Callie' last='Agniel'] really impressed me with her left side hitting. She put together at least six kills to lead Virginia Elite to the first game rout. She also plays solid defense and passes well in her six rotation capacity. [player_tooltip player_id='204152' first='Sofie' last='Ferrell'] orchestrated the offense. She really impresses me with her actions near the net, including a one handed back set to the right side that resulted in a kill. She has a strong serve and puts up a good block at the net despite her 5'9" height. [player_tooltip player_id='377334' first='Josephine' last='Seekford'] performs well on the left side and [player_tooltip player_id='484750' first='Ellyson' last='Miller'] gets the job done on the right side, including playing six rotations and providing offense with a back row attack.   MVSA Sparks got some good offense from [player_tooltip player_id='412056' first='Elizabeth' last='Mitchell'] on the left side and [player_tooltip player_id='490898' first='Eliza' last='Lowe'] in the middle. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='346818' first='Charlotte' last='Deraleau'] continues to get points with her serve.   In the finals against Delaware United, Virginia Elite looked strong in the opener dominating the net 25-18. [player_tooltip player_id='377334' first='Josephine' last='Seekford'] had some big kills and [player_tooltip player_id='377336' first='Callie' last='Agniel'] continued with her excellent front row play, ending the set with a kill and contributing another kill to close the set to 23-17.   The second set did not go their way. Despite Delaware United missing their last three serves Virginia Elite could not take advantage by not earning points on their serve, eventually losing by two 25-23. The third set was another nail biter, with a free ball hit sailing wide left to end the match 15-13. Delaware United wins the gold in the 16 Open. Perhaps next year we will expand our focus to some Delaware players.   15 Open    Virginia Juniors won the 15 open, losing just one set in the tournament. They defeated a strong Maryland Juniors team 25-16, 25-20 in the finals. We only saw the last point of the final, but we did catch both teams in their semi-final matches.   Virginia Juniors rolled over Premier Edge 25-17, 25-21. They have a strong team with some impressive height. The top hitter is [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'], who still shows some inconsistency in her swing but she hits the ball hard. Juniors has her play six rotations to take advantage of her back row attack. She is listed as Katherine Lewis on the Virginia Juniors roster.   Coco combines with middle [player_tooltip player_id='530367' first='Ava' last='Gill'] and right side [player_tooltip player_id='484960' first='Kinsley' last='Zebatto'] to provide a wall in the front row. All have height for a 15 team. [player_tooltip player_id='359401' first='Chloe' last='Barth'], who brings a strong arm to the right side was relegated to back row play in the match I watched. [player_tooltip player_id='438068' first='Ayla' last='Sayd'] hits the other left side. While Ayla assisted Virginia Juniors in winning the 15 Open her older sister [player_tooltip player_id='181234' first='Samia' last='Sayd'] won a gold playing for Virginia Elite in the 18 open. [player_tooltip player_id='206729' first='Megan' last='Phan'] belongs to the class of 2026. Last year she played up an age. This year she moves down a couple ages, setting a 5/1 for the 15 Juniors team. To play at the 15 level Megan will be one of the top setters at that age group. She has multiple weapons to use at her disposal and gets an opportunity to run a 5/1 rather than sharing setting responsibilities under a 6/2.   For Maryland Juniors, they had not lost a set until their match against Virgina Juniors. In the semi-finals they dominated [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] 25-15, and 25-14. Left side [player_tooltip player_id='528707' first='Annika' last='Dandridge'] has long legs that spell increased growth to an already tall frame. Despite her long height she plays six rotations, bringing a good platform to her passing. [player_tooltip player_id='529251' first='Jessica' last='Li'] and Joelle Vassar share setting duties. [player_tooltip player_id='529248' first='Mariska' last='Ordonez'] brings good height to the right side. She shows a good arm swing for her kills. [player_tooltip player_id='849614' first='Noya' last='Offurum'] and [player_tooltip player_id='525348' first='Dylann' last='Loggins'] plugged up the middle. Vassor and Loggins ran a good middle quick in the semifinals, something you do not see a lot of at the 15 level. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='528705' first='Victoria' last='Small'] put together a number of nice defensive saves.   It was good to see a team like [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] advance to the final four. [player_tooltip player_id='471485' first='Kaelyn' last='Wharton'] impressed with her left side play and her back row attack. Kamila Hendrix brings soft hands for setting and has athleticism for the position. She just needs repetitions to learn to make the right choices. Need to watch them more. [player_tooltip player_id='532908' first='Olivia' last='Stroupe'] and [player_tooltip player_id='466569' first='Kathryn' last='Wagener'] are players to watch.

In the 15-18 Open Divisions Virginia Elite finished with two champions, but Virginia Juniors brought four teams to the final four with one finishing as champion. Two sisters won championships for two different clubs, Samia Sayd Samia Sayd 5'11" | OH Marshall | 2024 State VA helping Virginia Elite win the 18 Open championship while Ayla Sayd Ayla Sayd 6'0" | OH Marshall | 2027 State VA led Virginia Juniors to a 15 Open championship (pictured above). They were not the only sister duos to snatch medals for different clubs. Daisy Pentorn Daisy Pentorn 5'8" | S Arundel | 2025 State VA helped Virginia Juniors win a silver in the 17 Open while her younger sister Dakota Pentorn Dakota Pentorn 5'5" | S Annapolis Area Christian | 2027 State VA helped Maryland Jrs win a bronze in the 14 Open.