Metro 14 Playing at Another Level

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I went to another Maryland Jrs tournament to watch the 14 Open, 17 Open and 18 Open. Normally, I wait until the end of the year to write about 14 teams but the Metro team has been on a roll. They are ranked number 1 in the Chesapeake Region and number 9 nationally. It was time to check them out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They have had a lot of success in tournaments, finishing number 1 at the Charm City in Baltimore, number three at the Rock and Rumble in Cleveland, first at Capitol Hill Classic in DC and number 2 at the Mid Atlantic Power League (MAPL) in Hampton. In the MAPL tournament they beat two 16U teams and a strong [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] 15U team that is ranked number 84 nationally. The only team they lost to was [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 15, who at one time was rated as the top 15 team nationally. On Sunday, the 14U team played in Open. They dominated their opponents.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 18 Open Metro North showed that the regional teams have some talent to take home gold, defeating Maryland Jrs in the finals. Both teams will be competing in the Chesapeake Bid Regionals this Sunday for a trip to Baltimore. Metro North ranks number three in the Region. [program_tooltip program_id='494491' first='DMV' last='Elite'] (pictured) settled for the silver medal in the 17 Open after losing to a strong Premier Edge team out of Delaware. Finally, Maryland Jrs 13 swept their way to a gold. They are 32-0 and ranked seventh nationally.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>14 Open</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Watching this team warm up was an eye opener. A couple players already bring significant bounce off the floor after they hit. If I did not know better this could have been an 18 team warming up. As to be expected, they did not have much trouble with the opposition. With pool games starting at 4-4 in the two matches they played no team scored over 11 points against them. In the finals they beat Columbia 25-11, 25-10.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Perhaps the biggest bounce on the spikes was provided by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='787533' first='Chika' last='Onukwugha']</strong>. She is not tall now but her older sister, <strong>Chidinma Onukwugha </strong>stands 6'2" and plays middle for John Hopkins. If Chika reaches that height she will be scary good. Capitol Hill Classic voted her as the best attacker. At one point during her youth she played for Columbia Volleyball Academy. Ironic that in the Maryland Jrs tournament they beat Columbia in the finals. Chika is just a solid player who plays an excellent back row while passing and playing defense. She also fires missiles from the three meter line with her strong right arm. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chika is not the only talented player who puts some bounce on their spikes. <strong> [player_tooltip player_id='536719' first='Katherine' last='Mitchell']</strong> brings more length to the court, already listed at 5'11. While she does not hit with the power of Chika the ball still hits the floor with a bounce. She also plays six rotations, playing a smooth back row with her defense. At the Capitol Hill Classic she earned the MVP award. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another player who stood out was setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='536724' first='Ariel' last='Callwood']</strong>, who performed a standing one handed finger quick set to the middle that resulted in a kill. She earned best setter award at Capitol Hill. The libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='625589' first='Lauren' last='Wagner']</strong> played a strong back row and for this age put up some good out of system sets. She won best receiver award at Capitol Hill. <strong>Ana Woods</strong> hit strong from the right side or left and the middles impressed with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473872' first='Jocelyn' last='Gill']</strong>, <strong>Ayosa Stewart</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='721145' first='Claire' last='Tepper']</strong>. The 6'2" right side <strong>Chloe Canetto</strong> still needs a little work on her left handed swing but there is tremendous potential in her game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It will be fun to see how these girls perform in the qualifiers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>18 Open</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["206739"],"_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-65df6e5e141c0"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Gold Medal finals found Metro North playing against Maryland Juniors. To open up pool play Metro North had beaten Maryland Juniors 25-23, 25-23. Despite the loss, Maryland Juniors still managed a second place finish for a spot in the semi-final match. They disposed of Frederick Volleyball Club 25-13, 25-21. Metro North battled Alexandria Titans to a 27-25 first set win, then ransacked them pretty easily in the second set 25-9.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maryland Juniors did not have <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='517498' first='Ziqing' last='Zhou']</strong> on their roster for this tournament. If they hope to earn a bid this weekend for Baltimore junior nationals she would be a critical player. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='477413' first='Kiara' last='Harmon']</strong> provided most of their offense from the left side. She contributed at least five kills in the first set of the finals but they fell short 25-23. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='361569' first='Malani' last='Martin']</strong> took over for Ziqing on the left side and contributed to the offense as well. <strong> Kaiyana Rawlins </strong>saw most of the time at the libero position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Metro North is actually ranked number three in the 18U Chesapeake region, behind Metro travel and Virginia Elite. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='397548' first='Sonia' last='Breslawec']</strong> from the class of 2025 provided much of the offense, contributing from both the front and back row. Setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='515542' first='Kaylee' last='Fang']</strong> ran the offense setting a 5/1. She had a critical block in set one of the final to give Metro a 20-16 lead. The other left side for Metro North <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='515545' first='Jasmine' last='Sires']</strong> took control of the offense in their 25-16 set two victory that earned them the gold. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both Metro North and Maryland Jrs will suit up again Sunday to compete in the Chesapeake Bid Regionals for an opportunity to earn a bid to Nationals April 26-28 in Baltimore. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>17 Open</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='494491' first='DMV' last='Elite'] fell short the previous weekend of winning a medal in Orlando. While they would have preferred the gold they battled to snag a well deserved silver. In the semi-finals they narrowly beat a talented St. James Navy team 26-24, 25-23. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. James Navy won their three team pool to advance to the semi-finals. Their offense was led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='705676' first='Malia' last='Lei-Sam']</strong>, a smaller left side who brought smart placement to her kills and a good serve to the court. <strong>Paige Kessman</strong> set and played right side, even setting a 5/1 during at least one set I watched. She shared setting duties with <strong>Lauren Garrett. </strong> Paige is a taller setter at 6'0" who plays for Meridian High.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DMV pulled out both sets by two points. The stellar defense and passing by libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='520362' first='Abby' last='Nguyen']</strong> proved critical in both two point victories. Setter <strong>Elyssa Shifflet </strong>strung together three aces to help in the second set win. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='483590' first='Rania' last='Lahbibi']</strong> tipped a ball over the block to give DMV a 24-23 lead in set two. A missed connection on a quick set by St. James secured the final point for [program_tooltip program_id='494491' first='DMV' last='Elite'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Premier Edge</strong> was just too strong. They crushed <strong>Frederick Volleyball Academy</strong> in the semi-finals 25-5, 25-10. Earlier in the tournament during pool play they had swept [program_tooltip program_id='494491' first='DMV' last='Elite'] 25-17, 25-16. They did much of the same in the finals winning 25-16, 25-12. No team reached 20 points against them. They rank as the number three team in the Chesapeake Region at the 17U level. They also earned a third place finish at National Harbor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Elaina Millaway</strong> was difficult to stop from the left side. Not a surprise for someone voted first team All State for Delaware. When the [program_tooltip program_id='494491' first='DMV' last='Elite'] middle was late in the block Elaina just buried the ball to the floor She also provided some vibrant offense in the back row with her back row attacks and accumulated a number of aces serving the coffin corner in the five spot. A very athletic player who spends some time on the sand. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Other players who contributed in the Premier victory include setter <strong>Avery Pilger </strong>and middle<strong> Hannah McGuigan</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->