More Charm City Challenge Winners at 15 and 16

Yesterday we posted a story about the winners from the 17 and 18 age groups for Charm City Challenge in Baltimore. Below are the results of the 15 and 16 age groups.   16 Open   The number one seed Triangle won the 16 Open. While they swept through pool play on the first day against their first two opponents, they had to battle against East Coast Power KOP, needing three sets to finish them off 25-21, 19-25, 15-13. The two would meet again in the finals where it resulted in another three set scrum with Triangle coming out on top again 25-20, 17-25 and 19-17.   The above paragraph creates a bit of foreshadowing. On the first day Metro 16 appeared very dominant in their matches. They swept through their opponents. Only Beach Elite got to 20 points against them. On the second day their first opponent was East Coast Power KOP.   For Metro this was not the match to struggle with passing. In the first set Metro found themselves down early. They crawled back and at one point after a [player_tooltip player_id='227251' first='Morgan' last='Williams'] (pictured above) kill they tied the score 22-22. Metro struggled all game to stop the 6'2" middle Nora Busch, who again came to the forefront to bury a quick set to bring East Coast within one point to victory 24-22. Metro got the serve back after a [player_tooltip player_id='301696' first='Nadiya' last='Johnson'] kill from the right side made it 23-24. Another middle attack by Busch finished Metro off in the first set 25-23.   The second set Metro also got behind early. This time it did not take them long to get back into the game at 8-8. From there the two teams seemed to exchange points. [player_tooltip player_id='210539' first='Emma' last='Gardner'] came through with a kill to give Metro an 18-17 lead. After that kill the game unraveled. Three Metro hitting errors, a Colbie McKenna kill and a Regan Hill block ended the match 25-18. Metro went on to win their next match to finish fifth while East Coast KOP took their game to the finals where they lost for a second time to Triangle.   East Coast Power KOP brought some length to compete against the Metro size with their two 6'2" middles Nora Busch and Maddie Bush. Holland Van Deusen set a 5/1, dishing out a couple slide sets to Nora Busch. She ran the offense well and her serve resulted in a number of Metro shanked passes. Her twin sister Stalena Van Deusen hunkered down at the libero position. She made some incredible digs on a number of well driven missiles from the Metro pins. King of Prussia also received contributions from 6'1" outside Colbie McKenna. She played six rotations, providing offensive spark with her three meter attacks from the back row.   For Metro the one loss can be chalked up as a learning process. The lineups were varied as the coaches analyze what works best. You also want to give backups an opportunity to play to guard against injury later in the season. They have loads of talent on this team and learning about their strengths and weaknesses can only improve their skills as the season progresses.   Libero [player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick'] is pretty set in the lineup, while [player_tooltip player_id='377326' first='Elly' last='Vanlandingham'] and [player_tooltip player_id='218149' first='Giselle' last='Norris'] work for time at the defensive specialist spot. The pin hitter position remains crowded with [player_tooltip player_id='210539' first='Emma' last='Gardner'], [player_tooltip player_id='301696' first='Nadiya' last='Johnson'], [player_tooltip player_id='220923' first='Soleil' last='Rancourt'], [player_tooltip player_id='303701' first='Caydence' last='Doolan'], [player_tooltip player_id='227251' first='Morgan' last='Williams'] and [player_tooltip player_id='490643' first='Bryah' last='Breaux'] all getting playing time early in the season. Five of the six outsides are 6'2" or greater. Struggles will occur as they provide many with six rotation opportunities. Mistakes allow a learning process to occur.   They are also working in a new setter [player_tooltip player_id='325600' first='Taryn' last='Su'] to run a 6'2" with [player_tooltip player_id='321677' first='Charis' last='Burge']. Tempo with the middles still requires repetition. Three new middles [player_tooltip player_id='238341' first='Teodora' last='Stamenkovic'], [player_tooltip player_id='321679' first='Simone' last='Assasie'] and [player_tooltip player_id='333652' first='Gabriella' last='Vizek'] are sharing rotation time along with returner [player_tooltip player_id='321676' first='Gabrielle' last='Wigglesworth']. When it comes time to play the qualifiers after the Capitol Hill Classic Metro may run a more set rotation. The depth on this team is just crazy.   Other notes: [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] may have been more challenged playing in the Open. They breezed through the Premier division by sweeping all their opponents. They have a number of Virginia top ranked players on the roster with [player_tooltip player_id='221415' first='Lindsey' last='Canty'] on the outside, [player_tooltip player_id='333653' first='Elizabeth' last='York'] and [player_tooltip player_id='435745' first='Alyssa' last='Kumah'] in the middle, [player_tooltip player_id='397536' first='Aubrey' last='Parker'] setting and [player_tooltip player_id='397192' first='Kadie' last='Cardozo'] as the libero. Realistically, roster wise they would have fallen short of Triangle, East Coast Power KOP and Metro but it may have been a better learning opportunity for them.   15 Open   Triangle also took the 15 Open. While they had swept their first five matches Metro beat them in the opening set 25-16. Triangle bounced back to win the next two 25-13 and 15-10. This team offers tough serves and good defense, as well as some impressive pins. The six rotation left side Hailey Mueller stands 6'0" and hits everything hard. The two right sides Ava Bower and Scarlett Taylor can also play, along with the other left side Ally Forbes. When this team is clicking on all cylinders they are tough to beat. They were the number 1 seed in the tournament and nationally sit at number 11.   The number two seed Metro had an epic battle with the number three seed East Coast Power KOP to advance to the finals. Metro won the first set rather easily 25-16. Jadyn Johnson led East Coast to a second set win. She powered a kill down the line to give East Coast a 25-24 advantage and then finished it off with an ace serve for a 26-24 win.   Set three the two teams again battled with East Coast bouncing back from a 11-13 deficit to get within one 13-14 while also having serve. Metro overpassed the serve but [player_tooltip player_id='437441' first='Hunter' last='Ross'] was able to each high over the net for the stuff block on the attempted kill and Metro escaped with a 15-13 win.   East Coast ran a 5/1 with Marley Angelucci. It seemed most teams who ran a 5/1 achieved a lot of success. At the 18 open the two teams in the finals East Coast Power KOP and Virginia Elite ran a 5/1. [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] 16, who finished third in the 18 open also ran a 5/1. In the 17 Open Metro ran a 5/1. I did not watch the 16 Open to see if Triangle ran a 5/1 but East Coast Power KOP ran a 5/1. That is at least five of the seven teams that made it to the finals ran a 5/1 with Triangle an unknown.   Other players on King of Prussia who impressed were libero Mia Mobley, who played good defense and covered most of the court for passing in a two person serve receive on some rotations. Sarah Moy played an aggressive middle.   Metro 15 lacks the height of the Metro 16 team, but they still have growth ahead of them. They certainly bring athleticism to the floor. While I did not see [player_tooltip player_id='385968' first='Macie' last='Murray'] listed on the Charm City roster she did contribute a number of kills in Metro's semifinal win over East Coast. [player_tooltip player_id='290176' first='Kieran' last='Rhoton'] created havoc on the right side with her kills. [player_tooltip player_id='437441' first='Hunter' last='Ross'] rises as a force in the middle, blocking a number of balls in the middle, including the match winner in the semi-finals. [player_tooltip player_id='437443' first='Kaniyah' last='Ball'] plays a strong libero while [player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum'] and [player_tooltip player_id='478903' first='Barrett' last='Bolter'] share the setting duties. It is a team that finds itself sitting number 17 in the USAV Advanced Event System rankings.   Other notes: [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] won the 12 age group. They did not lose a set. Perhaps they were inspired by our number 10 prospect in the class of 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='233008' first='Greta' last='Barvick'] who was their assistant coach. Greta never really received a lot of interest from colleges as a player so she is now helping her mom coach the younger age group. She has at least four sisters following her in their pursuit of volleyball.   :

Yesterday we posted a story about the winners from the 17 and 18 age groups for Charm City Challenge in Baltimore. Below are the results of the 15 and 16 age groups.