Metro and Paramount Earn Bids for Nationals
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Once upon a time in the Chesapeake Region you had Metro and then everyone else. That was then. This is now. While Metro won 4 of the five Chesapeake Regionals it did not come easy. While their total match record…
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Continue ReadingOnce upon a time in the Chesapeake Region you had Metro and then everyone else. That was then. This is now. While Metro won 4 of the five Chesapeake Regionals it did not come easy. While their total match record stood at 24-1 (48-4) they experienced some battles along the way. As the region gets more competitive the talent finds other clubs. Metro can only accommodate so many girls for their travel teams, though their regional teams appear to be on the road more.
When the Chesapeake Regional ended all four Metro 14-17 age groups had earned a bid as well as Paramount . MVSA had earned three bids, while Virginia Juniors had taken two bids. Premier Edge, Liberty Elite, Virginia Elite all came away with one bid. Maryland Juniors came in fifth place in three of the age groups so they could still find a bid depending on if reallocation occurs. Virginia Juniors finished fifth in one age group.
Our focus for this tournament stayed on the 15 age group. Below is a summary of the results, starting with the 15s.
The 15 Qualifier – Metro Aces Paramount
The teams were broken out into four pools of three teams each. The top three teams, Metro, Paramount and Virginia Juniors won their pools and earned a bye for the second round of play. Premier Edge pulled the upset by defeating Maryland Juniors in three sets 15-25, 25-22 and 15-11.
Maryland Juniors held a 9-6 lead in the third set but failed to finish it. Madisson Pierce finished the game off with a couple kills at the end and Isabella Meekins proved to be a force in the middle. Maryland Juniors is loaded with talent, beginning with left sides Annika Dandridge Annika Dandridge 5'11" | OH TCHS Of Baltimore | 2027 State VA (pictured hitting above) and Haile Ma Haile Ma 5'10" | OH Wootton | 2027 State VA . At 6’2″ Dylan Loggins Dylan Loggins 6'2" | MB Howard | 2026 State VA put down some statement kills from the middle. Maryland Juniors fell short the first time they played Premier. They would play them again in a one set reallocation bracket match. Maryland Juniors won 25-20.
The loss may have hurt Maryland Juniors in their hunt for a bid. For the next round the teams were placed in a three team single elimination bracket. The top seed earned a bye and played the winner of the first round. Maryland Jrs was forced to play number two seed Virginia Juniors instead of playing the winner of the Metro North/MVSA Charge match.
Maryland Juniors disposed of MOJO Elite Black fairly easily 25-9, 25-15. They failed to get past the Virginia Juniors team, led by Coco Lewis Coco Lewis 6'2" | OH Herndon | 2027 State VA and Ayla Sayd Ayla Sayd 6'0" | OH Marshall | 2027 State VA on the left side and Chloe Barth Chloe Barth 5'9" | RS James Madison | 2027 State VA on the right. Megan Phan Megan Phan 5'7" | S Bullis | 2026 State VA controlled the offense setting a 5/1. Coco fired missiles from the back and front row and knocked Maryland Juniors out of the bid bracket 25-19, 25-18.
In the fourth bracket, after MVSA Charge downed Metro North 25-15, 25-19 they pulled off their own mini upset by beating Premier Edge 25-14, 25-23. The Charge were led by middles Lucille Deraleau Lucille Deraleau 5'7" | RS Churchill | 2027 State VA and the 6’3″ Siyena Fitsum Siyena Fitsum 6'3" | MB Churchill | 2027 State VA . Emilia Zhang Emilia Zhang OH Walter Johnson | 2027 State VA and Saesha Dhote Saesha Dhote 5'7" | OH Richard Montgomery | 2027 State VA provided offense from the left side while Ana Djordjevic Ana Djordjevic 5'5" | DS/L Richard Montgomery | 2027 State VA controlled the back row with her passing and defense.
The other two bid brackets were controlled by Metro and Paramount . Metro beat MVSA Wild 25-18, 25-8 while Paramount disposed of Liberty Elite 25-16, 25-17. The four teams to earn bids to Nationals had been decided. Now it was time to determine their place in the bidding order.
This came down to four team single elimination matches. Metro easily beat MVSA Charge 25-17, 25-13 while Paramount took down Virginia Juniors 25-13, 25-14. The finals turned into an epic match.
Metro tried their best to stop Taylor Harrington Taylor Harrington 6'2" | MB Wakefield | 2027 State VA in the middle, putting up two blocks against her, but Taylor won most of those battles. Paramount carried the lead for most of the first set with two Kayla Luther Kayla Luther 5'8" | OH Loudoun County | 2027 State VA kills providing a 4-1 advantage. Metro stayed close but a Taylor Harrington Taylor Harrington 6'2" | MB Wakefield | 2027 State VA kill and block and two more Kayla Luther Kayla Luther 5'8" | OH Loudoun County | 2027 State VA kills kept Parmount’s lead at three, 16-13 and 18-15. Jasmin Tucker Jasmin Tucker 6'0" | OH St. Pauls Girls | 2027 State VA had a big block for Metro that closed the score to 17-18. Right side Olivia Garey Olivia Garey 6'2" | RS West Potomac | 2027 State VA contributed two kills and a block to put Metro ahead 23-21. An ace serve delivered by Barrett Bolter Barrett Bolter 5'7" | S Broadneck | 2027 State VA (pictured above) actually gave Metro their first lead of the set 21-20. Alli Robinson Alli Robinson 6'1" | MB Flint Hill | 2027 State VA put the finishing touches on the set with a block and kill to score the last two points, 25-21.
Paramount also controlled the start of the second set with left side Louise Neuhart Louise Neuhart 6'0" | OH Independence | 2027 State VA leading the way with an ace and a kill and Taylor Harrington Taylor Harrington 6'2" | MB Wakefield | 2027 State VA contributing two blocks and a kill for a 7-2 advantage. Metro battled back with an Olivia Garey Olivia Garey 6'2" | RS West Potomac | 2027 State VA kill giving them their first lead at 20-19. A Caycee Chhum Caycee Chhum 5'7" | S Georgetown Day | 2027 State VA ace extended that lead to 21-19. Hunter Ross Hunter Ross 6'1" | MB Flint Hill | 2027 State VA put Metro within three points of victory with a block to move the score to 22-20. Sofia Delarosa Sofia Delarosa 5'10" | OH Bishop McNamara | 2026 State VA gave Paramount serve back with a kill and a Taylor Harrington Taylor Harrington 6'2" | MB Wakefield | 2027 State VA block put Paramount ahead again 23-22. Two Metro hitting errors finished the game 25-22.
In set three Paramount scored the first four points and carried a 7-3 lead halfway through the set courtesy of three Taylor Harrington Taylor Harrington 6'2" | MB Wakefield | 2027 State VA kills. Paramount held onto the lead up until 13-12, but a hitting error tied the score at 13-13. With Metro up 14-13 they appeared to win the game when the line judge called a serve in the deep corner in. As the Metro players began their pile on celebration the referee blew the whistle to reverse the call and the game was tied 14-14. The two teams kept exchanging points, with Metro always keeping their match point advantage up to 18-17. Libero Kaniyah Ball Kaniyah Ball 5'5" | DS/L Frederick | 2028 VA served an ace well inside the court to give Metro the match. A second pile on celebration began.
Despite starting their game much later, the 16 team had won their championship match over Paramount as well and came over to watch the 15 match when Metro was down 10-11. With no other matches going on that brought a big crowd to court 1. One Metro parent could be seen pacing back and forth as the two teams exchanged points, afraid to look at the court for fear of jinxing the result. It was a fun match to watch. Both teams battled well.
Metro wins the National bid. Paramount takes the American bid. Virginia Juniors and MVSA Charge earn the Freedom bids.
The 16 Qualifier – Metro Over Paramount Again
For the 16’s it was pretty obvious who was going to play in the finals. Determining the last two bids would be the challenge. Metro had no problem winning their three team bracket. Paramount experienced troubles with MVSA Sparks in their first set, barely squeaking out a win 27-25 but winning the second set 25-18.
Virginia Juniors pulled off a mild upset over third seeded Maryland Juniors 25-19, 25. 21. In the fourth pool each team finished 1-1 but the top seed Renaissance swept Premier Edge to finish with the top set record. Because MVSA Fusion lost in three sets to Rennaissance their three losses dropped them to third place. The pool followed the seeding in order of finish.
Metro carries some impressive pin hitters in Caydence Doolan Caydence Doolan 5'11" | OH North Hagerstown | 2026 State VA (pictured above), Morgan Williams Morgan Williams 6'4" | OH Lake Braddock | 2026 State VA , Emma Gardner Emma Gardner 6'3" | OH WT Woodson | 2026 State VA , Nadiya Johnson Nadiya Johnson 6'2" | RS North Point | 2026 State VA and Soleil Rancourt Soleil Rancourt 6'2" | OH Patriot | 2026 State VA . That numbers five players for four positions. Caydence ranks as the most complete with the ability to pass and play defense. With the ankle injury to middle Teodora Stamenkovic Teodora Stamenkovic 6'2" | MB Bishop O'Connell | 2026 State VA that provided extra playing time for middles Gabriella Vizek Gabriella Vizek 6'0" | RS Riverside | 2026 State VA , Gabrielle Wigglesworth Gabrielle Wigglesworth 5'9" | MB Georgetown Day | 2026 State VA and Simone Assasie Simone Assasie 5'9" | MB Urbana | 2026 State VA . Instead of four players vying for two positions it whittled down to three. Metro swept past Maryland Juniors Black 25-10, 25-20.
Paramount, Virginia Juniors and MVSA Sparks swept through their opponents to advance to the bid bracket. Metro did not have any trouble disposing of MVSA Sparks, sweeping them 25-13, 25-9. Paramount won their opener against Virginia Juniors 25-16 but struggled in the second set. Morgan Reeves Morgan Reeves 5'10" | OH St. Johns | 2026 State VA pulled off a successful roll shot to tie the game at 22-22. The two teams exchange hitting errors but a kill by Meisha Sykes Meisha Sykes 6'2" | MB Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. | 2026 State VA gave Metro the 24-23 lead. Raegan Lentz Raegan Lentz 6'0" | MB Whitman | 2026 State VA finished it off with an ace.
The 16 championship match started well after the 15 championship match. It finished quickly with Metro winning 25-10, 25-19.
Metro comes away with the National bid. Paramount earns the American bid. MVSA Sparks and Virginia Juniors take the two Freedom bids. Blue Ridge , who ranks number 26 in the country, just ahead of Metro (28) will play in AAUs. In head to head matches they had lost to Paramount twice.
The 17 Qualifier – Metro Over Virginia Elite
This tournament took place at a different facility so I did not get a chance to watch any of the play. The one upset was that Premier Edge took down the fourth seed MVSA Starz 30-28, 19-25 and 15-7. Metro and Paramount both swept. Virginia Elite had a bit of a struggle, needing three sets to vanquish their two opponents. They barely slipped past Liberty Elite 21-25, 25-18, 17-15. They then lost the opener to Maryland Juniors Black 22-25 but recovered to take the last two sets 25-15, 15-10.
Metro, Paramount, Virginia Elite and Premier Edge were able to sweep through their opponents to earn a spot in the bid bracket. The fourth seed MVSA Stars got beaten by Paramount to fall out of bid contention. They also lost to Virginia Juniors 25-23 to fall far behind in the bid reallocation process. Virginia Juniors beat Liberty Elite 26-24 to fall next in line for a reallocation bid.
Premier Edge gave Metro a battle in the first round, losing both sets 25-22. Virginia Elite battled Paramount to a three set victory 25-22, 21-25, 15-11. The final was all Metro 25-18, 25-22.
Metro wins the National bid. Virginia Elite gets the opportunity to compete in the American division. Paramount and Premier Edge earn the Freedom bid.
14 Qualifier – Paramount defeats Metro
When I watched Metro 14 play I did not think another 14 team carried the talent on the roster to beat them. Paramount seemed to have it. I have not seen Paramount 14 play but they swept past their opposition without giving up 20 points. That included Metro 25-19, 25-19.
Paramount earns the National bid. Metro settles for the American bid. MVSA Force and Liberty Elite find themselves in the Freedom bid.
Chesapeake Chirps: American 15 flew to Saint Louis to play in a Qualifier instead of competing in the Chesapeake Bid Regional. They played in the Liberty Division. Advancing to the gold appeared promising when they swept through their opponents on the first day to finish 3-0. Hopes took a tumble the next day when they were swept, with two of their three losses taking three sets…..The Old Dominion Region also competed for their Bids on Sunday. Unfortunately, they do not report their results in AES. You have to hunt for them. 540 Academy 16 elite appears to have earned a bid to the National Division, finishing 5-0 on the day.