Four Teams in the Top Five in the Big South

Four teams in Virginia finished in the top five in the Big South qualifier. That is still short of earning a bid, but still quite the accomplishment. All of these teams have already earned a bid. They are seeking a chance to play at a higher level.    Metro 15 (Open)     Metro has already qualified for the Junior Nationals in Las Vegas by winning the Chesapeake Regional bid. This qualified them for the National Division. What they hope for is to compete in the Open Division.     They started the Big South qualifiers hot with three sweeps on day one. Day two started out well when they beat both teams in their pool. CC Jrs took them to three, but Metro took the third set 15-10.     For the crossover match they played Elevation 15 Tony. Elevation swept them in both sets 25-17. Both these teams would finish in a tie for fifth place. While this loss did not eliminate Metro from the gold bracket it did force them to play at a lower seed. To qualify for a bid they would have to win their pool as the number 2 seed instead of playing as a top seed.     Metro swept past the third seed Academy Diamond. That put them up against the number one seed and undefeated EXCEL National Red. Metro lost the first 25-23 but hammered them in the second 25-8. Metro could not sustain that momentum in the third set, losing 15-9.     The strength with Metro lies with their left sides, [player_tooltip player_id='377396' first='Alexa' last='Telly'], [player_tooltip player_id='385968' first='Macie' last='Murray'], [player_tooltip player_id='437457' first='Jasmin' last='Tucker'] and [player_tooltip player_id='437985' first='Zora' last='Dimbo']. They can mix and match depending on whose hot and making the plays. Their right sides [player_tooltip player_id='469197' first='Olivia' last='Garey'], [player_tooltip player_id='290176' first='Kieran' last='Rhoton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='437988' first='Sasha' last='Plummer'] can also make an impact. Middles [player_tooltip player_id='437441' first='Hunter' last='Ross'] and [player_tooltip player_id='437446' first='Alli' last='Robinson'] helped Flint Hill win a state championship playing as frosh.     Setter [player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum'] won top setter at the DC Capitol Hill Classic. She runs a 6'2" with [player_tooltip player_id='478903' first='Barrett' last='Bolter'] who set for Broadneck High in Annapolis as a frosh. [player_tooltip player_id='437443' first='Kaniyah' last='Ball'], who belongs to the class of 2028 handles libero duties.     The Northeast Qualifier in Philadelphia on April 19-21 is the next opportunity for Metro to earn a bid in the Open Division. That is the last qualifier on their schedule.     Virginia Jrs 15 (USA)      At the Chesapeake Regionals Virginia Jrs qualified for the USAV Junior Nationals by finishing third, making them eligible to play in the Freedom Division, A good finish in the USA Division would up their profile, playing at a higher level.     Like Metro, Virginia Juniors finished day one with three wins, sweeping all of their opponents. On day two they won their first two matches, which earned them a gold bracket appearance. They lost the third match to A5 15-3 Brett, taking it to three sets. The third set A5 won 19-17.   While this gave them the lower seed it may have worked out in their favor. A5 15-3 Brett lost in the first round to M2VBALL, who went on to finish fourth to earn a bid. Virginia Juniors swept their first opponent OT Brad. OK Charge, who had already qualified for USA then swept Virginia Juniors to end their journey in fifth place.     Juniors top hitter is 6'1" left side [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis']. She attacks from the front row and back row and for her size has the ability to pass and play defense. They also run a 5/1 offense around setter [player_tooltip player_id='206729' first='Megan' last='Phan']. Their other 6'0" left side [player_tooltip player_id='438068' first='Ayla' last='Sayd'] can also put the ball away as well as right side [player_tooltip player_id='359401' first='Chloe' last='Barth']. They also carry a couple back row options in [player_tooltip player_id='472384' first='Kate' last='Bickel'] and [player_tooltip player_id='438070' first='Camryn' last='Coulther'] that keeps the offense running with their stellar passing and defense.     Like Metro, Virginia Juniors has the Northeast Qualifiers in Philadelphia on April 19-21. This also appears to be the last qualifier on their schedule..     Metro 16 (Open)      Metro has also qualified for the National Division after winning the Chesapeake Regional Bid. As for all Metro teams their ultimate goal is to qualify for Open. They got off to a sleepy start by losing their opener to USA South Premier Purple. After winning the first set 25-18 they crumbled in the last two 17-25, 9-15. Fortunately, they were able to recover by sweeping their next two opponents.     On the second day, they won all three matches. They did lose the first set of their third match against Jupiter Elite 17-25 but bounced back to win their next two 25-21, 15-12. This success earned them a high seed in the gold bracket.     They swept past JJVA Teal in their first match, though the second set went overtime (27-25). In the second match they went up against NKYVC Tsunami and got blistered in two sets by the same 25-16 score. Tsunami finished second in the tournament to Academy Diamond.     Metro 16 has some incredible talent in pin hitters [player_tooltip player_id='303701' first='Caydence' last='Doolan'], [player_tooltip player_id='227251' first='Morgan' last='Williams'], [player_tooltip player_id='210539' first='Emma' last='Gardner'] and [player_tooltip player_id='301696' first='Nadiya' last='Johnson']. Except for Caydence who lists 5'11" the other three stand 6'2" or greater. Height alone will not guarantee you victories. Those teams who remain consistent in their play and keep rallies alive will win the two point sets that allow teams to advance.     [player_tooltip player_id='238341' first='Teodora' last='Stamenkovic'] was not available for middle play because of an ankle injury. That forced Metro to rely on [player_tooltip player_id='321676' first='Gabrielle' last='Wigglesworth'], [player_tooltip player_id='333652' first='Gabriella' last='Vizek'] and [player_tooltip player_id='321679' first='Simone' last='Assasie'] to cover the middles. They lose a bit in height with Tea's absence. [player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick'] is the primary libero while [player_tooltip player_id='321677' first='Charis' last='Burge'] and [player_tooltip player_id='325600' first='Taryn' last='Su'] share the setting duties.     Metro will next compete in the Northeast Qualifier in Philly April 26-28. This could be their last opportunity to achieve an open bid.     540 VB 16 Elite (USA)    It is my understanding 540 has already earned a National Division Bid by winning the Old Dominion Regionals, though that has not yet been officially recorded by USAV volleyball. 540 VB Elite got off to a strong start by winning their first six matches, though the opening and last match went three.     Once they got to the gold bracket they defeated their first opponent CJV National White in three. They lost the opener 22-25 but recovered to win the last two sets 25-17, 15-8. Their second match came against the undefeated A5 16-2 Stephen, who would end up winning the tournament. A5 would only lose one set all tournament and it was not to 540, who were swept 25-17, 25-18.     This 540 team carries a lot of talent. Middles [player_tooltip player_id='397397' first='Jasmine' last='Williams'] and [player_tooltip player_id='435745' first='Alyssa' last='Kumah'] carry this offense. Alyssa actually belongs to the class of 2027 and can hit outside. [player_tooltip player_id='221415' first='Lindsey' last='Canty'], [player_tooltip player_id='497909' first='Riley' last='A. Forehand'] and [player_tooltip player_id='395523' first='Kylee' last='Cookson'] share the left side duties. Sometimes they run a 5/1 with [player_tooltip player_id='397536' first='Aubrey' last='Parker'] but they can also turn to a 6/2 with [player_tooltip player_id='464563' first='Elizabeth' last='Robinson'] or [player_tooltip player_id='290419' first='Sanai' last='Jones'] setting. Sanai can also play libero/defensive specialist, but the primary libero is [player_tooltip player_id='397192' first='Kadie' last='Cardozo']. The 6'3" [player_tooltip player_id='333653' first='Elizabeth' last='York'] can be an impactful player on the right side with her ability to put up a formidable block and multiple attack options.     540 will next venture into the hot bed of Texas April 19-21 for the Lone Star Classic Qualifier. They will also play in the Northeast Qualifier on April 26.     Chesapeake Chirps - Academy Diamond won the 16 Open at the Big South. Normally middle [player_tooltip player_id='229773' first='Evie' last='Ballengee'] plays for them. It appears she got bumped up to play for the Academy Diamond 17 team with [player_tooltip player_id='196556' first='Caleigh' last='Ponn']. They did not have as much success as the 16 team, losing their last four matches to finish in 17th place....Though they reside in Delaware, the Renaissance Black 17 finished in second place in the American Division. Unfortunately, they only issue one bid in this division and that goes out to the winner. Still a good showing for Renaissance.

Four teams in Virginia finished in the top five in the Big South qualifier. That is still short of earning a bid, but still quite the accomplishment. All of these teams have already earned a bid. They are seeking a chance to play at a higher level.