DMV Success in NE Qualifiers and 18 Junior Nationals

A number of teams achieved success in the 18 Junior National championships and the Northeast Qualifiers for 16 and 17 over the weekend. Metro 16 earned a spot in the Open Division in the Northeast Qualifier. [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] also earned bids in both the 16 and 17 USA Division but declined the bids. If they play in a championship it may be the AAUs in Florida, a site much closer to them.   Junior National Championships Virginia Elite   Virginia Elite was the only DMV team to survive into the gold bracket in the Junior Nationals. They played in the American Division. They won six of their first seven games to climb into gold. [player_tooltip player_id='181234' first='Samia' last='Sayd'] did a good job hitting right side. With [player_tooltip player_id='180284' first='Chloe' last='Hokenson'](Emerson) setting a 5/1 she got some opportunities to play back row.   Their one power hitter is the left side [player_tooltip player_id='237239' first='Azavia' last='Thomas'] North Carolina Charlotte), but she still has some rawness to her game so there can be some inconsistencies with her hitting. When she finds a zone she becomes difficult to stop. [player_tooltip player_id='515601' first='Claire' last='Burducea'] lacks the fire power of Azavia, but she plays six rotations and finds open spots on the floor. While she may not hit as hard as Azavia her game remains consistent.   The real strength with this team lies with their back row players. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='180301' first='Elle' last='Jubeck'](Mary Washington), [player_tooltip player_id='180303' first='Karen' last='Cao'] and [player_tooltip player_id='209798' first='Emily' last='Kearney'](Bucknell) make both the routine and spectacular play. Karen comes in for Azavia in the back row and seems to always chalk up one incredible defensive play each set where she finds herself sprawling to the floor to save a ball from hitting the floor.   Virginia Elite won their opener in the gold bracket defeating a tall Alabama Performance 27-25, 25-14. In the opener [player_tooltip player_id='181234' first='Samia' last='Sayd'] delivered two kills to give Virginia Elite 24-23 and 25-24 leads. After Alabama Performance tied the game 25-25 they committed two hitting errors to provide Virginia Elite with the 27-25 victory.   The second set [player_tooltip player_id='181234' first='Samia' last='Sayd'] had three early kills and an ace to give Virginia Elite a 7-3 lead. [player_tooltip player_id='180298' first='Alice' last='Holoubek'] (Mary Washington) contributed three kills and two blocks from the middle to put the game out of reach. Her third kill advanced the score to 22-11.   In the finals Elite battled Aspire Black. In the first set [player_tooltip player_id='515601' first='Claire' last='Burducea'] (Franklin & Marshall) and [player_tooltip player_id='181234' first='Samia' last='Sayd'] each knocked down a kill to keep Virginia Elite within one 21-22 and 22-23. A dump by Aspire setter Julia Owens (Nebraska Omaha) and a kill by right side Tania Howard (Idaho State) gave Aspire a 25-22 win. In the second set Virginia Elite fell apart with their passing and before you could blink an eye they were behind 22-9. The 25-15 loss put them in third in the American Division.   Junior National Championships Metro   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/03/Isabel.jpg?w=683" alt="" class="wp-image-186087" style="width:151px;height:auto" /></figure>   Metro lost their opener to 1st Alliance. In their first set they fell behind early 14-19 but battled back, with two [player_tooltip player_id='180289' first='Lilah' last='Stevens'](Navy) kills from the right side tying the game 23-23. [player_tooltip player_id='180281' first='Erin' last='Debiec'] (Colorado State) produced an ace and a hitting error by Alliance gave Metro a 25-23 win. They fell behind in the second set as well, but a comeback was not in the making as they lost 25-18. For the third set two kills by Grace Nelson (Kansas) stretched the 1st Alliance lead to 12-9. They would never look back winning 15-11. 1st Alliance would go on to finish in second place, despite missing more than half of their starters, who chose to go to their prom instead.   After losing to Mintonette Sports in the second bracket play 15-25, 25-21, 14-16 Metro played two crossovers in an attempt to qualify for the gold bracket. They won the first over Madfrog, but lost the second to Minnesota Select 25-20, 25-20. That dropped them to the silver bracket.   They won the silver bracket downing Dallas Skyline in three 25-15, 20-25 and 15-9. [player_tooltip player_id='338991' first='Eve' last='McLaury'](Brown) took over the libero position after an injury to [player_tooltip player_id='180300' first='Mailinh' last='Godschall'] (Duke). [player_tooltip player_id='181303' first='Isabelle' last='Bardin'] (Purdue) contributed a couple right side kills to advance the Metro lead to 13-8. A [player_tooltip player_id='181315' first='Sierra' last='Evans'](Ohio) kill in the middle put them at game point and an ace by [player_tooltip player_id='180281' first='Erin' last='Debiec'] gave them the win 15-9.   Metro played with a number players from the class of 2025. [player_tooltip player_id='181303' first='Isabelle' last='Bardin'] (Purdue), [player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu'] (Georgia Tech), [player_tooltip player_id='181300' first='Alexis' last='Ewing'] (Penn State), [player_tooltip player_id='309024' first='Caroline' last='Lang'] (Virginia) and [player_tooltip player_id='249341' first='Baylee' last='Doolan'] (Navy) all have another year of high school volleyball awaiting them. Baylee got to play a little front row in Metro's 29-27 win over MKE Sting. She contributed some impressive kills when Sting chose to ignore her thinking she was just a defensive specialist. Little did they realize the 5'8 defensive specialist led North Hagerstown to the Maryland state championship with her left side hitting. In the matches that I watched Isabelle was limited to hitting right side, but she also contributed as an alternate setter during rallies.   Junior National Championships (Other)   Renaissance held their own in the American Division. They won their first six matches, then lost in a crossover to EVA Elite 18-25, 25-21, 15-6. This loss dropped them down to the Silver A bracket where they won the semi-final match but lost the final to finish in 11th place.   They are not a big team relying on smaller pin hitters in right side [player_tooltip player_id='309025' first='Payton' last='Swinton'] (Coppin State) and [player_tooltip player_id='192633' first='Kendall' last='Washington']. Both players can play six rotations and contribute offense from the front row. [player_tooltip player_id='309026' first='Lindsay' last='Kelley'] (Bridgewater) operates a 5/1. Since this was the first year as a club for Renaissance it was a very good showing.   Enjoyed watching [program_tooltip program_id='506397' first='River' last='Valley Juniors'] play. While they finished tied for 21st their offense relied on two sophomores [player_tooltip player_id='452562' first='Sophie' last='Taylor'] and [player_tooltip player_id='495264' first='Ela' last='Shepherd']. Ela sets and swings left handed. She can stay on the right to hit where she contributed 200 kills in high school. Sophie is a 6'1" left side who won state player of the year in Class one. She struggled a bit with her hitting against the older competition but still held her own. Sophie showed some good hands when forced to set a bad pass.   Another player who impressed was home schooled Nalanie Neal. She had a fast arm swing but sometimes fell into trouble with a poor transition to the ball, leaving her out of position to hit. She belongs to the class of 2024 so this would be her last year. Libero Audrey Stenger (Christopher Newport) also played well but she also graduates after this year.   Northeast Qualifiers   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/06/39-Caydence-Doolan1.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-205199" style="width:131px;height:auto" /></figure>   In the Northeast Qualifiers Metro 16 qualified for Open. That put them with [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 15 and Metro 18 as the three open teams in the DMV. They finished in third place, but the two teams ahead of them and the one tied with them had already qualified for Open. They won their first five matches.   To qualify for the gold medal bracket they had to win their bracket to advance. They lost their first but won their second, but because that match was taken in a sweep they won the tie breaker by having the best set record after all three teams finished 1-1. Because all three teams in the gold bracket had already qualified for Open, Metro earned the bid, even after a first round loss to MKE Sting 25-19, 25-21. [player_tooltip player_id='303701' first='Caydence' last='Doolan'] led the team in kills.   Both [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] 15 and 17 qualified for USA bids. They declined those bids. [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] tends to be a low cost club that also has a beach program. They bring talented athletes drawn to the low fees. To keep those costs down they limit their travel. So many in the volleyball community are not that familiar with them. The Northeast Qualifiers are the only qualifier they played in this year.   The [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] 16 team finished second in the USA Division. The only set they lost was to SG Elite Roshambo in the finals 25-19, 25-23. All of their matches except for one resulted in sweeps.   [player_tooltip player_id='181302' first='Kennedy' last='Spaid'] is the number two ranked player in the class of 2026 in the DMV area, the only non-Metro player in the top five. She does it all, playing all six rotations. Her primary focus appears to be beach, where she uses those skills to find the empty areas of the court. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='181280' first='Brenna' last='Corbin'] fits in the top ten in the class of 2026. She ranks as the top libero in the class. While she also plays beach, she has strong interest in playing on the hard court. At 5'5" she actually hits left side for James Wood, finishing second in kills to [player_tooltip player_id='181302' first='Kennedy' last='Spaid'].   It appears they brought up [player_tooltip player_id='511457' first='Breeze' last='Johnson'] to play with the team. She stands 5'10" and could be the top player in the class of 2028. She plays up for the 15 team as a setter. [player_tooltip player_id='520349' first='Lauren' last='Hobbs'] is their normal setter who runs a 5/1 offense. With Breeze on the roster they may have gone to a traditional 6/2 or used her as a right side. Breeze can wallop the ball.   Don't be surprised if some of the players on the team go to Florida to play in AAU.   [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] 17 also qualified for a USA bid with a fifth place finish. Because all the teams above them had already won a USA bid the first USA bid fell down to them. Like [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] 16 they declined the bid. They were the only team in the gold bracket that did not have a USA bid, but then this was their first and only qualifier they played.   [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] also won all their matches but lost in the semi-finals to CSA Navy 25-15, 23-25 and 13-15. [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] relies on two left sides, [player_tooltip player_id='243771' first='Berkeley' last='Konrady'] (William and Mary) and [player_tooltip player_id='181299' first='Ada' last='McCoy'] for their offense. Ada plays for the strong Musselman high school, which is a short drive to [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge']. Max Preps voted Ada player of the year for the state of West Virginia.   [player_tooltip player_id='290899' first='Ava' last='Dickerson'] is another strong outside but she plays middle for [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge']. At her high school she won player of the year for her district as an outside hitter. For [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] she generally hits the higher sets in the middle but can drive them past the middle blocker. [player_tooltip player_id='180302' first='Emma' last='White'] (North Alabama) sets for the team but her strength lies in her libero game. She will play beach at North Alabama.   MVSA Starz won their first nine matches in the Liberty Division. They just needed one more win to earn a bid in the Liberty Division, but they lost to GP Premier 25-18, 22-25 and 13-15.   [player_tooltip player_id='235748' first='Ema' last='Djordjevic'] produced 17 kills against MVC to put them in the gold bracket. After winning three matches they stumbled against NRG Volleyball Club Navy 25-8, 25-22.

A number of teams achieved success in the 18 Junior National championships and the Northeast Qualifiers for 16 and 17 over the weekend. Metro 16 earned a spot in the Open Division in the Northeast Qualifier. Blue Ridge also earned bids in both the 16 and 17 USA Division but declined the bids. If they play in a championship it may be the AAUs in Florida, a site much closer to them.