Emerald City Classic 2024- Open Results

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Open Champions, MVPs, and More!</h2>   <p>The Emerald City Classic in Seattle finished its last match on the UW campus Monday evening. The 15 & 16 Open Divisions had three-set, nail-biting finishes, while the 18 Open final was a rematch of a pool play meeting the day before. We will cover the Club Divisions separately on another day, as well as a brief look at the 14 Open. Here are recaps of the finals and a look at the MVP selections made by the ECC. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">15 Open: WVBA 15 Adidas </h2>   <p><strong>MVP: [player_tooltip player_id='544966' first='Sasha' last='Pound']</strong></p>   <p>It was a grind in the final for the WVBA squad, as they had to deal with a skilled and confident Puyallup Juniors 15 National team that won their division as 14s at last year's ECC. WVBA ran out early in the first set behind some big swings from their talented RS, [player_tooltip player_id='434974' first='Maddy' last='Conner'], and the defense of libero [player_tooltip player_id='446664' first='Sophia' last='Gao']. [player_tooltip player_id='544291' first='Emery' last='Stevenson'] rallied PJVBC late with a long run from the service line, with WVBA burning both timeouts to slow the momentum. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='486991' first='Skyla' last='Major'] finally ended the set with a nice tip over the top of the block, scoring the final point as a front-row attacker for the 25-21 first-set victory. WVBA pulled out a 29-27 win in a thrilling final set to take the match and the championship. PJVBC setter [player_tooltip player_id='501666' first='Olivia' last='Puttler'] is a dynamic scorer and defender who made good decisions and motivated her team- she played an excellent overall tournament and is a fierce competitor. The height for WVBA along the net played a factor; [player_tooltip player_id='460680' first='Cadence' last='Bigby'], [player_tooltip player_id='434980' first='Margaret' last='Foote'], and 15 Open MVP [player_tooltip player_id='544966' first='Sasha' last='Pound'] all found a way to score in crucial moments.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Pound is a 5'10" OH with a heavy arm swing, and she can drive the ball through a block. She torched opponents with a crafty mix of off-speed shots, using a power toss to the corner, a high contact chip, and a tip she dropped to the sideline or the middle, depending on the defense. Pound is accurate; she has the confidence to rip or tip to the line and the hard angle, making it hard for defenders to read her when she is attacking. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">16 Open: CPA 16 Benson</h2>   <p><strong>MVP: [player_tooltip player_id='412070' first='Mara' last='Sandberg']</strong></p>   <p>An all-Evergreen Region final played out in the 16 Open, with College Prep Academy out of Spokane/CDA and Shockwave 16 from the Tri-Cities meeting up for the Gold Ball trophy. Shockwave was all business and had been riding a string of wins since an early loss to WVBA 16 Adidas, and pulled out a tough three-set semifinal win over Oly Reign 16 Gold. CPA Benson 16 had won every match decisively until a three-set semifinal win over PJVBC 16 National. The two teams from the East of the mountains went on a back-and-forth, bumpy ride in an instant classic, with CPA emerging as the champions, 15-25, 25-18, 20-18. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='244064' first='Jade' last='Livingston'] was outstanding for CPA- she helped the team back up their 15 Open Championship from a year ago with rock-solid serve receive and exceptional defense in big moments. Shockwave started behind a barrage of kills from OH [player_tooltip player_id='364064' first='Cali' last='Schoenberg']; the Kennewick pin was confidently hammering shots down the line. When Schoenberg rotated out of the front row, [player_tooltip player_id='455199' first='Keyala' last='Krumland'] took over, and the momentum carried the Shockwave squad to a decisive first-set win. CPA used a spark from 2027 MB/RS [player_tooltip player_id='459087' first='Avery' last='Berglund'] and setter [player_tooltip player_id='244062' first='Delaney' last='Davis'] from Mt. Spokane to get off to a better start in the second, finishing with a 25-18 win. The third set was tight the entire time, then a bump kill off a hard swing turned the momentum for Shockwave, leading to a 14-10 lead. CPA rallied back with four straight points and sealed the deal at 20-18. [player_tooltip player_id='340570' first='Terryne' last='Gant'] was terrific in all aspects of the game at setter for Shockwave; she had an excellent weekend at ECC.</p>   <p>A final, slightly off-topic note: The Volleydad A/V team for Shockwave 16 was in fine form on the weekend and deserves credit for finding their rainbows in the sometimes soggy skies around Montlake. If you get the chance to chat up these terrors of the tripod at a tournament some time, I highly recommend it!</p>    <p class="text-gray-700">Sandberg continues making winning plays and leading her team as a young 2027 prospect. The Gonzaga Prep OH blasted hard-angle shots off the right side, showing off her ability to score from multiple spots on the court. CPA was not afraid to find her for multiple swings in a rally with the game on the line, and Sandberg delivered in the clutch when they needed her.</p>   <p></p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">18 Open: CPA 18 Nicole</h2>   <p><strong>MVP: [player_tooltip player_id='220578' first='Lilli' last='Etter']</strong></p>   <p>The CPA 18 Nicole team was the first of three Open champions for club directors Wade and Jill Benson at Emerald City. The 14 Hedder team also took home a Gold Ball in the 14 Open before the 16s finished the third championship. The three teams also swept the Evergreen Regionals Championships in Spokane in April. Coach Nicole Rayborn of CPA had a competitive group of committed seniors and just one junior, Lakeland, Idaho, RS <strong>Ziyah Munyer</strong>. The 6'1" Munyer is a verbal commit to Weber State and added a shutdown block and power pin for a CPA team that played a ball control style as an undersized 17's team last season. Typically, 18's teams have fared well at the ECC, and now, in 5 out of the previous 6 years it has been played, 18's teams have prevailed. Space Needle 18 Secret prevailed over an explosive 18 WVBA Adidas team in one semi; CPA 18 Nicole pushed past a young and energetic Sudden Impact 16 Thunder in the other. The final was a rematch of a pool play match on Sunday, and CPA had their serve and pass game dialed in. Space Needle battled hard in both sets, with seniors [player_tooltip player_id='250046' first='Madyn' last='Cervellera'], [player_tooltip player_id='285605' first='Hannah' last='Jeanne Johnson'], and [player_tooltip player_id='251548' first='Violet' last='Burchak'] providing the pop offensively. Eventually, the defensive plays from CPA libero [player_tooltip player_id='251542' first='Makayla' last='Hickman'] and shot-making of outsides [player_tooltip player_id='226454' first='Maddie' last='Finnegan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='251539' first='Ellie' last='DeAndre'] led to a 25-14, 25-15 CPA victory. </p>    <p class="text-gray-700">Etter was the catalyst for the CPA offense and played excellent defense in the right back, with 15 digs in the championship match against SNVF. CPA ran a mix of 6-2 with [player_tooltip player_id='231697' first='Ava' last='Semprimoznik'] and Etter and a 5-1 to open up the slide attack with middles [player_tooltip player_id='230150' first='Abbey' last='Flerchinger'] and [player_tooltip player_id='402536' first='Katherine' last='Michelbook']. After the semi-finals, a coach mentioned that the speed and tempo of the CPA offense were challenging to adjust to, a credit to the setters and passers on the team. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/05/CPA-ECC-1-crop-1147x753-1717042454.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-544988" /></figure>