Metro Sweeps at the Chesapeake Regional Bid Championships

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There once was a time when Metro dominated the club scene in the DMV area. The last couple years it appeared that other clubs were catching up. At the Chesapeake Regional Bid Championship 18 held earlier this year <strong>Metro</strong> fell short of a bid. At the Mid Atlantic Power League (MAPL) [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] defeated Metro 16 and 17 twice to win the 16-18 Black Division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The reality exists that Metro still remains the number one club in the DMV area. They proved that Saturday by sweeping past all their opponents in the 12-17 age groups to haul away every National bids It may not have been easy, but it was done. Physically, I watched the 14s and 17s at the Maryland Juniors facility.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the 14-17 age groups each was broken out into four three team pools. The first place team in each pool received a bye while the second and third place teams started off the single elimination bracket play. Below is a recap of the results. The bid results are my projections and not official.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>17 Regionals</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":762239,"width":"429px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/03/IMG_7609.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-762239" style="width:429px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Metro 17</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not a lot of surprises here. All the top seeds won their pools by sweeping their opponents, except <strong>Premier Edge</strong>, who needed three sets to beat <strong>Columbia</strong>. Interesting that three of the four second seeds finished third in their pools. One of the more exiting matches involved<strong> EC Power </strong>and <strong>Mojo Elite.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>EC Power </strong>won the first set 25-21. This was my first time watching the Delaware team play. <strong>MOJO</strong> came back to win the next two sets 26-24, 15-13. MOJO has a number of players worth watching, with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238851' first='Piper' last='Xeller']</strong> on the left side leading the charge. Their two middles <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='475903' first='Avery' last='Byrnes'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='320816' first='Catherine' last='Long']</strong> created havoc in the middle using their height. On the flip side, their two setters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238852' first='Casey' last='Yuh'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='748535' first='Macey' last='Warshaw']</strong> lacked height but their setting always seemed on point.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MOJO</strong> was able to advance to the next round where they shocked <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> in their opener 25-19 (I show the score 25-22). <strong> [player_tooltip player_id='238851' first='Piper' last='Xeller'] </strong>led the way with four kills and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='748543' first='Addison' last='Guerra']</strong> finished the set off with an impressive out of system hit. While Virginia Juniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='716365' first='Skyler' last='Riley']</strong> kept them competitive in the first set with a number of kills she lifted them to a second set 25-23 win with her offense. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='475903' first='Avery' last='Byrnes']</strong> kept MOJO in the set with a kill to tie the score at 23-23, but two MOJO hitting errors gifted Virginia Juniors the last two points. Virginia Juniors ran away with the third set 15-7, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='322107' first='Eden' last='Tardy'] </strong>starting the set off with a kill for a 1-0 lead and then finishing the game off with a kill.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The other quarter final matches were all sweeps with <strong>Metro</strong> destroying <strong>Maryland Juniors </strong>25-10, 25-12, <strong>Premier Edge</strong> squeezing past <strong>Virginia Elite</strong> 26-24, 25-22 and <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong> sweeping <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] Marissa</strong> 25-18, 25-18. Those results determined the bid winners, <strong>Metro</strong>,<strong> Premier Edge,</strong> <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> and <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''].</strong> The next matches would determine their Divisions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Metro</strong> easily rolled over <strong>Premier Edge</strong> 25-14, 25-15. <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> shocked <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] </strong>in the first set of their match 25-18. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] recovered to take the last two sets 25-20, 15-9. That brought the expected final between Metro and [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Because I was watching the Metro/Maryland Juniors 14 championship I did not get to see the [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']/Metro championship match until the third set. <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] </strong>destroyed <strong>Metro</strong> in the first set 25-18. That appeared to be the wake up call Metro needed. They then destroyed [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] in the next two sets 25-15, 15-8.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the last set it was the <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='301696' first='Nadiya' last='Johnson']</strong> show as the right side powered at least 7 kills in their 15-8 win. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='555602' first='Bryah' last='Breaux']</strong> generated a couple kills from the left side and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238341' first='Teodora' last='Stamenkovic']</strong> rejected a quick tempo set with a penetrating block to begin the third set separation. Nadiya finished it off with five kills for four of the last five points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> captured the second American bid with a 26-24, 25-13 sweep over <strong>Premier Edge</strong>. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='479659' first='Eliza' last='Lowe']</strong> had two critical kills from the middle to put Juniors up 24-23 and 25-24 in the first set while setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='333651' first='Sydney' last='Ray']</strong> ended it 26-24 with an ace.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the Reallocation bracket to determine who captures the last Freedom bid <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] Marissa</strong> downed <strong>Virginia Elite </strong>25-13. If any team wins a higher bid Virginia Elite appears to be the next team in line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>National -<strong> Metro</strong>, American - <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong> and <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong>, Freedom - <strong>Premier Edge</strong> and <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] Marissa</strong>, Next in Line - <strong>Virginia Elite</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16 Regionals</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":336094,"width":"216px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/03/Jasmin-Tucker.jpg?w=683" alt="" class="wp-image-336094" style="width:216px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='437457' first='Jasmin' last='Tucker'] </figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In pool play the first seeds all came out on top. <strong>Metro</strong> and <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] </strong>(Nick) with the sweeps while <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> needed three to beat <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] Tony</strong> and <strong>MVSA Sparks</strong> needed three sets to sack<strong> Columbia</strong>. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] (Allorie) and [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] Josi were the two number three seeds to win a match to finish second in their pool.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Only one of the first round playoff matches went three. <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] Jose</strong> swept <strong>MVSA Fusion</strong>, <strong>Maryland Juniors </strong>swept <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] Tony</strong> and <strong>Premier Edge </strong>swept <strong>MOJO Black</strong>. <strong>Columbia</strong> went three with <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong> (Allorie), <strong>Columbia</strong> taking the last match 15-11.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The next round saw no surprises with <strong>Metro</strong> destroying <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] Josi</strong> 25-10, 25-13 and <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong> doing the same with <strong>Columbia</strong> 25-11, 25-13.<strong> Virginia Juniors</strong> swept <strong>Premier Edge</strong> 25-12, 25-23 while it took three sets for <strong>MVSA Sparks</strong> to take down <strong>Maryland Juniors</strong>. They won the first set easily 25-8, lost the second 25-20 and then finished Maryland Juniors off in the third set 15-10.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The four bid winners were determined. <strong>Metro</strong> handled <strong>MVSA Sparks</strong> pretty easily 25-12, 25-17 while <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong> (Nick) battled past <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> 26-24, 25-15. Perhaps the last match took all the wind out of [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] (Nick) because in the championship match Metro destroyed them 25-18, 25-12. When these two teams played at MAPL earlier this year Paramount came out on top.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>National - <strong>Metro</strong>, American - <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong> (Nick) Freedom - <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong>, <strong>MVSA Sparks</strong>, Next in Line - <strong>Maryland Juniors</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>15 Regionals </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":589316,"width":"397px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/Lalah-Washington2.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-589316" style="width:397px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='536728' first='Lalah' last='Washington']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This age grouping proved less predictable. While the top two seeds <strong>Metro</strong> and <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong> (Maureen) won their pools, second seeds <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong> (Cruz) and <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> knocked off the top seeds to win their pool. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] (Cruz) swept past top seed Columbia 25-16, 29-27 while Virginia Juniors swept past <strong>Maryland Juniors</strong> 26-24, 25-21.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the bracket play, three of the four first round matches took three sets to determine a winner. <strong>MOJO</strong> defeated <strong>Premier Edge</strong> in the first set 25-23 but then Premier bounced back in the next two 25-17, 15-8. <strong>MVSA Wild</strong> mimicked MOJO by winning the first set 26-24 but<strong> Columbia Red</strong> won the next two 25-20, 15-5. <strong>MOCO Menace </strong>also won their first set 25-21 but <strong>MVSA Charge</strong> bounced back to capture the next two 25-15, 15-9. <strong>Maryland Juniors</strong> swept <strong>Libero Huskies</strong> 25-19, 25-20.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two top seeds again won easily, with <strong>Metro</strong> sweeping past <strong>Premier Edge</strong> 25-12, 25-17 and<strong> [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] </strong>(Maureen) doing the same against <strong>MVSA Charge</strong> 25-11, 25-19. <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong> (Cruz) continued their surprise run with a 25-23, 23-25, 15-5 upset over<strong> Maryland Juniors</strong>, while <strong>Columbia</strong> shocked <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> with a 25-19, 25-14 sweep.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the four bid teams determined the two favorites continued to roll, with <strong>Metro</strong> trouncing past <strong>Columbia</strong> 25-21, 25-10 and <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong> (Maureen) beating their second team <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong> (Cruz) 25-5, 25-13. In the finals Metro swept a [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] team in the final for the third time 25-13, 26-24. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] (Cruz) won by default over Columbia 25-0, 25-0.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>National - <strong>Metro</strong>, American - <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong>,(Maureen) Freedom - <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong> (Cruz) and <strong>Columbia</strong>, Next in Line<strong> Virginia Juniors</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>14 Regionals </strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":732503,"width":"384px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/12/Emerson-Wolfe.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-732503" style="width:384px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='622282' first='Emerson' last='Wolfe']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This age group brings some of the more talented players I have seen since I have been involved in coaching volleyball in Virginia. Watching these 14 elite teams play is almost like watching two elite high school teams do battle. The spikes are hard, the digs exceptional and the level of play intense. One of the teams <strong>Maryland Juniors</strong> already came into the tournament with a USA bid.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 14 level was the only age group in which the top seed did not win their pool. <strong>Paramount ((Cozad)</strong> swept top seed <strong>BAVA</strong> 25-17, 25-20. The other three top seeds, <strong>Metro</strong>,<strong> Maryland Juniors</strong> and <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> swept their opponents. Unlike the other age groups, the second seeds all finished in second place except for Paramount (Cozad) who won their pool.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It took <strong>Paramount (Anderson)</strong> three sets to dispose of <strong>American Red</strong>. The third set Paramount won 15-8. <strong>Liberty Elite</strong>, <strong>BAVA</strong> and <strong>MVSA Force</strong> all swept their opponents. For MVSA Force their sweep over <strong>Virginia Elite</strong> was not so easy, winning 25-23, 29-27. That left only two of the four top seeds to finish out the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Maryland Juniors</strong> easily disposed of <strong>Liberty Elite</strong> 25-12, 25-11. The same could be said about<strong> Paramount (Cozad)</strong> over <strong>Paramount (Anderson)</strong> 25-14, 25-6. <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> downed <strong>BAVA Wave</strong> by identical 25-19 scores, however <strong>MVSA Force</strong> created some difficulty for Metro, losing only by 25-21, 25-23 scores. While the final four had been established up to five teams could earn bids if Maryland Juniors did not win the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> surprised <strong>Metro</strong> in the first set, beating them 25-22. Metro seemed to recover for the last two sets winning easily 25-12, 15-7. <strong>Maryland Juniors</strong> rolled over <strong>Paramount (Anderson)</strong> 25-18, 25-20. This created another championship bid match between Metro and Maryland Juniors. At the 13 level last year Metro beat Maryland Juniors in the finals 25-27, 25-22 and 15-12. At the Capitol Hill Classic earlier this year Metro won 25-23, 23-25, 15-11. Another toughly fought match lurked on the horizon.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the opening set Metro jumped out to early 9-2 and 16-9 leads. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='750056' first='Kiera' last='Jordan']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='746506' first='Carolyn' last='Maria']</strong> contributed three kills each while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='762240' first='Timea' last='Ioana Vladoianu']</strong> ticked off two. [player_tooltip player_id='622282' first='Emerson' last='Wolfe'] and right side [player_tooltip player_id='748513' first='Scarlett' last='Netherton'] whittled away at the lead, Emerson with a couple roll shots and Scarlett burying a couple sets down the line. A third kill by Scarlett pulled Maryland Juniors within one 19-20, while a middle tip by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='753073' first='Aniston' last='Williams'] </strong>tied the score at 21-21.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Metro received back to back kills from Timea and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='750050' first='Raquel' last='Telly']</strong> to return their lead 23-21. A Maryland Juniors hitting error put it at set point 24-21. Metro put a ball into the net to give Juniors some hope, but <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='746506' first='Carolyn' last='Maria']</strong> extinguished that hope pounding it off a block for a 25-22 win. The 6'0" setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='746506' first='Carolyn' last='Maria'] </strong>proved she can do it all with seven kills.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second set Metro again jumped out to an early 6-2 lead on three <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='746506' first='Carolyn' last='Maria']</strong> kills and some amazing defense from libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='755672' first='Jaylin' last='Park']</strong>. She played an incredible match, digging some of the hardest spikes the Juniors could hit at her. Without those digs two point wins would turn into two point losses. Again, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='748513' first='Scarlett' last='Netherton']</strong> closed the gap for Maryland Juniors to 8-9 with two kills, a hard driven spike down the line and a soft roll shot that hit the floor. At one point a [player_tooltip player_id='748487' first='Sierra' last='Thomas'] tip gave Maryland Juniors a 19-16 lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='750056' first='Kiera' last='Jordan']</strong> produced a kill to give Metro match point 24-22. Maryland got another kill from Scarlett to level the score at 24-24. An ace serve by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='748500' first='Katherine' last='Liu'] </strong>gave Juniors match point 25-24. Kiera banged another ball to the floor to even it up 25-25. Finally, a <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='748513' first='Scarlett' last='Netherton']</strong> right side kill gave Juniors set point and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='748487' first='Sierra' last='Thomas']</strong> finished it off with a kill and a 29-27 win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Set three remained close throughout with digs by [player_tooltip player_id='755672' first='Jaylin' last='Park'] preventing the ball from hitting the floor to keep rallies alive. Jaylin made two incredible digs until a third attempted hit by Juniors resulted in a net and a 14-12 Metro lead. Without either of those Park digs the set would be tied at 13-13. A tight set resulted in a block and a 15-12 Metro match win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>National - <strong>Metro</strong>, American - <strong>Paramount</strong> (Cozad), <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> Freedom - <strong>BAVA Wave</strong>, <strong>Liberty Elite</strong>, USA - <strong>Maryland Juniors</strong> keeping their previously won USA bid</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'm only guessing on the above since I assume <strong>Maryland Juniors </strong>will keep their USA bid and<strong> Virginia Juniors</strong> will get the upgrade to American. This would open a spot for <strong>Liberty Elite</strong> to qualify for a Freedom bid.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] Finishes Third in USA Division in Mideast Qualifier but Declines the Bid</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In Indianapolis <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge']</strong> swept their first seven matches to earn a spot in the gold bracket. They won their first two matches in three sets only to lose to Rhythm in a semi-final match 25-21, 25-19. No third place match was played for the second bid winner since [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] declined the bid. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->