Braddock and Virginia Juniors Win Gran Prix in Richmond

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='431413' first='Braddock' last='Road Youth Club'] 15 (BRYC) and Virginia Juniors 14 both took top honors at the Gran Prix tournament in Richmond. This was my second foray into Southern Virginia with the goal of identifying young talent in that area. Ironic that two Chesapeake teams would take top honors. In the 17 age group JoCo Black, a talented team from the Carolina Region won that age group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At another facility Fusion, also from the Carolina Region won the 16 and Valley Juniors Black from Old Dominion won the 18. Valley Juniors was led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='720606' first='Maecy' last='Frizzelle']</strong>, who sits at 126 in our class of 2026 rankings. For this post I will only focus on the 14, 15 and 17 age groups that played at Byrdhill, starting with the younger ages.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>14 Club</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Virginia Juniors Dominates at the Gran Prix</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["754650"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67fdb24fe26ba"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Madison provides the bulk of the offense for Juniors. She hits from both the front row and the back row. When struggling she gets a bit incomplete in her swing and does not follow through, which usually results in the ball flying out. Her counterpart on the left side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='748006' first='Alaenah' last='Frank'] </strong>still lacks consistency but has the potential to provide more power. The two combine for a powerful threat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Madison also plays the game with a ton of emotion. The team rallies around her enthusiasm. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It would not surprise me to see her make the varsity at Oakton her frosh season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Virginia Juniors 14</strong> dominated at the Gran Prix, not giving up more than 13 points to any team in their first five matches. With all the fire power on this team they would have done well at the 15 age group. That offense starts with their two left sides <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='748006' first='Alaenah' last='Frank']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='754650' first='Madison' last='Meiring']</strong>. They set a modified 5/1 with <strong>Olivia Nelson</strong> setting in the front row while <strong>Eileen Kim </strong>does the serving and sets in the back row.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Occasionally, they run quick sets in the middle, but for the most part the sets are high, which hurt them a little in the finals of the playoffs. They rotate three players in the middle, <strong>Siri Tanjore</strong>, <strong>Ava Ibiezugbe</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768482' first='Ella' last='Peay']</strong>. The right sides <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='754655' first='Bella' last='Pereyra']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='881356' first='Summer' last='Syed']</strong> can also provide some offense. <strong>Julianna Showen</strong> controls the back row as the libero while <strong>Ely Benavides-Rivas</strong> will come in as a defensive replacement and shake things up with her lefthanded serve.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the finals of the playoffs they continued strong winning the first set against <strong>Firecrackers</strong> 25-11. The second set the Firecrackers started putting up triple blocks against the middles and keying their middle to focus their block on the left side. With a 15-13 lead Virginia Juniors hit a tough spot where they committed five hitting errors to fall behind 15-18. Many of those hitting errors occurred because of triple blocks in the middle and the double blocks on the left side. This provided momentum for the Firecrackers to stay close in the set.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Virginia Juniors was able to recover to take a 23-21 lead sparked by back to back kills from<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='768482' first='Ella' last='Peay'] </strong>and a rocket from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='748006' first='Alaenah' last='Frank']</strong>. Unfortunately, three hitting errors followed as well as an ace from <strong>Maggie Parrish</strong> to end the set 25-23 in favor of the Firecrackers. Momentum was now on their side.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This proved a good test for Virginia Juniors, who rely a lot on emotion to finish off their opponents. They jumped out to an early 8-4 lead, taking advantage of two Firecracker hitting errors and a put away by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='754650' first='Madison' last='Meiring']</strong>. The triple blocks in the middle continued to plague Juniors generating three rejected spikes. Juniors seemed to switch things up a bit by having Madison swing at sets from the middle and Ava shift to the outside. A kill by Madison from the middle put them one point away from the gold at 14-9 and middle <strong>Ava Ibiezugbe</strong> spanked a kill from the outside to win the third set 15-11.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Virginia Juniors will play in the American Division at Junior Nationals at Dallas. Later in the day, Metro 14 won an open bid which could shuffle the bids around for the Chesapeake Region 14 age group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='498498' first='Virginia' last='Wave'] Rogue</strong> also earned a spot in the gold bracket 14 playoffs. They lost a couple tough sets in the first round to CLVC Red 31-29, 25-23. Left side<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='768525' first='Kirbie' last='Edwards'] </strong>stood out for her six rotation play. Other 14's who impressed were setter/right side <strong>Molly Borszich</strong>, and left side <strong>Kristen Goodwell</strong> from<strong> Virginia Venom</strong>, as well as middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768528' first='Leanna' last='Wynns']</strong> and left side <strong>Ryleigh Kaloski</strong> from <strong>Momentum Gray</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>15 Club </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='431413' first='Braddock' last='Road Youth Club'] Impresses with Another First Place Finish</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was my first time watching Braddock Road 15 play. They currently rank at number 12 in the Chesapeake Region but fell short of eligibility for the Chesapeake Regional Bid championships. They seem to be on a roll right now with four straight top three finishes. The first place finish at the Gran Prix was their second on the year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The length on their team, from the pins to the middles is impressive. They all can put the ball down. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768529' first='Tess' last='Mahon']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768530' first='Ellen' last='Verwys']</strong> both started for their high school team as frosh, Tess for Bishop Ireton and Ellen for Fairfax. Tess actually finished second on her team in kills. Both teams struggled with losing records, so they fell off the radar. They are certainly players to watch now.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The middles <strong>Eden Smith</strong> (class of 2027) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768531' first='Luciana' last='Martinez']</strong> run the quicks well, while right sides <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='696208' first='Kiley' last='Foster']</strong> and <strong>Isla Beckett </strong>can provide power as well. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768532' first='Nitika' last='Varghese']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='664951' first='Micki' last='Millsaps'] </strong>share the setting duties. I did get to watch a little of Micki setting at Lake Braddock. She earned a place on the watch list for rankings based on her performance. Libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768534' first='Carolyn' last='Angelicchio']</strong> covers the back row aided by defensive specialist <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768535' first='Hannah' last='Tran'].</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Braddock Road</strong> faced their biggest test in the semifinals when they played <strong>Valley Juniors Black</strong>. Valley Juniors is led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='722538' first='Maren' last='Bert']</strong>, who appears on my watch list in the class of 2028. Maren is another frosh who played for her high school team. She proved a force on offense both from the back row and front row with a lightening fast arm swing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Because Braddock Road received a bye in the first round they played Valley Juniors in the second round of the playoffs. Braddock took the first set pretty easily 25-17. The second set <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='722538' first='Maren' last='Bert']</strong> provided the offense and it appeared to be another blow out but this time with Valley Juniors up 18-9 and 22-12. Middles <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768536' first='Claire' last='Stallard']</strong> and <strong>Adisyn Snead</strong> contributed a number of points with their redirect kills.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When things looked most dire Braddock Road made an incredible comeback with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768530' first='Ellen' last='Verwys']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='696208' first='Kiley' last='Foster']</strong> contributing an onslaught of kills. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768532' first='Nitika' last='Varghese']</strong> strung together three service points that included one ace to tie the set at 24-24. Unfortunately, her next serve went in the net and a hitting error followed to give Valley Juniors a 26-24 win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At this point most teams would collapse after coming so close to making a tremendous comeback yet falling short at the end. Not Braddock Road. They fought tough in the third set, which remained tight at 7-7. A couple Valley Juniors hitting errors, an <strong>Isla Beckett</strong> tip kill and finally a doubles call pushed the score up to 11-7. A couple ace serves by <strong>Sierra Forder </strong>pulled Valley Juniors to 11-13. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768529' first='Tess' last='Mahon']</strong> came through with a kill to put Braddock to within one point of taking the match. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='722538' first='Maren' last='Bert'] </strong>responded with her own kill and a block by <strong>Olivia Hartman </strong>made it 13-14. A joust at the net was won by Braddock after a net violation by Vally Juniors to give Braddock the 15-13 win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Next on the agenda for Braddock was SERV Impact in the finals. They were led by middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768538' first='McKenna' last='Anderson']</strong>, who liked to hit the corners with her kills and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768540' first='Zoe' last='Peck']</strong>, who provided good hops from the middle. Libero<strong> Laila Harris</strong> covered the back row well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>SERV jumped out to an early 12-6 lead in the first set. A seven point service run by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768532' first='Nitika' last='Varghese']</strong> followed by a six point service run by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768535' first='Hannah' last='Tran']</strong> quickly turned the tide flipping the lead Braddock's way 19-14. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='664951' first='Micki' last='Millsaps']</strong> contributed two aces to make it 24-16 before serving the ball into the net. <strong>Eden Smith</strong> ended the first set 25-18 with a statement kill from the middle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second set Braddock took a 10-7 lead after two aces by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768531' first='Luciana' last='Martinez']</strong>. They were able to hold onto that lead for a 25-16 second set win. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768530' first='Ellen' last='Verwys']</strong> finished the match off with a kill. For Braddock Road they still have a couple AAU tournaments on the docket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>17 Club</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two Carolina teams battled in the finals. <strong>JoCo Black</strong> was able to out muscle <strong>Beach South Black</strong> 26-24, 25-11. JoCo Black swept through their competition with <strong>Madisyn Baize</strong> directing the offense with her sets. She had lots of choices with <strong>Kensley Evans</strong> and <strong>Emma Lawson</strong> in the middle. Kensley also liked to sneak an attack from the right side when Madisyn played in the front row. <strong>Allie Bogie</strong> and <strong>Olivia Hunt </strong>terminated the balls from the left side. <strong>Olivia Weaver</strong> patrolled the back row as libero. Her left handed jump serve could slip a short serve just over the net as well as rocketing it to the deep corner. You don't see many girls who can serve short with their jump serve.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>River City Volleyball Academy</strong> finished third. <strong> Abigail Lesher</strong> impressed from the middle with her blocking while <strong>Mackenzie Galle</strong> hit well from the left side. <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='498498' first='Virginia' last='Wave'] Rogue </strong>also finished third. Middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768542' first='Haley' last='Atkins']</strong> ran the quick tempo sets well, while the smaller <strong>Jaida Moefaauo </strong>provided athleticism to the position. Libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768543' first='Kiara' last='Manion'] </strong>made some nice digs from the back row. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768544' first='Abigail' last='Webb']</strong> generated good power from the left side.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Momentum Orange</strong> with their fifth place finish was led by sisters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768546' first='Eleanor' last='Jastrzemski']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768547' first='Nadia' last='Jastrzemski']</strong>. Eleanor provided the power from the left side while Nadia controlled the middle. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768548' first='Emma' last='Smith']</strong> ran a 5/1 but for whatever reason subbed out in the serving rotation. She returned after serve. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768545' first='Autumn' last='Schwartz']</strong> hits lefthanded but also provides the offense from the left side. She plays good defense in the back row. The interesting thing about Momentum is that the girls who play for the club are home schooled and are of varying ages. Eleanor will be a frosh next year while Nadia will be a junior. Emma is the veteran of the group as a rising senior next year while Autumn will also be a sophomore.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Club Action </strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the 16 age group <strong>Fusion</strong> won the event for the Caroline Region. <strong>Valley Juniors Black</strong> led by 2026 left side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='720606' first='Maecy' last='Frizzelle']</strong> won the 18 club. Maecy played for Fort Defiance high school and finished fourth in the state of Virginia in kills with 565.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->