Evergreen Regional Championships!

The Podium in Spokane hosted the 14, 16, and 18 Divisions Evergreen Regional Championships on Saturday and Sunday, with the 12s taking the court at Ridgeline High School in the Spokane Valley. The Evergreen Region covers a vast area, encompassing central and eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and the entire state of Montana. Traveling after a club season full of travel tournaments makes it difficult for all the teams in the region to gather and face off. This year, conflicts with USAV 18's Nationals and the Lonestar Qualifier in Dallas kept some squads from attending. The discussion of the length of the club season and the sheer number of tournaments packed into each weekend is a whole other matter; regardless, the incredible growth and popularity of the sport is a good problem to have.   College Prep Academy (CPA) secured titles in the 18, 16, and 14 age divisions, repeating the results from ERVA Regional Championships in 2024. 208 Volleyball from Idaho had a great showing, placing four teams in the top ten of the 16's Division, including runner-up 208 16U Elite. [program_tooltip program_id='431444' first='North' last='Central Washington Volleyball Club'] (NCWVBC) brought a mighty squad of 12s from Wenatchee and took home the trophy over CPA in the 12s Division - a fun match with very skilled players for young teams.   The 18s' semi-finals featured a battle between RVC 18 Kari (AKA Rogue) and CPA 18 Kosty, and a second semi between CPA 17 Benson and Club South 17 Carolina. 17 Benson swept their semi-final, and CPA 17 Kosty won in a hard-fought three-setter over RVC 18 Kari. The CPA 17's were rolling with plenty of gas in the tank and took the title in two sets. Here are some of the players from the 18's that were difference makers at the Regional Championships.    The Weber State commit has increased her strength and power as she continues to develop. The lefty opposite/ right side was hammering at the liberos covering the line; it was a "duck and cover!" situation as Aaron banged ball after ball for kills.     Wideman will play at Arizona Christian University next season; the Mt. Spokane senior has stacked an excellent club season on top of her impressive senior campaign during the fall. Her confidence has grown in the last two years; she competes hard and is willing to take a critical swing when her team needs a kill.     Focht kept CPA 18 Kosty firing with smart decisions from the setter position, a relentless positive attitude, and a large helping of hustle and gritty defense. The senior from West Valley Spokane has worked hard on her craft, and it shows in her continued improvement and competitiveness on the court.     Nichols was showing off an excellent bag of shots from the right and left pins for Club South 17. On the right side, she did an outstanding job loading up as a blocker and putting heavy hands on outside hitters' attacks. The 2026 from Lewis and Clark hammered home kills when she had one-up situations and hustled in transition, and played smart off-block defense.    Here are four players who stood out in the 16's Division, one from each of the top four finishing squads.    Over the last month, Pecht has found an aggressive streak offensively and defensively. The 6'3" middle was bound to be a problem for opposing players as she found her footing; it was all on display at the Podium. Pecht bounced a few balls inside the 10-foot line and celebrated hard with her team when she powered down a monster block. The Freeman sophomore has much more to give; she is one to watch going forward.     Yearout is an explosive outside player; she is a tad undersized on the pin, but handles her business with a whip-like arm swing and an impressive vertical. She had it rolling all weekend and was too quick and powerful for most teams to keep up with. When blockers did put up a solid wall, Yearout found gaps in the block or hammered off hands to terminate.     Jeaneslme is part of a talented group of players on the 208 15 Elite team that finished tied for third at Regionals. The Lake City freshman mixes it up offensively, with a good touch roll shot and a strong, accurate swing she rips to the seam and down the line. Jeanselme looked athletic and confident in the back row. The 2028 Idaho prospect is on the way to being an excellent all-around player.     Young is a rare six-rotation right-side player, playing an outstanding middle back for Shockwave 16. She comes out of the pipe with aggressive swings and is quick corner to corner defensively. Young mixes in an off-speed roll shot from either pin and the back row, throwing off defenders waiting on her usual fastball.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">14's Division- 2029 Class on tap!</h2>   CPA 14 Hedder grabbed the Gold Ball Trophy and 14's Division Championship in a sweep over Kokua 14 Makai. The other teams in the semi-finals were CPA 13 Hackett and North Idaho Volleyball Club 14 Piper.   We will cover some of the top 14s that are on the horizon in an upcoming article- some excellent prospects could be coming to a high school varsity team near you this fall

The Podium in Spokane hosted the 14, 16, and 18 Divisions Evergreen Regional Championships on Saturday and Sunday, with the 12s taking the court at Ridgeline High School in the Spokane Valley. The Evergreen Region covers a vast area, encompassing central and eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and the entire state of Montana. Traveling after a club season full of travel tournaments makes it difficult for all the teams in the region to gather and face off. This year, conflicts with USAV 18's Nationals and the Lonestar Qualifier in Dallas kept some squads from attending. The discussion of the length of the club season and the sheer number of tournaments packed into each weekend is a whole other matter; regardless, the incredible growth and popularity of the sport is a good problem to have.