DMV Muscles Past Beasts to Win East Coast Championships

For some age groups the East Coast Championships name the higher level of play the BOE. They refer that as Beasts of the East (or Best of the East). I prefer beasts. Other age groups only carried one division, which they named Select. In the various age groups teams from the D.C./Maryland/Virginia (DMV) won 6 of the 8 top divisions. In the other two age groups (15 BOE and 12 Select) DMV teams finished second. Below is a summary of the finishes. Later this week the top players from each age group will be identified.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">18 Select - [program_tooltip program_id='506397' first='River' last='Valley Juniors']</h2>   Initially, I was not going to watch the 18 select. For me the rankings for that class have been finalized. The other age groups took priority, That was until I received an email informing me that some of my top ranked players from the class of 2026 were competing for [program_tooltip program_id='506397' first='River' last='Valley Juniors'] in the 18 Select Division. These players compete in the Roanoke area where I do not get an opportunity to watch them play.   They did not disappoint. The last time I watched [player_tooltip player_id='452562' first='Sophie' last='Taylor'], [player_tooltip player_id='495264' first='Ela' last='Shepherd'] and [player_tooltip player_id='778630' first='Nalanie' last='Neal'] compete they played at Capitol Hill Classic two years ago. They have improved tremendously since.   The first thing I ask myself before ranking a player too highly is if they tried out for the top club in the area would they make the team. No doubt about [player_tooltip player_id='452562' first='Sophie' last='Taylor']. She lists at 6'1" but she appears taller. Nalanie lists at 6'1" and Sophie stands higher than Nalanie. Sophie crushes the ball to the floor no matter where the set. In high school she led all Virginia players in kills with 742. That is 100 more than her closest competitor. This past season [program_tooltip program_id='506397' first='River' last='Valley Juniors'] competed in the 18 Junior Nationals. Most of their roster consisted of players from the class of 2026. In their last match of the tournament, they beat [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] in three, winning the third set 15-13. Perhaps not the best club in the Region but still ranked number two.   Sophie also plays six rotations, hitting missiles from the back row. While her passing and defense might fall short of a libero, they are better than most left sides. With her height she sometimes has difficulty reaching those short serves or low hits. Sophie has committed to Ole Miss.   [player_tooltip player_id='495264' first='Ela' last='Shepherd'] is one of those players who sets and hits with excellence. Not a trait you find in many players. At 5'10 she brings good height to the setting position. She finished her high school season with 481 assists and 253 kills. For her high school career she has reached 1,000 assists. She swings left handed putting some serious velocity on the ball once she makes contact. Ela also puts up a good block when she plays right side, rejecting two balls in the short time I watched them play.   [player_tooltip player_id='778630' first='Nalanie' last='Neal'] did not get ranked when I first watched her play. There has been a lot of improvement since that Capital Hill Classic showing. She plays both middle and outside. Her height is listed at 6'1" with a nice vertical jump. She also plays a tremendous back row that when she plays middle the libero does not come in for her. This allows her to hit from the back row as well. Nalanie appears to have a high volleyball IQ as well as athleticism, a deadly combination. Nalanie has committed to California Baptist.   [player_tooltip player_id='778783' first='Mattox' last='Adams'] shared the setting duties with Ela. She earned a spot on the Virginia Class 2 All State second team last year. Her father is an assistant coach for the Virginia Tech volleyball team. [player_tooltip player_id='778637' first='Ava' last='Pitzer'] is another class of 2026. She lists at 5'11" but appears smaller when standing next to Nalanie and Sophie. Ava has committed to Charleston Southern University. Finally, there is the 6'0" middle [player_tooltip player_id='778640' first='Mollie' last='Smith'], who appears to fall short in the skills department when compared to the other players, but then she is a class of 2028 competing against players a couple years older than her. She holds her own in the middle.   River Valley finished the tournament losing only one set. Their points percentage of 1.6 shows how dominate they were. The MVP for the 18s - [player_tooltip player_id='452562' first='Sophie' last='Taylor'].   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">17 BOE 540 Elite Repeats as Champs</h2>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/05/IMG_6443.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-778701" style="width:609px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: 540 Club Elite 17</figcaption></figure>   In my players to watch for 540 Elite I highlight [player_tooltip player_id='397536' first='Aubrey' last='Parker']. 540 Elite won their age group last season. I mention that it is always tough to repeat but with a setter like [player_tooltip player_id='397536' first='Aubrey' last='Parker'] the job becomes so much easier. She made that statement so accurate by setting Club 540 to a repeat. It was not easy as they lost one match to Infinity Green in a challenge match but ultimately, they got it done.   That loss in the challenge match prevented them from being the number one seed in the gold bracket. That meant they needed to beat the number two seed Virginia Juniors if they hoped to advance to the finals. In somewhat of an upset they swept Virginia Juniors 25-19, 25-20. This put them in the final not to get a rematch against Infinity Green. Infinity Green walked into an upset against Volley FX Rapture in the semi-finals.   This was my first time watching 540 Elite play. I watched them briefly when they won the Shamrock Showdown but it was in between coaching responsibilities. This was my first opportunity to watch them play a complete match.   Club 540 runs a fast offense. Rarely does a set go higher than the antennas. This provided the left sides [player_tooltip player_id='221415' first='Lindsey' last='Canty'] and [player_tooltip player_id='778715' first='Kayla' last='Cotton'] to hit around one blocker. The 6'3 right side [player_tooltip player_id='333653' first='Elizabeth' last='York'] tended to get the higher sets, but she consistently put the ball away. Middles [player_tooltip player_id='397397' first='Jasmine' last='Williams'] and [player_tooltip player_id='620687' first='Jordan' last='Ellis'] went back and forth between running quick tempo sets in the middle and slides to the right side. They pummeled Volley 25-8 in the opener.   The second set was a little closer. Club 540 was down for most of the set, occasionally pulling even but then losing a point to fall behind again. Their first lead in the set came when [player_tooltip player_id='397397' first='Jasmine' last='Williams'] hit a quick set in the middle for a 24-23 lead. Jasmine then finished the set blocking an attempted quick set by Volley for the 25-23 win.   Impressed by the steady libero play of [player_tooltip player_id='484405' first='Brenna' last='Raymond']. Not highly ranked as yet but she always seemed to be in the right spot on defense while her passes were true.   [player_tooltip player_id='397536' first='Aubrey' last='Parker'] earned my MVP vote for the 17s, setting a 5/1 in the finals. She ran a very quick tempo offense that required precision with her location and speed to make it effective.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">16 BOE - Sayd Leads Virginia Juniors to the Championship</h2>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/12/20-Kate-Bickel.jpg?w=840" alt="" class="wp-image-729628" style="width:219px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='472384' first='Kate' last='Bickel']</figcaption></figure>   One of my players to watch for the tournament [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] was not available because of injury. She has been out for the last two months but should be back in time for the Junior Nationals. This left it up to left side [player_tooltip player_id='438068' first='Ayla' last='Sayd'] to provide for the lost offense. She did not disappoint. When [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] played Ayla normally played three rotations. In this tournament she played six rotations, hitting back row and providing defense and passing while playing there. Most important was her ability to provide additional offense in the back row.   Starting libero [player_tooltip player_id='438070' first='Camryn' last='Coulther'] also was absent from the tournament however [player_tooltip player_id='472384' first='Kate' last='Bickel'] is more than capable to fill in at the libero slot. [player_tooltip player_id='377344' first='Julia' last='Horan'], who recently committed to the University of Cincinnati was a force in the middle as was [player_tooltip player_id='530367' first='Ava' last='Gill']. Julia's game continues to improve. Not a surprise since I learned at the tournament that she did not begin playing volleyball until the 10th grade. That should lead to a whole lot of upside as she gains more experience.   Normally, the left side playing time for [player_tooltip player_id='438091' first='Catherine' last='McIntyre'] is restricted with [player_tooltip player_id='438068' first='Ayla' last='Sayd'] and [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] getting most of the action there. With Coco absent Catherine has gotten a lot of playing time on the left side, playing all six rotations. A quality player who plays strong defense while also bringing the ability to pound away points with her offense.   [player_tooltip player_id='206729' first='Megan' last='Phan'] did an excellent job setting a 5/1. Still needs a little more awareness of the opponent middle when she sets the quicks to ensure the defense is not waiting for it. [player_tooltip player_id='359401' first='Chloe' last='Barth'] also brings a special role to the offense. She plays back row because of her defense, but she also has the ability to hit create an offense with her hard driven spikes.   Virginia Juniors lost two sets in the gold bracket. One to a strong 540 Elite team 26-24 in the first set. They were able to squeeze past 540 in the third set 15-13. The other in the finals against MVSA Sparks when they lost the second set 25-23 but bounced back to win the third 15-7.   [player_tooltip player_id='438068' first='Ayla' last='Sayd'] earns my MVP award for successfully taking over the role of [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] as the primary offensive weapon.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">15 BOE - MVSA Charge Takes Second</h2>   With the 15 age group playing the morning round I did not get a lot of time to watch them. [player_tooltip player_id='697424' first='Ellie' last='Silberfeld'] stood out as the third setter to run a 5/1 for a DMV team in the tournament that played in the finals. Last high school season she ran a 6/2 with her sister at Walter Johnson high school. This year she may be asked to set a 5/1 with her sister graduating. Her most popular target for MVSA appears to be left side [player_tooltip player_id='778720' first='Jordyn' last='Goh']. Middle [player_tooltip player_id='778696' first='Lailah' last='Rogers'] was a force with her blocking. Last year Lailah played for Holy Cross junior varsity. With the graduation of [player_tooltip player_id='235324' first='Rowan' last='Johnson'] it would not surprise me to see her play varsity this year. She brings some good height to the middle.   MVSA routed Virginia Juniors in the semifinal 25-16, 25-18 to remain undefeated in the tournament. They also beat the Canadian team Synergy Genesis in a challenge match. However, in the finals it was the Canadian team's turn to sweep MVSA.   [player_tooltip player_id='778720' first='Jordyn' last='Goh'] earned my MVP vote for generating consistent offense from the left side.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">14 BOE - Maryland Juniors Repeats as Champs</h2>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/05/maryland-jrs-14-ECC.jpg?w=640" alt="" class="wp-image-778709" style="width:387px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Maryland Juniors 14</figcaption></figure>   They won as 13s the previous year. They win again as 14s this year. However, as a parent commented to me, they did not have to make things so interesting. In the playoffs in the first round of the gold bracket they lost their opening set to Yorktowne 25-23. They got it together and pummeled Yorktowne in the second set 25-6, then hung on to win the third 15-13. As I tell my girls those two point wins and losses build character.   Maryland Juniors is not used to teams at the 14 level reaching 20 points against them. In this tournament they gave up 20 points in five different sets. Their point percentage sat at 1.636, still pretty impressive. For the top Divisions that stood as the highest point percentage.   Early in the tournament, when the team from Canada played Maryland they were certainly aware of Juniors reputation. They lost the first set 25-20 and battled them in the second early before collapsing 25-13. I told a parent that they were a good team and it would not surprise me if they played them again in the finals. They did but lost again 25-8, 25-17.   Maryland Juniors uses three setters [player_tooltip player_id='748513' first='Scarlett' last='Netherton'], [player_tooltip player_id='749358' first='Eva' last='Bujanauskas'] and [player_tooltip player_id='748500' first='Katherine' last='Liu'].. At 5'9" Scarlett does not look that imposing, but when she hits from the right side the ball hits the floor quick with plenty of bounce. She also turns well to bury balls down the line. For a setter she stands out as an impact player based on her offensive contribution.   The left sides [player_tooltip player_id='622282' first='Emerson' last='Wolfe'] and [player_tooltip player_id='748487' first='Sierra' last='Thomas'] do not find any block intimidating. Sierra lists at 5'11" but on tight sets she flies and just dumps the ball over the block. Granted, the blocks at this age lack quality but it still stands out as impressive to see her hit over so many blocks. [player_tooltip player_id='748492' first='Paetyn' last='Brown'], [player_tooltip player_id='753073' first='Aniston' last='Williams'] and [player_tooltip player_id='748496' first='Azana' last='Saheed'] share the middle position, all three hitting the quick tempo sets well.   Earlier in the season [player_tooltip player_id='748518' first='Harper' last='Walker'] filled the libero position for Maryland Juniors. [player_tooltip player_id='754613' first='Charlotte' last='Aus'] played a greater role in this tournament. Because of an injury earlier in the season her playing time was limited. Now that she is healthy, she will also see significant playing time at libero.   For Juniors it is an embarrassment of riches to have so much depth at each position. Despite all that depth my vote for the MVP for this tournament goes to [player_tooltip player_id='748513' first='Scarlett' last='Netherton'].   Chesapeake Chirps - Some of the private schools seem to be building up their rosters. [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] and [player_tooltip player_id='333650' first='Louise' last='Neuhart'] appear to be transferring to Paul VI...[player_tooltip player_id='728971' first='Mandela' last='Masimini'] will transfer from Archbishop Carroll to Flint Hill. That will create some interesting races in the WCAC and the ISL...This was my first tournament where I actually witnessed the final point in each of the age groups at the highest division.

For some age groups the East Coast Championships name the higher level of play the BOE. They refer that as Beasts of the East (or Best of the East). I prefer beasts. Other age groups only carried one division, which they named Select. In the various age groups teams from the D.C./Maryland/Virginia (DMV) won 6 of the 8 top divisions. In the other two age groups (15 BOE and 12 Select) DMV teams finished second. Below is a summary of the finishes. Later this week the top players from each age group will be identified.