Vienna Elite and MOJO Win Gold in Platform Open Tournament

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While many of the top teams from the DMV area played in Boston or Orlando competing in Qualifiers this weekend, there were a few teams playing in the Platform Open tournament at the Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg. Quite an interesting place to hold a tournament. The level of competition may have been down compared to earlier Open tournaments but the spirt to compete was just as great. Below are some of the teams and players who impressed at the event. It came very close to being a [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] sweep but the 15 team lost a heart breaker in the semi-finals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">15 U MOJO Takes the Gold Defeating MOCO Twice</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were seven teams that competed in the 15 Open. MOJO and MOCO Monsoon were placed in a three team pool with Platform White. Both teams swept Platform White in three sets. The final set would determine who would advance to the gold playoffs as the first seed and who would advance as the second seed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite falling behind in the first set 16-9 MOJO was able to battle back to win the first set 25-19. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='951302' first='Olivia' last='Tasikas']</strong> led the comeback with a right side kill down the line. She followed that up with two aces in a three point service run that pulled them to within three points at 13-16. Later in the match <strong>Brynn Moore </strong>contributed a block on a tight set and followed that up with a left side kill to give MOJO a 20-18 lead. <strong>Ruby Kenna</strong> found an open spot tipping a ball over the block to put the score at 23-20. Finally, a hitting error and net call ended the first set in MOJO's favor 25-19.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["951302"],"_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-69a4f5429e118"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">At 5'11" Olivia brings good height for a setter. The ball also comes out smooth and effortless from her hands. She can be near the left side position and flick a back set with ease. I didn't see a lot of jump setting but perhaps she does not see a need running a 6'2". She did make a smooth left handed dump when in the front row while it appeared she was going to set. Not a lot of quick tempo sets but she did execute a perfectly timed shoot set to her middle that elicited a huge celebration.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">From the right side she puts some pretty good velocity on the ball when hitting. She also went far over the net to block a ball. Olivia certainly exhibits a promising future as a setter, whether it entails running a 5/1 or 6/2. There is also good zip on the ball with her serve. She has all the tools but they just need further refinement to rise to the elite level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>MOCO Monsoon was led by middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='951346' first='Meredith' last='Krell']</strong> for much of their offense. Again, MOCO jumped out to a big 15-9 lead. Just as MOJO pulled to within two at 17-15 <strong>Alexandra Lohmeyer</strong> and <strong>Maya Ringius</strong> combined on a block to give MOCO a three point lead, building back the momentum. <strong>Tilly Hart</strong> served back to back aces and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='951346' first='Meredith' last='Krell']</strong> closed the set with a block for a 25-19 victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Because this was a three team pool a third set to 25 needed to be played. MOCO jumped out to a good start with two aces again by <strong>Tilly Hart</strong> and a kill by [player_tooltip player_id='951346' first='Meredith' last='Krell'] for a 4-1 lead. Two aces by <strong>Shannon Layman</strong> gave MOJO their first lead at 16-13. MOCO came back to tie the set 16-16 but <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='951302' first='Olivia' last='Tasikas']</strong> reached far over the net for a block and a 17-16 lead. Eventually, MOCO tied the set again 20-20 after back to back aces from <strong>Medina Karimov</strong>. <strong>Claudia Pescosolido</strong> contributed a couple late kills to advance MOJO's lead to 24-20. MOCO got the serve back, crawled to within 24-22 but a hitting error ended it 25-22.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["951346"],"_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-69a4f5429e19a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Meredith played for MOCO Monsoon, which appears to be the second team for 15U. Their MOCO Menace 15U appears to be their first team. They have a couple players listed in our 2029 rankings. Regionally, they rank third behind Metro and [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Meredith played middle and clearly was the offensive firepower for the Monsoon. When a point became critical Meredith got the call. She also made a number of blocks as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Meredith plays high school for School Without Walls. She finished third on the team in kills as the only frosh to make the varsity roster. She also finished second in blocks. It would not surprise me to see her playing on a first team of some sort next year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>MOJO has now played in four tournaments and won three. This was their first open tournament. They are ranked 15 regionally. For MOCO Monsoon they are ranked 26th regionally. This was their first Open tournament after winning a Club tournament. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] Travel their road to first place was much easier. They won their first set by forfeit because of a roster issue by their opponent then swept their other two opponents pretty easily. Virginia Athletics Volleyball Club (VAAVBC) was able to secure second in the pool by sweeping their other two opponents. [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] is ranked at number 37 regionally, recently winning the Patriots Cup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The most epic playoff match pitted [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] against MOCO. [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] easily disposed of them 25-14 in the first set. The second set [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] kept a slight one to three point lead through most of the early part but a series of mistakes allowed MOCO to move ahead 23-20 near the end. A cross court kill by <strong>Milena Bartell</strong> and a <strong>Rosa Noh </strong>put away gave [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] a 24-23 lead. Despite having three match point opportunities at the end [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] could not capitalize. A [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] serving error followed by a kill from <strong>Alexandra Lohmeyer</strong> ended the set in MOCO's favor 28-26.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The third set was just as intense. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='951346' first='Meredith' last='Krell'] </strong>had four early kills from the middle and <strong>Medina Karimov </strong>contributed two kills and an ace to give MOCO an early 12-9 lead. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='775737' first='Hadley' last='Chang']</strong> generated two critical setter dumps that fell to the middle of the MOCO floor and [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] pulled to within one 12-13. A net by [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] but a couple of service errors by MOCO and the game was tied 14-14. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='945610' first='Hannah' last='Wiggins'] </strong>rifled an ace for a 15-14 [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] lead but a hitting error tied the score at 15-15. A <strong>Caroline Calaluca</strong> tip over the block gave [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] another 16-15 lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["775737"],"_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-69a4f5429e1f8"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hadley shares setting duties with [player_tooltip player_id='888520' first='Rachel' last='Bauer']. She has a good feel for running an offense, making some crucial dumps in the third set that kept [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] in the match. She can also hit pretty well from the right side despite her shorter stature of around 5'7".</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This past season Hadley set for the Bishop O'Connell junior varsity. She currently has two Metro setters in [player_tooltip player_id='746506' first='Carolyn' last='Maria'] and [player_tooltip player_id='612396' first='Natalie' last='Hobson'] to overcome to get varsity time. She certainly has the temperament and the skill set for the position. Now she needs to grab that consistency in location to meet the challenge.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Maya Ringius</strong> sent a down ball over the net that found the floor to tie the set 16-16. Ultimately, MOCO sent a free ball over but hesitation by [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] defenders allowed the ball to drop untouched to give them an 18-17 advantage. MOCO won the match on the next serve 19-17.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>MOJO beat VAAVBC pretty easily in their opening playoff match 25-17. The second set proved to be a little more of a battle. <strong>Claudia Pescosolido </strong>pounding an overpass to the floor to give MOJO a 24-21 lead. VAAVBC was able to close it to 24-23 until a cross court kill by my MVP <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='951302' first='Olivia' last='Tasikas']</strong> ended the match 25-23.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The finals became a rematch of MOCO Monsson and MOJO. Each side missed six serves in the firstset but an ace by <strong>Tilly Hart</strong> and kill by <strong>Diana Brooks</strong> gave MOCO the first set 25-21. MOJO then destroyed MOCO in the second set 25-8. MOJO carried the lead for most of the third set. A two hand set over the net by <strong>Charlotte Kreisel </strong>found the floor to tie the set 12-12. A cross court kill by <strong>Alice Dantzker</strong> gave MOJO the lead again 13-12. <strong>Georgia Steele</strong> finished the match with two aces, the first one just finding the line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">16 U [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] Carries the Gold Home with their Win</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Four teams competed in the 16U. The pool play would determine the seeding. The only set lost by [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] occurred in a split against VAAVBC in pool play 25-23. [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] won the pool by sweeping their other two opponents while VAAVBC could only manage a split against Platform Black 18-25, 28-26. Platform Black could not manage a match win and finished as the third seed. Platform Purple were swept in two of their matches and finished as the fourth seed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the playoffs [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] swept past Platform Purple for the second time. VAAVBC needed three sets to overcome Platform Black. They lost the first set 25-18 but bounced back to win the next two 25-19, 15-9. In the finals [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] trounced Platform Black in the first set 25-7, then just barely squeaked past them in the second set 25-23.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] was led by libero <strong>Mairin Tarr</strong> who led the team with 27 digs. She also showed some very consistent passing making the setters job much easier. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='878741' first='Ava' last='Spillane']</strong> led the team in kills with 26. She is a bit undersized as a left side but she brings excellent velocity and placement to her hits. Right side <strong>Lily McGuiness</strong> contributed 23 kills with a .319 hitting percentage. Finally, <strong>Elizabeth Karraffa</strong> was their ace machine with 13 while also contributing 15 kills.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] the win was a nice confidence booster after some early season struggles. Next on their agenda is the Shamrock Showdown. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->