Paramount 14 Jazz Wins Gold in American Division

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 14 Jazz it was a nice way to end the season. As a team their goal is always to play in Open. They played in three Open Qualifiers but finished between 14th to 17th place. In the Chesapeake Bid Regional Championships they came into the tournament as the number one seed but events went awry early. They were first upset by Premier Edge in pool play, losing the third set 17-15. This put them in a more difficult bracket. They were forced to play the number two seed [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] early. [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] eliminated them from the bid process beating them in the third set 15-13. Paramount did win the reallocation process, getting some revenge by beating Premier Edge 25-9, which eventually earned them an American bid..</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is ironic that the first opponent they faced in Indy EU Black would be their last opponent they played in the championship. EU beat them twice 25-21 in the opener. Fortunately for Paramount they bounced back to win their next four matches to finish second in their pool. In their last match they beat South Central NE Black in three, taking the third set 16-14. Not bad for a team seeded third in their pool and 36th overall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Advancing to the first division three team pool did not come easy. Both matches went three sets. They lost to Wave Nancy 15-12 in the third set but beat Lion's Cityside 15-6. This put them in second place in their pool. Their crossover match was against Peak Elite from Oklahoma who went undefeated in their three team pool. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] rolled over them 25-19, 25-11.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This got them to the gold bracket dance where they swept their first three opponents. In the third match against Ultimate Gold they relied on their middles <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1001180' first='Liana' last='Lipscomb']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='785509' first='Pia' last='Pardikar'] </strong>to generate their offense. A kill by Liana gave [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] a 26-25 lead but they needed two kills from Pia to stay ahead by one 27-26 and 28-27. Finally, setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1001234' first='Ellen' last='Hong']</strong> avoided playing a tip down the line and it fell out of bounds for a 29-27 win. It was on to the finals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the finals they went up against EU Black who had beat them the first match of the tournament. Unfortunately for EU [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] was on their game. They toasted them in the first set 25-14. The American Division All Tournament Team MVP <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='944759' first='Nyla' last='Mclaurin']</strong> contributed three kills and three aces in the set.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second set EU gave them a game. They were ahead 24-22 but a hitting error and a kill off the EU block by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1001242' first='Kylie' last='Thompson']</strong> tied it up. Kylie put the ball to the floor again to give them a one point lead then participated in a block with<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='785509' first='Pia' last='Pardikar']</strong> to win the match 27-25.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">American Division All Tournament Team Photo</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1001306,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2026/06/AllTournament.jpg?w=895" alt="" class="wp-image-1001306" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Named to the All Tournament team for Paramount was<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='849196' first='Leyla' last='Landry']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1001180' first='Liana' last='Lipscomb']</strong>. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='944759' first='Nyla' last='Mclaurin']</strong> won the MVP vote. The Paramount girls are wearing the white uniforms.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1001180"],"_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-6a41da3ccaadf"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">At 5'11" Liana fills the middle position for [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 14 Jazz. Normally, players at her height at 14 are still struggling with their movement. Not so for Liana. In fact, she has by far the highest approach jump on the team at 9'10".</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When the games get tight it appears Liana is the go to person for the kill. She also can play right side. Always clutch when the game is on the line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Liana appears bound for Forest Park high school. Her smooth, quick athletic movements on the court could be attributed to her early participation in numerous other sports. Now, she appears focused on volleyball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["944759"],"_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-6a41da3ccab1c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">At only 5'6" Nyla would appear to be undersized for a left side. Somehow, she manages to lift herself high enough to crush the volleyball with pretty good velocity. She also plays with a lot of energy. A high intensity athlete when on the court. A six rotation player as well. If she fails to make any advancement with her height the libero position could be a future role. However, as she gets stronger and her jump progresses, she could become a <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='536741' first='Lacey' last='Bogues']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Nyla moves quickly on the court. When watching the transaction of the ball on the other side of the court she reminds me of a goldfish underwater, moving quickly on the court to get in position to make a dig. At the junior nationals she earned the MVP Award on the All Tournament team in the American Division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Nyla will attend North Stafford. She is a player to be watched no matter what position she chooses to play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Prep Dig All Tournament Team for the 14s</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In putting this Prep Dig All Tournament team together I placed restrictions on the number of players who can be selected from each team. If no limit is placed I might as well name the All Tournament team Metro 14 and leave it at that. The limit was no more than five players from a club. This restricts a starting six to be all from one team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["932482"],"_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-6a426dae67666"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='932482' first='Ava' last='Rinne'] earned a selection for this team because there was a need for a third setter as well as a third defensive specialist. American struggled against the high level of competition in the USA Division but that did not bother Ava. Her response to that was she loved playing at that level. It can only make me better.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ava will play with American Division MVP [player_tooltip player_id='944759' first='Nyla' last='Mclaurin'] at North Stafford. I moved Nyla from left side to libero based on the number of left sides on this roster.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>MVP - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='753097' first='Nadia' last='Wooten']</strong> (Metro)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Setter - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='768588' first='Eliana' last='Butler']</strong> (Metro), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1001234' first='Ellen' last='Hong']</strong> ([program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='932482' first='Ava' last='Rinne']</strong> (American)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Middle - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='941769' first='Gabriella' last='Scott']</strong> (Metro), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='785509' first='Pia' last='Pardikar']</strong> ([program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1001180' first='Liana' last='Lipscomb'] </strong>([program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1000565' first='Arina' last='Huseva']</strong> ([program_tooltip program_id='450416' first='East' last='Coast Volleyball Club'] Black)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Left Side - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='897643' first='Julia' last='Ferguson']</strong> ([program_tooltip program_id='450416' first='East' last='Coast Volleyball Club'] Black), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='849196' first='Leyla' last='Landry'] </strong>([program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='753097' first='Nadia' last='Wooten']</strong> (Metro), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='941763' first='Sai' last='Herndon-Brown']</strong> (Metro), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1001185' first='Bella' last='Fisher'] </strong>(BAVA)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Libero - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='777558' first='Kayla' last='R Tutoni']</strong> (Metro), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='944759' first='Nyla' last='Mclaurin']</strong> ([program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''])</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->