Washington Winners at PNQ!
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Washington players went all out to finish as winners this weekend at the PNQ in Spokane. Leaving the tournament on Monday with a win in the last match is a team accomplishment to be celebrated from the Gold Bracket to…
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Continue ReadingWashington players went all out to finish as winners this weekend at the PNQ in Spokane. Leaving the tournament on Monday with a win in the last match is a team accomplishment to be celebrated from the Gold Bracket to Flight 5 and everywhere in between. Here is a look at the teams that finished strong, and several of the athletes that contributed to the wins. Coverage of individual players from the 18U-16U Divisions at the PNQ will continue this week!
18 BRACKET WINNERS
NPJ Forefront took home the big prize as the 18 Open champions in dominating fashion. The team punched their ticket with an Open bid and looked good doing it. Setter Alexis Haury Alexis Haury 5'10" | S Silverton | 2024 State #9 Nation OR fed her big hitters buttery sets, libero Kennedy Cheung Kennedy Cheung 5'2" | DS/L Westview | 2023 State OR dug up everything that came her way and Kyleene Filimaua Kyleene Filimaua 6'1" | OH North Creek | 2023 State #185 Nation WA hit rockets as the team did not drop a set. The team has players from all over the PNW, an awesome representation of the volleyball talent in this part of the country.
OJVA Gold 18 secured a bid to the open with a 3rd place finish, even down a few players. A three set victory over Mizuno Long Beach Rockstar sealed the deal. RVC Kosty 18 took home the Flight 1 victory, securing a 7th-place overall finish in the Open. Setters/Attackers Kylie Munday from Post Falls, Idaho, and Leilani Ama Leilani Ama 5'11" | S Mt. Spokane | 2023 State WA led the way.
ITVC Baden 18 snagged the coveted Gold Ball trophy and bid in the 18 American Division, finishing with a championship win over CC FORCE 181 Crossfire from Texas. ITVC sent out a tall and talented front line including AK Short, Emma Saffel, Arden Caley Arden Caley 6'2" | OH Skyline | 2023 WA , and Leila Obeidat that proved difficult for opponents to solve during the run to the title.
BRVBA 18 snagged the Bronze Division and SIVA 18-2 South Blue finished first in Flight 1. In the 18 Liberty Division, two Spokane area teams finished Monday with wins. Club South 18 won the Bronze with strong all-around efforts from Lauren York Lauren York 5'7" | S Colfax | 2024 State WA and Joy Assonken, and the Extreme 18 Veronica squad secured the victory in Flight 4.
17 BRACKET WINNERS
The 17 teams had the most bracket winners for Washington, eight -along with a third-place finish that secured a bid. In the 17 Open, we are going to count OJVA 17’s Flight 2 victory as Washington and Oregon win. Sydney Dreves Sydney Dreves 5'11" | OH Columbia River | 2025 State #80 Nation WA is a very talented 2025 prospect on the team from Columbia River. Dakine 17 Surf carried the day in Flight 3 and RVC 17 Trent from Spokane ended the tournament with a win in Flight 5. The two primary liberos for these teams are go getter’s, Olivia Paul Olivia Paul 5'6" | DS/L Mead | 2024 State WA and Kaitlyn Nguyen Kaitlyn Nguyen 5'4" | DS/L Bellevue | 2026 State WA work extremely hard on the court.
The 17 USA Silver bracket came down to a rematch between CPA 17 Drew and Shockwave 17. The two Eastern Washington teams had met the day before with Shockwave winning a thriller in three. The CPA team won the battle the second time around, and the two squads will hope to play anyone else when they both head to the Salt Lake City Showdown in early April!
Seattle Juniors 17 won the Flight 1 bracket solidly in two sets over RVC 17 Brenna. Setters Elise Baier Elise Baier 5'7" | S Wenatchee | 2024 State WA and Aimee Brester Aimee Brester 5'7" | S Liberty | 2024 State WA kept the offense flowing, Victoria Plumb Victoria Plumb 5'5" | DS/L Inglemoor | 2024 State WA was all over the floor on defense, and lefty right-side Karisa Martin Karisa Martin 6'1" | RS Monroe | 2024 State WA delivered powerful kills. In the 17 American Division, two Western Washington teams earned bids. SNVF 17 White broke through with gritty play all weekend, only dropping one set along the way. Mariyah Young Mariyah Young 5'8" | OH North Creek | 2024 State WA was crushing swings from the pipe, setter Grace Jones Grace Jones 5'9" | S South Whidbey | 2024 State WA was on target and crafty, and middle Hannah Johnson showed her versatility and skilled defense at the net and from the service line. SNVF 17 takes the American bid, and Dakine 17-2 secured another with a 3rd place win. Tanumalea Fuamatu is a skilled and smart setter, and Lemasiono Fuamatu brought the heat from the outside.
The 17 Liberty has two Flight winners from the same club, NW Juniors. The 17 UA Black squad took down the competition in Flight 3 and the NW UA Blue team finished with a victory in Flight 4.
16 BRACKET WINNERS
The 16 Open has been touted as the most competitive division across the nation this club season and the PNQ was no exception. NPJ Seattle 16 National finished in a 9th place tie, tops among Washington clubs. Annika Wright Annika Wright 5'9" | S Tahoma | 2025 State WA played with fire and grit all weekend. The 16 USA Division was a success, with CPA Drew 16 taking the Silver bracket, CPA 16 Katie winning Bronze, and Excel NW 16 Lux champions of Flight 1. MB Savannah Gustaveson Savannah Gustaveson 5'11" | MB Gonzaga Prep | 2025 WA has great vision offensively for CPA Drew, MB Shaylee Stephen Shaylee Stephen 6'2" | MB Camas | 2026 State WA was an intimidating blocker for Excel NW, and setter Taylor Winey out of Idaho ran down passes all weekend to give her CPA Katie attackers a set they could hit.
A big shout out to PSVBA 16 Legacy who just missed the top three with a fourth place finish in 16 USA. Maddie Taitano Maddie Taitano 5'10" | S Bellarmine Prep | 2025 State WA and Reese Sheppard Reese Sheppard 5'9" | S Puyallup | 2025 State WA are an excellent duo at setter, and Vanessa Caoili Vanessa Caoili 5'6" | DS/L Kentridge | 2025 State WA played her usual excellent all around game.
16 American saw Apex NW 16 Summit take Flight 1, Dakine Surf 16-2 handled Flight 2 and NPJ Seattle 16 Black conquered Flight 4. In 16 Liberty, SIVBC 16 Tornado continued their winning ways with a Flight 1 championship. The Tornado squad did not lose a match after day one, an initial pool that included the second and fifth-place Liberty finishers overall. This team is gelling, and we will cover them in a mid-season team feature in the coming weeks.
The club season is roughly at the mid-point, April is packed with events and Prep Dig will be there to cover it!