Metro and Paramount Earn Bids for Nationals

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Once upon a time in the Chesapeake Region you had Metro and then everyone else. That was then. This is now. While Metro won 4 of the five Chesapeake Regionals it did not come easy. While their total match record stood at 24-1 (48-4) they experienced some battles along the way. As the region gets more competitive the talent finds other clubs. Metro can only accommodate so many girls for their travel teams, though their regional teams appear to be on the road more.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When the Chesapeake Regional ended all four Metro 14-17 age groups had earned a bid as well as [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']. MVSA had earned three bids, while Virginia Juniors had taken two bids. Premier Edge, Liberty Elite, Virginia Elite all came away with one bid. Maryland Juniors came in fifth place in three of the age groups so they could still find a bid depending on if reallocation occurs. Virginia Juniors finished fifth in one age group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Our focus for this tournament stayed on the 15 age group. Below is a summary of the results, starting with the 15s.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The 15 Qualifier</strong> - <strong>Metro Aces Paramount</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":520724,"width":"130px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/03/154-Barrett-Bolter-rotated.jpg?w=683" alt="" class="wp-image-520724" style="width:130px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The teams were broken out into four pools of three teams each. The top three teams, <strong>Metro</strong>, <strong>Paramount</strong> and<strong> Virginia Juniors </strong>won their pools and earned a bye for the second round of play. <strong>Premier Edge</strong> pulled the upset by defeating <strong>Maryland Juniors</strong> in three sets 15-25, 25-22 and 15-11.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Maryland Juniors </strong>held a 9-6 lead in the third set but failed to finish it. <strong>Madisson Pierce</strong> finished the game off with a couple kills at the end and <strong>Isabella Meekins</strong> proved to be a force in the middle. <strong>Maryland Juniors</strong> is loaded with talent, beginning with left sides <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='528707' first='Annika' last='Dandridge']</strong> (pictured hitting above) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='438097' first='Haile' last='Ma']</strong>. At 6'2" <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='525348' first='Dylann' last='Loggins']</strong> put down some statement kills from the middle. <strong>Maryland Juniors</strong> fell short the first time they played Premier. They would play them again in a one set reallocation bracket match. Maryland Juniors won 25-20.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The loss may have hurt Maryland Juniors in their hunt for a bid. For the next round the teams were placed in a three team single elimination bracket. The top seed earned a bye and played the winner of the first round. Maryland Jrs was forced to play number two seed Virginia Juniors instead of playing the winner of the Metro North/MVSA Charge match. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Maryland Juniors</strong> disposed of <strong>MOJO Elite Black</strong> fairly easily 25-9, 25-15. They failed to get past the Virginia Juniors team, led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='438068' first='Ayla' last='Sayd']</strong> on the left side and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='359401' first='Chloe' last='Barth']</strong> on the right. [player_tooltip player_id='206729' first='Megan' last='Phan'] controlled the offense setting a 5/1. Coco fired missiles from the back and front row and knocked Maryland Juniors out of the bid bracket 25-19, 25-18.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the fourth bracket, after <strong>MVSA Charge</strong> downed <strong>Metro North </strong>25-15, 25-19 they pulled off their own mini upset by beating <strong>Premier Edge</strong> 25-14, 25-23. The Charge were led by middles <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='438053' first='Lucille' last='Deraleau']</strong> and the 6'3" <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='465322' first='Siyena' last='Fitsum']</strong>. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='529440' first='Emilia' last='Zhang'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='465326' first='Saesha' last='Dhote']</strong> provided offense from the left side while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='491007' first='Ana' last='Djordjevic']</strong> controlled the back row with her passing and defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The other two bid brackets were controlled by <strong>Metro</strong> and <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong>. Metro beat <strong>MVSA Wild</strong> 25-18, 25-8 while [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] disposed of <strong>Liberty Elite </strong>25-16, 25-17. The four teams to earn bids to Nationals had been decided. Now it was time to determine their place in the bidding order.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This came down to four team single elimination matches. <strong>Metro</strong> easily beat <strong>MVSA Charge</strong> 25-17, 25-13 while [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] took down <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> 25-13, 25-14. The finals turned into an epic match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Metro</strong> tried their best to stop <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington'] </strong>in the middle, putting up two blocks against her, but Taylor won most of those battles. <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] </strong>carried the lead for most of the first set with two <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='279856' first='Kayla' last='Luther']</strong> kills providing a 4-1 advantage. Metro stayed close but a <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington']</strong> kill and block and two more <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='279856' first='Kayla' last='Luther']</strong> kills kept <strong>Parmount's</strong> lead at three, 16-13 and 18-15. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='437457' first='Jasmin' last='Tucker']</strong> had a big block for Metro that closed the score to 17-18. Right side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='469197' first='Olivia' last='Garey']</strong> contributed two kills and a block to put <strong>Metro</strong> ahead 23-21. An ace serve delivered by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='478903' first='Barrett' last='Bolter']</strong>(pictured above) actually gave Metro their first lead of the set 21-20. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='437446' first='Alli' last='Robinson']</strong> put the finishing touches on the set with a block and kill to score the last two points, 25-21. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] also controlled the start of the second set with left side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='333650' first='Louise' last='Neuhart'] </strong>leading the way with an ace and a kill and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington']</strong> contributing two blocks and a kill for a 7-2 advantage. <strong>Metro</strong> battled back with an <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='469197' first='Olivia' last='Garey']</strong> kill giving them their first lead at 20-19. A<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum']</strong> ace extended that lead to 21-19. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='437441' first='Hunter' last='Ross'] </strong>put Metro within three points of victory with a block to move the score to 22-20. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238595' first='Sofia' last='Delarosa']</strong> gave <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong> serve back with a kill and a <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington']</strong> block put <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong> ahead again 23-22. Two <strong>Metro</strong> hitting errors finished the game 25-22. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In set three<strong> [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']</strong> scored the first four points and carried a 7-3 lead halfway through the set courtesy of three <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington']</strong> kills. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] held onto the lead up until 13-12, but a hitting error tied the score at 13-13. With Metro up 14-13 they appeared to win the game when the line judge called a serve in the deep corner in. As the Metro players began their pile on celebration the referee blew the whistle to reverse the call and the game was tied 14-14. The two teams kept exchanging points, with Metro always keeping their match point advantage up to 18-17. Libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='437443' first='Kaniyah' last='Ball'] </strong>served an ace well inside the court to give Metro the match. A second pile on celebration began. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite starting their game much later, the 16 team had won their championship match over Paramount as well and came over to watch the 15 match when Metro was down 10-11. With no other matches going on that brought a big crowd to court 1. One Metro parent could be seen pacing back and forth as the two teams exchanged points, afraid to look at the court for fear of jinxing the result. It was a fun match to watch. Both teams battled well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Metro </strong>wins the National bid. <strong>Paramount </strong>takes the American bid. <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> and <strong>MVSA Charge</strong> earn the Freedom bids. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The 16 Qualifier - Metro Over Paramount Again</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":205198,"width":"107px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/06/38-Baylee-Doolan1.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-205198" style="width:107px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the 16's it was pretty obvious who was going to play in the finals. Determining the last two bids would be the challenge. <strong> Metro</strong> had no problem winning their three team bracket. <strong>Paramount</strong> experienced troubles with<strong> MVSA Sparks</strong> in their first set, barely squeaking out a win 27-25 but winning the second set 25-18. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Virginia Juniors </strong>pulled off a mild upset over third seeded <strong>Maryland Juniors </strong>25-19, 25. 21. In the fourth pool each team finished 1-1 but the top seed <strong>Renaissance</strong> swept <strong>Premier Edge</strong> to finish with the top set record. Because <strong>MVSA Fusion</strong> lost in three sets to <strong>Rennaissance</strong> their three losses dropped them to third place. The pool followed the seeding in order of finish.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Metro carries some impressive pin hitters in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='303701' first='Caydence' last='Doolan']</strong> (pictured above), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='227251' first='Morgan' last='Williams']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='210539' first='Emma' last='Gardner']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='301696' first='Nadiya' last='Johnson']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='220923' first='Soleil' last='Rancourt'].</strong> That numbers five players for four positions. Caydence ranks as the most complete with the ability to pass and play defense. With the ankle injury to middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238341' first='Teodora' last='Stamenkovic'] </strong>that provided extra playing time for middles <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='333652' first='Gabriella' last='Vizek']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='321676' first='Gabrielle' last='Wigglesworth']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='321679' first='Simone' last='Assasie']</strong>. Instead of four players vying for two positions it whittled down to three. Metro swept past <strong>Maryland Juniors Black</strong> 25-10, 25-20.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Paramount,</strong> <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> and <strong>MVSA Sparks</strong> swept through their opponents to advance to the bid bracket. <strong>Metro</strong> did not have any trouble disposing of <strong>MVSA Sparks</strong>, sweeping them 25-13, 25-9. <strong>Paramount</strong> won their opener against <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> 25-16 but struggled in the second set. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238356' first='Morgan' last='Reeves']</strong> pulled off a successful roll shot to tie the game at 22-22. The two teams exchange hitting errors but a kill by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='498420' first='Meisha' last='Sykes']</strong> gave Metro the 24-23 lead. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='325599' first='Raegan' last='Lentz']</strong> finished it off with an ace.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 16 championship match started well after the 15 championship match. It finished quickly with <strong>Metro winning</strong> 25-10, 25-19. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Metro </strong>comes away with the National bid. <strong>Paramount</strong> earns the American bid. <strong>MVSA Sparks </strong>and <strong>Virginia Juniors </strong>take the two Freedom bids. <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge']</strong>, who ranks number 26 in the country, just ahead of Metro (28) will play in AAUs. In head to head matches they had lost to Paramount twice.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> <strong>The 17 Qualifier - Metro Over Virginia Elite </strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This tournament took place at a different facility so I did not get a chance to watch any of the play. The one upset was that<strong> Premier Edge</strong> took down the fourth seed <strong>MVSA Starz</strong> 30-28, 19-25 and 15-7. <strong>Metro</strong> and <strong>Paramount </strong>both swept. <strong>Virginia Elite</strong> had a bit of a struggle, needing three sets to vanquish their two opponents. They barely slipped past <strong>Liberty Elite </strong>21-25, 25-18, 17-15. They then lost the opener to <strong>Maryland Juniors Black</strong> 22-25 but recovered to take the last two sets 25-15, 15-10.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Metro</strong>, <strong>Paramount</strong>, <strong>Virginia Elite</strong> and <strong>Premier Edge</strong> were able to sweep through their opponents to earn a spot in the bid bracket. The fourth seed <strong>MVSA Stars</strong> got beaten by <strong>Paramount</strong> to fall out of bid contention. They also lost to <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> 25-23 to fall far behind in the bid reallocation process. <strong>Virginia Juniors</strong> beat<strong> Liberty Elite</strong> 26-24 to fall next in line for a reallocation bid. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Premier Edge</strong> gave <strong>Metro</strong> a battle in the first round, losing both sets 25-22. <strong>Virginia Elite</strong> battled <strong>Paramount</strong> to a three set victory 25-22, 21-25, 15-11. The final was all Metro 25-18, 25-22. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Metro </strong>wins the National bid. <strong>Virginia Elite</strong> gets the opportunity to compete in the American division. <strong> Paramount </strong>and <strong>Premier Edge</strong> earn the Freedom bid.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>14 Qualifier - <strong>Paramount defeats Metro </strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When I watched <strong>Metro 14</strong> play I did not think another 14 team carried the talent on the roster to beat them. Paramount seemed to have it. I have not seen <strong>Paramount 14</strong> play but they swept past their opposition without giving up 20 points. That included <strong>Metro </strong>25-19, 25-19.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Paramount </strong>earns the National bid. <strong>Metro</strong> settles for the American bid. <strong>MVSA Force </strong>and <strong>Liberty Elite </strong>find themselves in the Freedom bid.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chesapeake Chirps:</strong> <strong>American 15</strong> flew to Saint Louis to play in a Qualifier instead of competing in the Chesapeake Bid Regional. They played in the Liberty Division. Advancing to the gold appeared promising when they swept through their opponents on the first day to finish 3-0. Hopes took a tumble the next day when they were swept, with two of their three losses taking three sets.....The Old Dominion Region also competed for their Bids on Sunday. Unfortunately, they do not report their results in AES. You have to hunt for them. <strong>540 Academy 16 </strong>elite appears to have earned a bid to the National Division, finishing 5-0 on the day. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->