Day 7 - 14s and 15s Still Searching for Gold

The first round of bracket play has been completed. Teams have been reshaped into Division I and Division II categories. Below are the teams in Division I as they hope to find their journey into the gold bracket.   Virginia Juniors 15 USA       They came in as the number two seed and after losing their match against Hawaii Next Level Volleyball 25-9, 25-23 they finish bracket play as the second seed. Prior to that they played Dallas Skyline and beat them in three. They won the third set 15-10.   Katherine McIntyre served up back to back aces to put Juniors up 12-8. [player_tooltip player_id='438068' first='Ayla' last='Sayd'] powdered a ball to the floor to extend the lead to 13-8. A [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] came through with the ace to end the match 15-10.   Juniors goes into the three team bracket as the first seed with OT Felix and AZ EVG Elite. They find themselves in a good spot.   Metro 15 National       Metro came into this bracket as the number one seed. While they have athletic players on the left side in [player_tooltip player_id='385968' first='Macie' last='Murray'] and [player_tooltip player_id='377396' first='Alexa' last='Telly'] and middles who can make statement blocks in [player_tooltip player_id='437441' first='Hunter' last='Ross'] and [player_tooltip player_id='437446' first='Alli' last='Robinson'], they still struggle with their passing. After winning the first set against the A5 second team 25-22 their passing collapsed in the second set for a 25-15 drubbing. Their passing still struggled in the third set, putting them behind early 4-1. They would never catch up in the 15-10 loss.   While this A5 was not the first team, they still had some talented players who could hit the ball hard to the floor. Definitely not a team you should ignore. The win put them in second place in the bracket while Metro still escaped from the loss with a third place finish and an entry into the first division.   With the loss Metro gets placed in a three team pool with the number one seed Southern California Volleyball Club and Minnesota Select. At the 16 Open level SCVC won the tournament. Perhaps Metro plays better with a challenge.   Maryland Juniors 15 American       They were seeded number one in their pool. They lost their opener to Circle City 25-23, 30-28, but bounced back to win their next five matches. It took them three sets to win their last two matches, but they pulled the third set out in both 15-12. A win would return the first seed back to Maryland Juniors. A loss would keep them as a second seed.   Juniors is led by [player_tooltip player_id='528707' first='Annika' last='Dandridge'] on the outside. [player_tooltip player_id='438097' first='Haile' last='Ma'] is another outside they rely on. With middle [player_tooltip player_id='506629' first='Dylann' last='Loggins'] perhaps injured for the tournament Juniors will rely on [player_tooltip player_id='438098' first='Kennedy' last='Williams'] for offense. She strung together four consecutive aces against MKE Sting to win their second set 26-24. [player_tooltip player_id='528705' first='Victoria' last='Small'] plays libero while the setting duties are shared by [player_tooltip player_id='529251' first='Jessica' last='Li'] and [player_tooltip player_id='754942' first='Xinyuan' last='Cui'].   A win will give Juniors a bye in the group challenge match. A second place finish will eliminate that bye and force them to play two matches to earn their journey to the gold.   Metro 14 Open   In the 16 and 17 grouping two 2-3 teams, [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 16 and Liberty Elite 17 were able to squeeze themselves into the gold bracket. Metro finished in third place in their bracket and fall in as the third seed with SG Elite Roshambo and AVC Cle Red. This is better than what happened to the two older Metro teams who both fell out of the gold medal race early.   Metro is led by their two impressive outsides [player_tooltip player_id='536727' first='Chika' last='Onukwugha'] and [player_tooltip player_id='536719' first='Katherine' last='Mitchell']. Their middles [player_tooltip player_id='612397' first='Eliana' last='Koram'] and Ayosa Stewart play critical blocking roles. Eliana strung together four blocks in the first set of their opening loss against Tribe. [player_tooltip player_id='612399' first='Riley' last='Ko'] stands out as their libero. [player_tooltip player_id='536721' first='Ana' last='Woods'] has been hot on the right side. Finally, [player_tooltip player_id='536724' first='Ariel' last='Callwood'] and Lillian Sanchez share the setting duties.   [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 14 National   In the one game I watched against Wildfire they did not look too good losing 25-13, 25-16. The only other loss for [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] was their last match, a three setter against the first place Lions. The third set ended 15-10. As the first seed in the pool this is not the journey you want to take as the third seed.   Eireni Scott was the only player who stood out in the match that I watched against Wildfire. They dropped from a second seed to a 23rd seed and will play in a three team bracket with TW Skyline Royal and NKYVC Tide from Puerto Rico. Those Puerto Rican teams always play scrappy.   ECVC Black 14 National   This team came into their pool as the fourth seed and shocked the group with a first place finish. Their only loss came in the second match against Madfrog Black. After that loss they won their next three matches in three sets. A very impressive showing for the National Division.   The strength of this team seems to lie with their middles [player_tooltip player_id='617089' first='India' last='Starr'] and [player_tooltip player_id='617109' first='Margaret' last='Manzer']. They rotate their liberos, [player_tooltip player_id='617112' first='Ava' last='Davis'] and Skyler Smith, but they both impressed me, keeping rallies alive by digging a number of hard hits. Ava moves especially quick along the court. [player_tooltip player_id='746327' first='August' last='Bridges'] and Kyla Goode share the setting duties. This is a team that could surprise.   They have now moved up to a first seed in their pool and a third seed in the Division. They will play in a three team bracket with Wildfire and United Natasha.   [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] Cozad 14 Freedom   The [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] second team survived the first challenge by finishing third in their pool. They had to win their last three matches to accomplish that task. All three matches were by sweeps. As they say in Las Vegas, this team is hot, hot, hot.   They were the last team on my schedule to watch. Their smaller left side Layla Babiker seems to get most of the sets. While she hits long a lot she also tallies a number of kills. At the 14 level you kind of expect this. [player_tooltip player_id='536729' first='Katelyn' last='Rolph'] is a taller setter who plays the back row. She shares the setting duties with Iris Jin, who may not have great height but she has good hands. Impressed with Leila Bataineh, a taller middle who can do a lot of damage.   They play as a third seed against UC Elite and Norco Black.   Liberty Elite 14 American   Liberty Elite must win their final game of pool play tomorrow against FEVA Black, otherwise they drop below third place. A win creates a three way tie for third place, which then gets decided by a tie breaker. A sweep will give them a better set winning percentage than the current second place team FEVA Black.   Liberty Elite relies on left sides [player_tooltip player_id='610473' first='Catherine' last='Warren'] and [player_tooltip player_id='612405' first='Sloan' last='Dunn']. Their two middles Tenley Yost and [player_tooltip player_id='617087' first='Carson' last='Lehman'] can also provide some offense. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='612401' first='Leigha' last='Harsh'] controls the back row.   All Tournament Players for the 16s and 17s    Selected to the All tournament for Junior Nationals in the National Division.    Getting to the gold bracket will get you at least one player nominated for the All Tournament team. The higher you go in the gold bracket the more players selected. Below are three players who made the All tournament team at the 16 and 17 age group.   American 17s - [player_tooltip player_id='183589' first='Angelique' last='Desamours'] ([program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''])   Freedom 17s - [player_tooltip player_id='346735' first='Emily' last='Ryder'] (Liberty Elite)   National 16s - [player_tooltip player_id='325602' first='Alexa' last='Smith'] ([program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''])

The first round of bracket play has been completed. Teams have been reshaped into Division I and Division II categories. Below are the teams in Division I as they hope to find their journey into the gold bracket.