Who Won the Battles in Baltimore for Charm Hardware

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A number of talented teams took to the courts in the Baltimore convention center to take home the Charm City Hardware. For the most part in the Open categories the finals saw Metro take on [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] in the Championship matches. Only on one occasion did Metro not win the gold. The results are detailed below. A future post will provide names of players who stood out. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">18 U - [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] Make it Four in a Row</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Back in December 2023 Prep Dig held their first showcase in Virginia at The Saint James facility. The day of the event it poured down rain, streets closed, a number of event organizers washed out, but the kids still showed. Many of those kids came from an unfamiliar club at the time named [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy']. It was a new club in the Old Dominion Region that took over for the most part two existing clubs that were closing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A couple players like middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='397397' first='Jasmine' last='Williams']</strong> and setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='397536' first='Aubrey' last='Parker'] </strong>won top performer awards. Other players like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='443570' first='Lexiana' last='Everetts']</strong> and setter/ds <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='290419' first='Sanai' last='Jones']</strong> fell short of top performer awards but still stood out in a group of talented players. That list of talented players included two future Gatorade Players of the year in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum']</strong> and <strong>Ema Djordjevic</strong> as well as United States Junior National team player and gold medalist <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington']</strong>. It was a pretty incredible group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is now getting even more incredible after [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] won their fourth consecutive tournament. Add the Charm City Challenge to the Reindeer Rumble, Virginia Beach Brawl and Volley by the James championships giving them a national ranking at 28 in the country, according to Advanced Event Systems (AES).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On the first day of pool play they were left pretty much unchallenged sweeping past all three of their opponents. In the first round of the gold medal bracket match [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] did face their first test. An ex-teammate <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='443570' first='Lexiana' last='Everetts']</strong> lined up on the other side of the net for Virginia Elite. However, it was <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='377334' first='Josephine' last='Seekford']</strong> with her three kills and one ace who built up a 19-11 lead for Virginia Elite. Lexiana also provided a kill to start the Virginia Elite early barrage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] turned to Libero [player_tooltip player_id='484405' first='Brenna' last='Raymond'] for some heroics. She went on a seven point serving run to cut the lead to 18-19. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='497909' first='Riley' last='A. Forehand']</strong> kept on finding hands to score points, tooling the blocks, including firing a ball up into the ceiling that made contact with the blockers fingers before hitting the roof.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='397536' first='Aubrey' last='Parker']</strong> set a 5/1 but she reared back for a kill to give [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] a 21-20 lead. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='397397' first='Jasmine' last='Williams']</strong> put a ball down from the middle and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='221415' first='Lindsey' last='Canty']</strong> ended the set with a kill down the line for the 25-23 victory. However, the most important achievement may have been <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='397536' first='Aubrey' last='Parker']</strong> convincing the official to reverse a called Virginia Elite point into a replay during the middle of the seven point service run. That is a skill Aubrey maintains outside her normal volleyball talent. She knows the rules and can even recognize when players on the other side of the net are out of rotation. She is not afraid to challenge an official with her knowledge of the rules and certainly represents her coach well when talking to an official..</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] went on to win the second set 25-17, swept [program_tooltip program_id='498495' first='Richmond' last='Volleyball Club'] 25-22, 25-11 then beat Synergy in three, winning the third set 15-5 for their fourth consecutive championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This feels like one of those bonding experiences where a team finishes off it's one big final volleyball adventure together. Almost all of the players have committed to play college somewhere, so they do not really need this final season to continue their volleyball career. However, this is one last bonding experience before they go their separate ways. It looks like a good experience so far as they go four for four with tournament championships. Next on their agenda is not until March when they will compete in the Northeast Qualifier.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">17 U - [player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington'] Leads [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] to Gold</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:image {"id":789933,"width":"361px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/07/DSC08900-Enhanced-NRcover_websize.jpg?w=685" alt="" class="wp-image-789933" style="width:361px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Kojo Assasie [player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] did not face a lot of adversity in this tournament. Prior to the finals no team had reached 20 points against them. The match against Metro Travel would be their first litmus test this season. They had already swept through two local Open tournaments. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They won the first set 25-18. The second set started out well with back to back combo blocks from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='534058' first='Alexa' last='Bracey']</strong> that put [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] ahead early 4-1. From there it appeared to be an uphill battle for Metro, getting no closer that 19-20. This happened after a <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='437985' first='Zora' last='Dimbo']</strong> block pushed Metro to within one point.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Up until this time, a player who struggled to find playing time in the past came through with the biggest hit of the day. After a couple [player_tooltip player_id='385968' first='Macie' last='Murray'] kills and the Dimbo block <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='534058' first='Alexa' last='Bracey']</strong> ended that momentum by pounding a ball to the floor to give [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] a 21- 19 lead. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='529251' first='Jessica' last='Li']</strong> followed with a float serve that crashed untouched to the center of the court for an ace to extend the lead to 22-19. A [player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington'] block followed by her kill from the middle pulled [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] to within match point. A hitting error by Metro gave [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] the 25-20 win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A little note of trivia regarding <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington']</strong>. She was the first player in Virginia identified as a top performer in the local showcase events. Seems like a pretty easy choice now. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prior to this championship match, Metro Travel had swept past all their opponents, including Metro National in the semi-final 25-12, 25-17. With two of the top setters in the class of 2027 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='478903' first='Barrett' last='Bolter']</strong>, as well as two quality libero DS candidates in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='437443' first='Kaniyah' last='Ball'] </strong>they whipped through their competition early. Both Casey and Laila are Gatorade Player of the Year award winners for DC and Virginia. Perhaps this is a first time a 17 U team has carried two Gatorade winners on their roster. Most Gatorade winners are seniors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is the second time Metro has finished second in a multi day tournament. They finished second in City of Oaks challenge, losing only to Triangle Black in the finals. Their next multi-day tournament will be their own Capitol Hill Classic. After this come the Qualifiers so they want to prepare for those. In competitive play there are normally only two outcomes. Either the team is winning or they are learning. If they are not learning then they are bound to keep repeating the second outcome until they begin learning.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">16 U Metro Travel Looking for an Upgrade</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:image {"id":787823,"width":"376px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/06/IMG_4214-rotated.jpg?w=768" alt="" class="wp-image-787823" style="width:376px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: [player_tooltip player_id='612399' first='Riley' last='Ko'], MVP [player_tooltip player_id='536719' first='Katherine' last='Mitchell'] and [player_tooltip player_id='787533' first='Chika' last='Onukwugha']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last year this group won the Junior Nationals National Division, with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='536719' first='Katherine' last='Mitchell']</strong> earning the MVP honors and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='612399' first='Riley' last='Ko']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='787533' first='Chika' last='Onukwugha'] </strong>earning spots on the All Tournament team. This year they are looking to upgrade, with their goal to find a spot in the Open Division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They got off to a good start in achieving that goal with an impressive sweep of their opponents in the Charm City Challenge. Only NVA Black reached 20 points against them before losing 25-22, 25-21. In the finals Metro crushed their rival [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 25-18, 25-16.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Metro has picked up a couple players to accomplish their upgrade. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='612396' first='Natalie' last='Hobson']</strong> is one of the new setters who will run a 6/2 with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='625574' first='Ashley' last='Nguyen'].</strong> They also brought in two new pin hitters in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='550688' first='Sienna' last='Mitchell'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='587876' first='Ariana' last='White']</strong>. Sienna hits mainly from the right side while Ariana may see more time on the left. This adds depth to an already crowded position that includes <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='536719' first='Katherine' last='Mitchell']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='787533' first='Chika' last='Onukwugha']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='515489' first='Chloe' last='Canetto']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='721145' first='Claire' last='Tepper']</strong> and<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='536721' first='Ana' last='Woods']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Their only loss this season has come against CJV Mizuno in the finals of the City of Oaks Challenge. AES now ranks them as 10th in the country.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">15 U The New Super Team in the Neighborhood</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:image {"id":732503,"width":"500px","height":"auto","aspectRatio":"1.501502019107653","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/12/Emerson-Wolfe.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-732503" style="aspect-ratio:1.501502019107653;width:500px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='622282' first='Emerson' last='Wolfe']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The class of 2026 Metro team earned my first selection as a super team. When they were 16s they disappointed in the Open Division in Junior Nationals, finishing near the bottom. The next year they added <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238357' first='Claire' last='Mo'] </strong>as the final piece to their superteam and they finished third in the Junior National Open Division one of the highest finishes ever for a Chesapeake Region team. The following year I selected the class of 2027 [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] team as a superteam. They came out strong at MAPL beating both Metro 16 and Metro 17 twice to win the gold in the 15-18 Division. However, they disappointed in the Open Division at Junior Nationals this past season. Perhaps like the Metro team the previous year, this year will be their time to shine.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This Metro 15 team has now entered superstar status. With the addition of the top three players from Maryland Juniors 14, which qualified for the Open last year, they will be difficult to beat. Adding <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='622282' first='Emerson' last='Wolfe']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='748513' first='Scarlett' last='Netherton']</strong> to the pins and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='753073' first='Aniston' last='Williams']</strong> to the middle filled in holes from their Metro 14 team. Now there is so much quality depth at all the positions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They swept through all their opponents at Charm City for their third tournament win of the early season. Currently AES has them ranked second in the Region and third Nationally. They destroyed [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] in the finals 25-10, 25-14 with AES showing [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] ranked first in the Region and 15th nationally. Makes me wonder about those algorithms.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of Metro Travels toughest challenge was when they played Metro National in the semi-finals. Metro National also picked up a number of players from that same Maryland Juniors 14 team. In the first set Metro National seemed in control, fueled by the offense created by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='749642' first='Sophia' last='Groshek']</strong> from the right side and back row with three kills and two aces.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A National hitting error knotted the score at 16-16 followed by an <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='750053' first='Alexis' last='Luscomb']</strong> ace to give Travel their first lead 17-16. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='749642' first='Sophia' last='Groshek'] </strong>followed with back to back hammers to return the lead to the National 19-17. A National hitting error followed by a <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='750050' first='Raquel' last='Telly']</strong> kill tied the set again 19-19. An <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='762829' first='Angela' last='Zhang']</strong> rocket gave the National a 20-19 lead but a service error tied the score again.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='755672' first='Jaylin' last='Park'] </strong>finished the set off with a five point serving run that included two aces. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='750047' first='Caroline' last='Conroy']</strong> participated in three blocks to win the other points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Travel dominated the second set 25-16, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='746330' first='Hannah' last='Keating']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='750047' first='Caroline' last='Conroy']</strong> participating in some early blocks while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='746506' first='Carolyn' last='Maria'] </strong>pounded out three kills, two blocks and four aces. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">14 U Metro Blasts Past a Strong [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] Team</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:image {"id":781850,"width":"413px","height":"auto","aspectRatio":"0.8025668449197861","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/06/21-Kayla-R-Tutoni.jpg?w=821" alt="" class="wp-image-781850" style="aspect-ratio:0.8025668449197861;width:413px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='777558' first='Kayla' last='R Tutoni']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was pretty clear when watching the 14s that the two strongest teams in this age group were [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] and Metro. [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] brought control with shades of power while Metro seemed to have it all.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For Metro they carried two strong back row players libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='888626' first='Blake' last='Ahn']</strong> who started last year as a frosh for Fairfax and defensive specialist <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='777558' first='Kayla' last='R Tutoni']</strong>, who played for the junior varsity for Lightridge, but won a top performer award at our frosh showcase last year. They also brought loads of powerful arms with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='753097' first='Nadia' last='Wooten']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='941763' first='Sai' last='Herndon-Brown']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='893943' first='Mila' last='Smith']</strong> to hit left side. Last year <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='893943' first='Mila' last='Smith']</strong> played both right and left side for VISAA state champion Flint Hill. Wooten already has an approach jump that reaches 10'4", quite impressive even for her 5'10' height.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] has a solid libero in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='941765' first='Aubrey' last='Astorino']</strong>, who acts as team captain when on the floor. To support her she has two powerful outsides in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='941767' first='Veronica' last='Barvick']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='941768' first='Randilyn' last='Hancock']</strong>. Veronica reminds me a lot of her older sister <strong>Greta Barwick</strong> with her height and power. Greta finished her career as the 13th ranked prospect in the class of 2024. Veronica shows that potential. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='941768' first='Randilyn' last='Hancock']</strong> is that smaller outside who has that ability to avoid the block or use it to her advantage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the first set Metro jumped out to its biggest lead 17-13 after an ace from setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='888185' first='Abigail' last='Chang']</strong> and a redirect block by middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='941769' first='Gabriella' last='Scott']</strong>. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='941767' first='Veronica' last='Barvick']</strong> went on a run with four successive kills that gave [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] their first lead since early in the game 21-20. [player_tooltip player_id='893943' first='Mila' last='Smith'] buried a ball to the floor to tie it for Metro but Veronica brought the lead back with her own shot that made it 22-21.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One skill that hurt [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] was their inability to find the court when serving. They missed five serves, their fifth serving error giving the ball back to Metro tied 22-22. Another <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='893943' first='Mila' last='Smith']</strong> kill put Metro ahead again 23-22. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='941775' first='Charlotte' last='Barvick'] </strong>found the floor for [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] to tie the set up at 23-23. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='893943' first='Mila' last='Smith']</strong> went deep corner for a kill while a back court attack from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='941767' first='Veronica' last='Barvick']</strong> tied the set up again 24-24.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='753097' first='Nadia' last='Wooten']</strong> then wound that right arm up and planted a spike to the floor for a 25-24 lead. The set ended on an interesting net call that [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] protested but to no avail.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second set [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] jumped to an early 4-0 lead with a block and kill by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='941775' first='Charlotte' last='Barvick']</strong> leading the wave. A couple blocks by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='941779' first='Jordin' last='Guthrie']</strong> in the middle eventually brought the lead back to Metro at 7-6. After that second block Metro never lost the lead, however [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] always seemed within striking distance, never falling more than four points behind.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='941668' first='Dagny' last='Haaga']</strong> slam dunked a ball to the floor from her middle spot to pull [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] to within one 22-23. Another round house power spike from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='753097' first='Nadia' last='Wooten']</strong> put Metro within one point for the win. A hitting error by [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] gave Metro that last point.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two teams battled and may be the best of the 14 U. Metros only two losses coming against Stars Sean in the City of Oaks challenge. For [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] this was the third time they have lost to Metro..</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->