The Page Youth Center/Santa Barbara Spikers Boys Volleyball Club sent two teams to the Boys Junior National Championships in Austin, TX, last week with the 16-U team finishing 15th out of 36 in the Open Division. In the Club Division, the 14-U team took 17th out of 29.
“Only six teams from Southern California finished among the Top 15 and we are happy to be one of them. It just shows the strength of all teams around the country as well,” said former SBHS, SBCC and UCSB star Ben Koski, who coaches the 16s team along with current Gaucho Andy McGuire.
Playing in the Bronze Division, the squad defeated SPVB 16 Runbird (Great Lakes Region) 25-19, 10-25, 15-12, and in the final match fell to High Performance STL 16 Gold (GW) 25-16, 25-22. Team members are Nick Clark, Holden Ploch, Casey Slaught, Keaton Arutian, Gavin Trudeau, Gavin Conried, Kristian Squires, Kyle Estabrooks, Vince Velasco, Gabriel Burdick and Ryan Worley.
The 14s, a very young team coached by Miles Evans and Justin Hertlein,, played well considering the level of the competition while carrying a roster of mostly 12-year-olds. The squad defeated OCVC 14-2 by scores of 25-15, 23-25, 15-8 before losing the final match to SMBC 14-Silver 25-7, 19-25, 15-13.
“It was a great experience for our young guys. I can only imagine 2 years from now when all of them will be 14 years old,” said Evans.
Team members are Cole Wenal, Harrison Schell, Austin Hudgens, Kip Lawrence, Andrew Fay, Cooper Liparoto, Jake Pighetti, Barron Mainz, Nicholas Mayner, Piper Davis and Joe Terre.
Other local players were in Austin playing for other club squads. Dos Pueblos graduate Will McCracken, headed to Missouri Valley State next year, was named an All-Tournament selection in the Club Division after his team, Spectrum 18U of Thousand Oaks, took the bronze medal.
SBHS senior middle blocker Clifford Anderson plays on the Manhattan Beach Surf 17U, which took second in the Open Division.
