14-Blue: Alea Hyatt (#5) and Gabi Peoples (#9) for a combined block
The SBVC 13s and 14s teams competed at the Southern California Volleyball Association Jr. National Qualifier in Anaheim.
In their first round of pool play on Friday of the competitive 3-day tournament, all five teams went in as the 3rd?seed, and all finished as 3rd?seed knocking them out of bid contention, but keeping them alive to play tough competition and improve throughout the weekend.
In the Open Division, the 14-Blue team opened up its first day with a toughly fought match against the number 1 seed overall in Southern California, T-Street 14-Mike 25-21, 25-15.
?In our first match, we had an incredible first set ? but couldn’t muster up enough points to take down the giant,? said Coach Greg Novak.
The team then lost to Sunshine 14-South Bay and beat Surf City 14-KC to finish 1-2 for the day.
As the first seed in Saturday?s pool, the team efficiently dispensed of its competition in 2 sets each, beating Impact 14-Craig, Commerce Crush 14s, and Epic 14-Bert, which placed them again as the first seed in the second flight of the last day of competition.
After receiving a bye for the first round of the bracket play, the team took down Epic 14-Danielle in two sets in the semi-final match which set the team up for a final showdown against TCA HB 14’s.
?The entire team seemed to find a groove to finish out a successful weekend by shutting down TCA in two sets, 25-21, 25-23 to win our bracket,? continued Novak.
?Liana Tacconelli did a great job at the libero position as did Delany Werner playing as defensive specialist. Setters Gabi Peoples and Kennedy Klusendorf spread the offense around well with Delaney Mayfield leading in kills from the middle and Aubrey Knight and Alea Hyatt adding their share of points out of the middle. Cassidy Drury-Pullen and Sam Slater stepped up on the outside and Soleil Hallig contributed with tough serves and great passing. The team continues to make great strides in their play and it was fun to be part of the successful weekend.?
The team went 6-2 and won the Flight 2 bracket and finished 13th?overall for the weekend.
14-Blue: Sam Slater (#4) swings for a kill
In the USA division, the 14-White gave its competition a run for their money. Going in as the 15th?seed overall, it finished 11th?overall in the Sliver bracket.
The team went 1-2 in Friday?s pool play, losing to Mavericks 14-Black and AZ Sky 14-Inferno before beating TCA 14-Pink, but placing 3rd?for the day entered them into a Challenge Bracket the following day to keep them in bid contention.
However, after a determined win over Legacy 14-Elite 26-24, the team ultimately lost its three matches in another tough Gold pool round losing to Beach Cities 14-Gold, Mavericks 14-Black, and LAVA 14-Aaron, which placed them in the Silver Bracket for Sunday?s play.
After winning a 3-set barnburner against Genuine 14-Kaui to start the morning, the team lost its final round to AZ Storm 14-Thunder to finish 11th??overall.
The 14-Red team finished with a 3-4 record in the American Division finishing 57thoverall.
The team competed solidly against two strong teams and lost to Long Beach 14-Rundbird and Desert Elite 14s but bounced back to win the last match for the day against Oaks 14-Tyler.
On Saturday, the team lost a close one to KVC 14s in three sets, but then went on to beat New Wave 14-Silver and engage in a heated battle beating Momentum 14-White.
?The match against Momentum was thrilling and really showed what this team can do,? remarked Coach K.C. Collins.
?The girls came out with a lot of energy against a very talented team and played hard, not letting anything hit the floor, and worked together solidly as a team. All of the players really stepped it up in this match and it was a fun way to end the evening.?
On Sunday, the team played tough against LAVA 14-Shannon but lost the close match 25-15, 26-24.
?We had some great moments of play and teamwork in this match, but ultimately just couldn?t pull it out. The girls have really improved over the season and it showed during this competitive tournament.?
In the 13s USA Division, the 13-Blue team had a strong showing, holding its seed of 10th?overall.
The team finished with a 5-3 record losing in the final match of the Bronze bracket.
The team fell to Sunshine 13-Southbay and San Gabriel 13s before beating Genuine 13-Andrew finished 3rd?in Friday pool play.
As the first seed for Saturday?s pool, the team swept LAVA 13-Robe and Genuine 13-Lindsey and won a nail-biter 3-setter against Jamba 13-Candice 25-16, 19-25, 15-13.
Coach Ed Gover said, ?The girls played some of their finest volleyball on Day 2, especially in the very exciting match over Jamba to go undefeated in the pool!?
The team then moved on to the semi-finals of the Bronze bracket on Sunday and beat Tustin 13-Alice 25-23, 25-19 before losing the final match to Long Beach 13-Mizuno.
?Setter Ady Colburn did a great job distributing the sets while Jenna MacFarland, Caylin Zimmerman, Josie Doughty, Julia Fay and and Brynna Hodosy did a solid job offensively, along with excellent play out of the middle by Abby Corpuz and Danica Minnich. Our defensive core of Kendall White, Sophia Fay, and Izzy Mallett steadied the team throughout the tournament.?
The 13-White team competing in the American division finished the tournament with a 4-4 record increasing their overall ranking from 40 to 38.
The team opened the day with a close loss to SCVC 13-Roxy 25-23, 25-10 giving them confidence to beat as strong Bakersfield 13-Ashley. After splitting the first two sets, the team was down 10-14 in the 3rd?game, when the team stepped up its defense behind the serving of Julia McCaw and chipped away to win the match.
Unfortunately the team was unable to sustain the momentum and lost a close battle to San Diego 13-Nancy 25-23, 25-22.
Entering into a 3-way tie, the team came back for a tie break playoff round and subsequently lost to Bakersfield 13-Ashley 25-15 to place 3rd?in the pool for the day.
The team finished 2-1 in Saturday?s pool, beating New Wave 13-Gold and AZ Revolution, and losing to Seal Beach 13-Jack.
Competing in Sunday?s Flight 2 bracket, the team won an exciting semi-final match against Sports Shack 13-Mike 25-11, 11-2, 16-14 and finished the day with a competitive loss against T-Street 13-Whitney to finish 38th?overall.
Coach Jenna Boyd recapped the weekend, ?We started off strong the first day with almost taking second in our pool. For having this many matches, the girls really held their own. Lauren Cordero served twelve consecutive points with multiple aces. Julia McCaw stepped in as a middle and proved to be very versatile. Megan Tighe shined on defense and contributed many aces as well. The team has grown so much from our beginning, it was a great three day tournament with the girls in Anaheim.?
