April 25, 2022

National champions were crowned across seven divisions at the USAV 18s Girls Junior National Championships on Sunday in Phoenix. Before getting to that, a reminder that vballrecruiter.com will be releasing its standout performers list in the next couple of days featuring players who impressed over the course of our three days there. Some studs who are sure to be included are Skyline 18 Royal outside Emily Hellmuth, Sunshine 18 LA outside Elia Rubin and middle Kennedy Hill, Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar setter Natalia Hagopian and Madfrog 18 Green outside Maya Duckworth. *** As for the gold medals, Sunshine 18 LA capped its almost perfect run through 18 Open by sweeping Madfrog 18 Green in the final. Sunshine lost its only set of the tournament fighting off Skyline 18 Royal in three games in the quarterfinals before downing FC Elite 18 Elite in straight sets in the semis. Madfrog outlasted Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar in its quarterfinal meeting, then upgraded its medal by topping Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite in the semis. FC Elite earned its bronze medal by sweeping surprise Vital 18-1 Gold in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Rockwood Thunder clipped Adversity 18 Adidas in three games in the quarters to secure its bronze. We’ll have more on the 18 Open in the next day or two, as well as the other divisions that played out Sunday. Here’s how those results shook out: 18 National Final: Front Range VBC 18 Black d Alliance 18 Ren 25-20, 24-26, 15-13 Bronzes: MKE Sting 18 Gold; Norco 18 Black *** 18 USA Final: Sunshine 18 Westside d Capital 18 Adidas 25-18, 14-25, 15-12 Bronzes: Roots 18 UA Green; Kairos 18 Adidas *** 18 Liberty Final: GW/TZ 18 Asics d Arsenal 18 Gold 25-21, 25-21 Bronzes: TX Legacy 18 Elite; Elite VBC 18 Gold *** 18 American Final: SA Juniors 18 Adidas d Viper 18-1 25-19, 18-25, 15-5 Bronzes: BVA 18 Mizuno; Hou Skyline 18 Black *** 18 Freedom Final: Coast 18 Rachel d Paramount VBC 18s 25-20, 25-22 Bronzes: Webfoot 18-1 Brian; MJVA 18 Fields *** 18 Patriot Final: SG Elite 18 Rosh d Balboa Bay 18 Blue 25-15, 25-14 Bronzes: Vegas United 18 Navy; NNJ 18 Jason