May 31, 2022

The 2022 version of the JVA West Coast Cup has come and gone. Sunday ended with champions crowned in 14, 15, 16 and 17 Open. There’s more on those divisions below, plus we’ll have additional coverage in the next couple of days. First, we introduce our Day 3 Show Stoppers. These are 10 players who stood out to us and caught our attention the most Monday. They’ll be included in our extensive post-tournament Show Stopper lists coming out in the next couple of days as well. vballrecruiter.com DAY 3 SHOW STOPPERS Teraya Sigler, OH, Arizona Storm 15 Thunder – This five-star recruit – as she’s done all season – proved to be a difference maker. With her physicality, Sigler is simply overpowering at times. She’s also a solid passer and defender. And she even stepped in and helped set for a bit when Storm lost its starting setter for a short period of time. Cadence McDonald, RS, Drive Nation 15 Red – A three-star recruit, McDonald was a valuable piece of the offense. She changed the dynamic of the attack anytime she went across the front row, as Drive Nation looked to get her involved as much as possible with her power and placement.   Julia Blyashov, OH, Wave 17 Juliana – A five-star and Stanford commit, Blyashov can be memorizing at times. She’s a long 6-3 with great extension and snap. She can blast balls to any part of the court and produces highlight kills on the regular. Torrey Stafford, OH, Sunshine 17 LA – Another five-star recruit, this 6-2 outside is headed to Pitt. Like Blyashov, she delivers highlight kill after highlight kill. Stafford explodes off the ground and with her quick arm swing generates great pace on her shots. Drew Wright, L, Sunshine 17 LA – Wright’s been playing outside for Sunshine but made the move to libero and it paid huge dividends. Wright has been Sunshine’s best-passing pin and took that skill to the libero position. It really helped steady serve receive in addition to her making some big-time saves. Madison Triplett, OH, Coast 16-1 – At 5-9, Triplett is a bit undersized but she came up huge for Coast on Day 3. She hits hard and is aggressive with her attacks. She also came up with a few timely blocks when targeted. Maya Evens, L, Wave 16 Brennan – A three-star recruit, Evens is a smooth defender and passer. Teams rarely go at her in serve receive. She’s also a game-changer in the backrow with her ability to pick up balls and extend rallies. Ryah Brock, OH, Forza North 14 UA – Brock’s ability to hit line effectively rallied her team from down one set to come back and beat AZ Storm 13 Thunder in the semifinal. Swing after swing she gave her team an identity that helped secure a 15-13 win in the third set. Sarah Uebelhoer, OH, Wave 14 Brennan – Down a set with the offense struggling Wave found Uebelhoer to lean on and take them to the finals and eventually the championship. She took all the tough swings to get momentum for her team, scoring on four straight swings during one stretch. Her serving game was on point as she tallied ace after ace and also forced many tough passes from her targets. Presley Thompson, Libero, Wave 14 Brennan – The amount of quality hitters that she faced Day 3 was daunting but Presley was up to the challenge. Watching her dig the heat, then dive for tips and cover half the court was exciting to watch. Add the fact that she went on long serving runs with that great serve, she gave a masterclass on being a stud libero. *** Wave volleyball was involved in the two most compelling championship matches as the JVA West Coast Cup came to a conclusion Monday in Long Beach. In 17 Open, nationally-ranked No. 6 Wave 17 Juliana outlasted No. 20 Sunshine 17 LA in three sets, 23-25, 25-20, 15-12, to cap an undefeated run. Wave – which went 9-0 – dropped just two sets on the weekend. One in the final and one to No. 8 Club V 17 Ren Reed in the semifinals. Sunshine reached the finals by upsetting No. 4 Coast 17-1 in the quarters and No. 5 Drive Nation 17 Red in the semis. Sunshine won both the contests by the same third-set score of 15-12. It was national No. 4 Wave 14 Brennan capturing the 14 Open title after fending off No. 13 Forza1 North 14 UA in the final, 25-18, 21-25, 15-7. It completed an undefeated weekend for Wave, including downing No. 21 Tstreet 14 Carson in three games in the semifinals. It was the only loss for Forza North, which upended No. 17 Arizona Storm 13 Thunder in three in the semis. There was a somewhat surprising champion in 16 Open in Coast 16-1. Coast – which is ranked No. 16 nationally – took care of No. 33 Momentous 16 Dan in straight sets, 25-19, 25-18, in the final. It came after a dramatic victory over No. 4 Wave 16 Brennan in the semis. Coast prevailed in a nail-biter, 21-25, 25-22, 18-16, to hand Wave its only loss. Coast finished 9-0. The only other set it lost was to No. 39 SCVC 16 Roxy to end Day 2 action. Momentous’ loss to Coast was the only one of the weekend for the So Cal club. Momentous – which downed No. 4 Co Jrs 16 Sherri and No. 26 Drive Nation 16 Red on Day 2 – defeated No. 24 OT 16 Roberto and No. 19 Vision 16 Gold on Monday to reach the final. In 15 Open, national No. 1 Arizona Storm 15 Thunder shook off its loss on Day 2 to unranked Seal Beach 15 Black to capture the crown. Storm beat upstart Vision 15 Gold – which fell short of qualifying for Open and is unranked – in the final, 25-14, 25-18. Storm reached