AVP Junior Nationals: 16U Champ Is Crowned
After three full days of 119 teams battling it out, one team was able to crown itself the AVP 16U Junior National champs. Thursday was single elimination bracket play, starting with 32 teams and ending with one champ. Below is a recap of the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship match. Finals The fight for the gold medal featured Kathleen Morley/Erin Inskeep against Sarah Wood/Gella Andrew. The formula for Morley/Inskeep leading into the match was great ball control and then converting with an array of cut shots and pokies to the end line. Wood/Andrew had a counter to that and it heavily involved the blocking of Andrew. She can block jump on the sand and get her 6-3 body and elbows over the net. That coverage took away a lot of court allowing Wood to easily read and convert. Woods reads on defense is next level as she anticipated sharp angles a frustrated Inskeep was looking for. She would then convert her defense with a boom as her arm swing is heavy and powerful. In the end, Wood/Andrew pulled away with a straight set victory claiming the gold! Semifinal Match 1 One half of the semis came down to Kathleen Morley/Erin Inskeep facing Aubrey McBride/Lily Davis. Morley/Inskeep’s ball control was on full display. Offensively, they both have a wide array of power swings, cut shots and pokies. Having so much in their arsenal made life so difficult for opponents to rally. Defensively, Morley was a beast hustling, diving and covering the back court. Inskeep continues to impress with her ability to drop then dig and control, sometimes even with one arm and then convert. Semifinal Match 2 The other of the semis pitted Sarah Wood/Gella Andrew against Stacy Reeves/Isabella Gamache. Wood/Andrew continued to dominate the playoffs with their strong play. Andrews uses her height at the net so effectively. She dominates with her block but she is so smart offensively. With a block up she uses her height to peek over the block and chip balls over to the open court. Without a block she is as close to automatic as you can get. Wood/Andrew took the contest in straight sets. Quarterfinal Match 1 This one featured Kathleen Morley/Erin Inskeep pairing off against Claire Sun/Emma Markoff. With Sun/Markoff coming off a big upset of Massey/Langham they tried to keep the momentum going. Sun’s net play was big with huge blocks and great swings. Problem was they ran into the Morley/Inskeep duo. Their serve receive was flawless, continually pressuring Markoff defending. Morley made good reads and converted consistently. Morley/Inskeep moved on in a straight set win. Quarterfinal Match 2 Maddy Bryne/Mallory Labreche took on Aubrey McBride/Lily Davis in this contest. What a great battle of styles. Bryne/Labreche play with such confidence in their ball control, serving and defense. They don’t rattle at all. McBride/Davis are more traditional with Davis patrolling the net and McBride compliments her net play with outstanding defense. In the end it came down to a third set with McBride and Davis moving on. Quarterfinal Match 3 Sarah Wood/Gella Andrew faced Audrey Jackson/Kennedy Coakley for a spot in the semis. With three 6-0 kids on the court, there was not much real estate for balls to land. Coakley – a UCLA commit – was trying to keep it close with big swings teaming with Jackson’s pesky serving but Wood/Andrews won this match easily and moved on. Quarterfinal Match 4 Kyra Zaengle/Elena Fisher took on Stacy Reeves/Isabella Gamache in the last quarterfinal. If you are a fan on long rallies this was your match. Both teams feature strong ball control and the willingness to hustle and not give up for any ball. Gamache’s powerful jump serve and Reeves energy and conversion were the X factor as they won in straight sets.