USAV 11-13s: Day 3 Show Stoppers
In one word Day 3 was ELECTRIC. Talk about fiery wins and loaded upsets! So before I get sidetracked talking about crossover matches let’s start talking about the 11s division. 11 National The first four matches of the gold bracket were tight score wise! Three of the four went to three games and were only won by two points! The semifinals were both won in two setting up the finals match up of Elevation 11 Dawn vs Excel 11 Red. And for the most part you had two different style teams facing off. From the Ohio Valley Region this Elevation squad was filled with speed and two middle blockers who loved to crank on slides. And from the North Texas Region you had a never say die squad that didn’t make a ton of errors and served tough. In the end Excel 11 Red won the National title in two sets, 25-14, 25-23. Congrats Excel! 12 National The 12 National matches Friday were played with incredible passion and determination, delivering a mix of excitement, heartbreak and pure grit. Watching these young athletes put everything on the line was truly inspiring. With that being said here is your 12 National gold bracket matches for Saturday: EXCEL 12 National Red vs Circle City 12 Purple Tstreet 12-Kaila vs DYNASTY 12 Black A5 12-LA vs COAST 12-1 Miz LB 12 Rockstar vs KC Power 12 Black 13 Open I am absolutely blown away by the incredible performances this morning in 13 Open. One pool in particular I dubbed the “pool of death”. Madfrog 13 Green, TAV 13 Black and HPSTL 13 Royal put on a show in each match. All three matches were three-gamers and it came down to points. TAV 13 Black came out on top but Madfrog and HPSTL had to play a one set to 15 to see who else advanced. The energy both on and off the court was electric, and HPSTL pulled off the upset. The challenge matches also were intense and the four teams advancing to the gold bracket all deserve a huge round of applause. And drum roll please … your 13 Open gold bracket matches: Elevation 13 S J vs COAST 13-1 Legacy 13-1 ADIDAS vs Tribe 13 Elite Cardinal *** DAY 3 SHOW STOPPERS Nicole Jacobson MB TAV 13 Black: Jacobson was coming up huge defensively for TAV. Olivia Permenter OH/RS TAV 13 Black: Permenter was bringing the heat on the pins. Her kills were coming in clutch in their “pool of death.” Brynli Burgess L Madfrog 13 Green: Burgess, a 2029 athlete, was literally everywhere on the court. She is definitely one to watch continue to grow in the game. Hayden Thomas MB Madfrog 13 Green: Thomas was another key element for her squad defensively. Sarah Albers MB HPSTL 13 Royal: Albers is a handful, to say the least. With her size and length, she can easily go over blocks or through blocks at will. Gillian Pfeiffer MB/RS HPSTL 13 Royal: She’s such a tough cover with her length and size offensively and was a huge factor defensively. Carina Buttrum L HPSTL 13 Royal: She covered the court well and did a nice job reading and digging to pick her squad up defensively. Lia Ray OH Tribe 13 Elite Cardinal: Ray, who doubles as a beach superstar, uses her court IQ offensively incredibly well. She sees the opening and she takes it. Natalia Marciante OH Tribe 13 Elite Cardinal: Marciante was taking aggressive, no-fear swings consistently on the court. Addison Tucker L Excel 13 Red: Tucker was passing well out of serve receive and doing a nice job of digging balls. Marley Rogers RS Excel 13 Red: Rogers helps provide offense on the right side with her strong arm. Sadie Ellis MB Elevation 13 S J: Ellis gets up quickly and was putting balls down to the floor. Kelsey Green Elevation 13 S J: Green did well moving the ball around and getting her various hitters involved. She was also locating consistently. Jamie Carnes MB CJV 13 Ben: Carnes is an athletic middle who was making plays on both sides of the ball. She also moves well. Emilie LaSala OH COAST 13-1: LaSala is an explosive hitter who can crush it. Her ability to tool blocks or bang it down makes it difficult on defenses to slow her down. Samantha Saba L COAST 13-1: Saba is a firecracker libero who was passing and defending with the best of them. Carolina Delaney OH Absolute 13 Black: Delaney is a handful for opponents. She has nice range and did well finding the open spaces on the court. Amelia Knutson S Absolute 13 Black: Knutson did well guiding the attack. She was locating well and showed strong hands dishing far cross court. Lucy Waleskowski S/RS NKYVC 13-1 Tsunami: Waleskowski brings her height to the front row as well as gives her squad another option on the right. Bonus she has great hands. Kenadi Sieg L NKYVC 13-1 Tsunami: Sieg is a scrappy libero with high energy and she moves very well. Haedyn Lynnes L DYNASTY 13 Black: Lynnes was owning the back row with her passing and defending. She reads and covers well and extends her share of rallies. Carley Ward OH Skyline 13 Royal: Ward is a go-to outside with a strong arm and can bring the heat with big kills at times to fire up her teammates. Audrey Utterback OH Circle City 13 Purple: What caught my the most on Utterback was her aggressive, fearless defensive play. Kennedy Wilkinson L WAVE 13-Reily: Wilkinson anchored the back row and didn’t rattle against the onslaught of attackers she faced. She held it down with strong passing and many hustle plays. Daniela Nieves-Papaleo OH BORINQUEN COQUI 13-1F: Nieves-Papaleo is an undersized scrappy hitter who isn’t afraid to go right through blocks. Payton Woodruff S Legacy 13-1 ADIDAS: Woodruff is a smooth disher with lots of potential. She has nice hands and consistent location and moves well too. Lexi Coleman OH Legacy 13-1 ADIDAS: Coleman is a go-to on the left for this squad and she provides her share of offense. Leeya Svendson MB East Side Blaze 13N:
