July 6, 2024

Redemption is not the most accurate description of SCVC 16 Roxy’s accomplishments on Day 4 of USAV nationals in Las Vegas. While there was an element of it in play, the team’s performance was more a master class in winning, one that brought SCVC the 16 Open national championship after defeating 1st Alliance 16 Gold, 25-20, 27-25, in the gold-medal match. Entering the four-day competition ranked No. 7 in Vballrecruiter’s Top 50 national rankings, it wasn’t that SCVC’s flawless effort was stunning. It’s just that it was the biggest storyline in a tournament full of them. While high seeds and top-ranked teams were falling like dominos, SCVC stood firm against all challenges in finishing a perfect 11-0. Top-seeded Mintonette Sports m.61 – which captured the AAU 16 Open gold medal and was ranked No. 1 in our Top 50 – was upset in challenge play on Day 3 and was not around for the gold bracket. Boiler Jrs 16 Gold, ranked No. 4, and Austin Skyline 16 Royal, ranked No. 5, were also absent. Legacy 16-1 Adidas – ranked No. 6 – did reach the quarterfinals without a loss but found itself across the net from SCVC in one of the four quarterfinals. If SCVC’s run was going to end, it seemed like Legacy would be the one to make it happen. Instead, SCVC swept, 25-19, 27-25. As impressive as that victory was, it didn’t top what Pohaku 16-1 managed to do in upsetting national No. 2 TAV 16 Black in three, 23-25, 28-26, 15-11, in another quarterfinal. Pohaku trailed 19-14 in Game 2 before turning it around. It set up a showdown between SCVC and Pohaku in the semifinals. It was last year when Pohaku eliminated SCVC in the challenge round. SCVC went on to finish ninth, going 9-1 with its only loss to Pohaku. Saturday offered a measure of revenge, with SCVC sweeping, 25-17, 25-15, to reach the semifinals. The other semifinal featured eighth-ranked Skyline 16 Royal – last year’s 15 Open champions – and No. 13 1st Alliance. 1st Alliance squashed MKE Sting 16 Gold‘s dream of medaling with a sweep in the quarters. Skyline took care of upstart Forza1 North 16 One in the other quarterfinal, 25-23, 25-17. Skyline defeated 1st Alliance on Day 2 to win their respective pool. However, playing for a gold medal two years in a row wasn’t in the cards as 1st Alliance returned the favor and took the clash in three games, 25-22, 17-25, 15-9. SCVC and 1st Alliance met once previously at the Salt Lake City Showdown back in April. 1st Alliance swept that meeting. After losing the first set this time around, there would be no sweep for 1st Alliance. But 1st Alliance did give itself two looks to extend the match to a third set, leading 24-23 and 25-24. Yet, SCVC wasn’t deterred. Abby Zimmerman’s roll shot from the right side saved the second set point before Audrey Flanagan’s served clipped the top of the tape and fell in two points later to deliver the national championship to SCVC. It was the second year in a row the So Cal club stood on top at nationals as the club captured the 17 Open title last summer in Chicago.

The conclusion to a season’s long journey in 17 Open didn’t bring about any real surprises. Rather it delivered affirmation. And with it, a repeat champion. The USAV nationals capped its four-day thrill fest with Arizona Storm 17 Thunder defeating Hou Skyline 17 Royal in three sets, 24-26, 27-25, 15-13, in an instant classic for the 17 Open gold medal in Las Vegas on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Storm backed up its 16 Open gold medal from a season ago, defeating last year’s finals opponent in 1st Alliance 17 Gold in the semifinals, 27-25, 23-25, 15-9. Though Storm proved itself as the best once more it certainly didn’t come without stiff challenges. In fact, Storm was a point away from being on the wrong end of a major upset after fighting off a match point when trailing 15-14 in Game 3 against Wave 17 Juliana in the quarterfinals. On the final day of the season, it was the best of the best in the mix. Hou Skyline entered nationals ranked No. 1 in Vballrecruiter’s Top 50 National Rankings. Storm followed at No. 2, then 1st Alliance at No. 3. All three were in the semifinals, along with No. 6 Skyline 17 Royal. Six of the eight quarterfinalists resided in our Top 10 with No. 8 Circle City 17 Purple and No. 10 Surfside 17 Legends among the Top 8. Wave was right behind at No. 11. Mich Elite 17 Mizuno, at No. 15, was the lowest-ranked team in the quarters. It was a fitting ending soaked in drama. Five of the seven gold-bracket contests went the distance. Mich Elite pushed Hou Skyline to a third set before Hou Skyline prevailed, 22-25, 26-24, 15-9, in the quarters. That one saw Hou Skyline climb back from a 22-19 deficit in Game 2 to keep its hopes alive. While Storm and 1st Alliance were slugging in out in a rematch of last year’s 16 Open final, Hou Skyline and Skyline were going toe-to-toe in the other semifinal. Skyline trailed 15-11 in Game 2 before turning it around and forcing a third set but Hou Skyline survived, 25-20, 25-27, 15-13, to set up a showdown between the top-two ranked teams in the country and deliver a dream matchup to end the season. Hou Skyline captured four national qualifiers. Storm joined OT 17 Aaron as the only other teams to finish first at multiple qualifiers with both winning two. The championship clash was an offensive slugfest. Hou Skyline had the high-flying theatrics of outside Bailey Warren and middle Bayleigh Minor while Storm countered with the power of outside Teraya Sigler and the length of outside Devyn Wiest and middle Kenna Cogill. While there were moments of defensive brilliance, like when Storm libero Izzy Mahaffey went flying off the court and into the signage to keep the ball in play before Storm took the point to go ahead 26-25 in Game 2, offense carried the day for both sides. The scales tipped in Hou Skyline’s favor as libero Morgan Madison’s ace pushed the margin to 11-9 in Game 3. But Storm tied it at 11 and Hou Skyline never led again. Up 14-12, Storm missed on its first chance to celebrate but not on its second as Sigler crushed a hard-angle shot cross court to seal the repeat effort. Storm finished a perfect 11-0. Hou Skyline took home the silver in going 8-3. 1st Alliance went 9-1 and Skyline 6-4 in tying for the bronze. While Storm repeating and earning its second consecutive gold medal will be right at the top of the list of things that standout and will be remembered from this year’s nationals, there are a few other things that are noteworthy to me. One is Wave going 1-4 in pool play. Wave managed to advance in fourth place. Then caught fire in going 3-0 on Day 3 and pushing Storm to the brink of elimination to start Day 4. Skyline was in a similar position. Skyline went 2-3 in pool play but was within a couple of points of reaching the final. The first two days aren’t about playing well. It’s about finding a way to advance. Records mean nothing on Day 3. Everyone starts off 0-0 again. It’s about playing well on Day 3 then peaking on Day 4. Obviously the gold bracket dominated the storyline on the last day of competition. While it was an amazing conclusion and one that was highly anticipated given the teams participating in the final eight, there were still a few more things to recognize before wrapping up this write up. One is Dynasty 17 Black coming in 10th. Dynasty was one of three at-large recipients, along with Drive Nation 17 Red and AJV 17 Adidas. I for one was iffy as to if Dynasty should have received one of the at-larges. However, finishing in the Top 10 definitely proved Dynasty belonged and for a team that didn’t quite find its stride during qualifying season it sure ended on a high note. CUVC 17 Open is another club that deserves credit. CUVC came in seeded No. 26 overall and ranked No. 34 in our Top 50. Yet, CUVC upset No. 4 MKE Sting 17 Gold on Day 3 and wound up finishing No. 11 overall when it was all said and done. One more note involves regions. The SCVA had three clubs finish in the Top 9 in Surfside, Wave and Coast 17-1. If you toss in Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar, the region had four of the Top 15 teams. The Heart of America Region and Intermountain Region were the only other two regions with two teams in the Top 15. Club V 17 Ren Reed and Idaho Crush 17 Bower represented the Intermountain Region, while Dynasty and MAVS KC 17-1 held it down for the Heart of America Region. Lastly, no regions qualified more teams than both Lone Star and North Texas. Both had five each.