Welcome back to Day 2 of the Beach Volleyball Club of America National Championships. It was an overcast Saturday at Hermosa Beach. With the conclusion of pool play from Day 1, the agenda for Day 2 was to pare down the field to gold brackets and start single elimination play. The 16U division started with 125 teams and was trimmed to 54. The 18U division began with 157 pairs and was narrowed down to 67 for gold brackets. 16U will finish until there are eight teams left and 18U will stop when there are 16 teams left on Saturday night and finish play Sunday morning. Here are the Day 2 Show Stoppers who made a splash.
16U
Madeline Walker/Vivian Johnson – This duo with their ball control breezed through their matches. Their defense was tight as passing and communication were seamless. A hidden key is they both can find a weak area in serve receive and capitalize for long serving runs.
Haylee Lafontaine/Danielle Sparks – The combination of Lafontaine’s impact at the net and Sparks’ wizardry on defense give this duo a good shot at a deep run. Lafontaine combines athleticism with her height resulting in big swings and blocks.
Carly Hixson/Mikki Carlin – Hixson’s defense is stellar. Her reads and ability to convert with a big swing is a major weapon. Add Carlin’s passing touch and shot making ability and they have a deep run available to them through their ball control.
Alexandra Marie Kurz/Bella Adishian – Adishian will punish any tight sets either getting a stuff block or a big kill. Kurz has a high reach on her swing making it difficult to block while also allowing her to cut the ball with extreme angels.
Ingrid Timon-Johnson/Mallory LaBreche – Another team with excellent ball control. This team’s ability to handle serve receive make them a threat because they’re always in system and attacking.
Charlotta Bell/Savanna Lau – Lau is very good in the back row. Her positioning is good and her ability to run down shots and convert is a positive. But this duo’s deep run will depend heavily with the net play of Bell. One of the best blockers in her age group, she shuts down plenty of attacks and her ability to transition with a big kill is key.
Kate Morley/Stacey Reeves – We’ve watched Reeves long enough to know if there’s anyone who can will her team to victory it’s her. The energy she brings and her ability to back it up with big swings for points is huge. Pairing her up with Morley is genius as Morley is another run through the wall type player and never giving up. This duo was fun to watch and will give everyone fits.
18U
Zoey Henson/Clara Stowell – Stowell had a huge day putting max pressure at the net. Her offense was clicking but her blocking impacted the game deeply. With Henson patrolling the back court and picking everything up this team had no problem advancing.
Portia Sherman/Chloe Hoffman – This duo puts max pressure on opposing defenses. Both are strong attackers that do a lot of damage approaching behind the set forcing the block and defender to shift on time or get caught in between.
Phoenix Clarke/Indigo Clarke – The sisters from Hawaii play with such explosive energy. With their good passing skills they run a quicker offense catching many teams off guard. Phoenix plays the net well making good reads which leads to getting touches on most attacks.
Taylor Hagenah/Ensley Alden – This team has balance. Both are 6-0 splits who have no problem at the net or on defense. Their ball control is clean, giving this group an ability to attack on most plays. Their height and play at the net will be key for them to medal here.
Bailey Showalter/Kyleen Filimaua – A definite contender, this team with two big splits also showed their athleticism with great defensive plays. Filimaua made great reads and scrambled for hustle plays culminating in big momentum kills.
Maggie Boyd/Gabriella Walker – Boyd’s jump serve is legit good. She was getting aces and a lot of free balls back to her team, giving these big hitters those opportunities leading to easy points.
Carra Sassack/Ashley Vincent – Sassack is a beast in the back row. Her quickness allows her to get to many balls while transitioning with her southpaw swing gives defenders fits. Vincent is one of the beach’s most explosive attackers. If her sets are high enough watch out as there is a lot of pace behind that swing.
Savannah Standage/Erin Inskeep – Inskeep, with her two podium finishes last week, will look for a third on Sunday. Her ball control and attack vision allows her to hit any set. With Standage’s big swings it will also be fun to see if they can medal.
