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Welcome back to Hermosa Beach. Sunday marked the final day at AAU Junior Nationals or as AAU calls it “Sandday”. There is a lot on our plate from the day as the Gold bracket for 18U, 16U, 15U, and 14U all played out. There was tons of quality volleyball and action on the courts so without further ado here are the Day 4 Show Stoppers.18UErin Inskeep/Ashley Pater – After coming in second in pool play Day 1, this team won eight straight matches to win the title. They are a solid group who can beat you in so many different ways. Their serving was accurate, combined with two outstanding defenders who read well and can finish the rally with great court vision proved to be a winning combination.Madison Goellner/Grace Hong – This duo had a good run taking second overall. A traditional team with Goellner blocking and Hong defending gave each teammate a specific role and they both excelled at their craft. Goellner covers a lot of court blocking while also being able to score with a heavy swing. Hong has a good feel for positioning in defense as she regularly makes the right read and converts with a good lefty swing.Macey Butler/Jenna Colligan – Colligan was solid on defense. Showing great athleticism, we watched her chase down and dive for balls on consecutive rallies that made it hard for opponents to score. Butler brought swagger with sharp kills and blocks propelled this team to a bronze at AAU.Malia Gementera/Kylie Vaickus – This duo played solidly all tournament and had a great third-place finish. Vaickus was very active at the net. We saw her block and drop multiple times consecutively showing her stamina and strength as an elite blocker. Then Gementera adds her scrappy defense and finishing with an attack that features a high snap that punishes the ball. 16UHaylee Lafontaine/Danielle Sparks – The winners of 16U, it all starts with their ball control. Lafontaine is clean with her touches around the net. As a blocker she punishes overpasses and tight sets, while also showing touch with scramble plays and a good arm capable of putting away any set. Sparks’ defense and serving sets a good tone for her team. Her accuracy in serving and instincts in defense combined with a great touch on offense makes her a scoring machine.Claire Sun/Logan Tusher – Sun serve was on point today. A hard flat serve gave opponents fits all day, giving her opportunities to use her cut shot to score ofter. Tusher was a beast at the net, making great reads blocking leading to big roofs for her team. They had a great run and finished second overall.Sophia Martinez/Demi Wagdy – They were the definition of a team that hustles. Combine that with their athleticism jumping and attacking we saw some great highlight plays. Seeing Martinez dive sideways for a touched ball and getting back up and putting a big swing for a point gave this duo a well-deserved third-place finish.Elise Lenahan/Kiera Tanioka – A steady duo, this team didn’t make too many errors forcing opponents to play a perfect game to beat them. Showing great chemistry by moving around each other and covering the open court they picked up and converted on defense without any hesitation. Lenahan’s big arm combined with Tanioka’s stellar defense solidified their bronze medal. 15UElena Fisher/Kyra Zaengle – The amount of pressure Zaengle produces with her jump serve was stunning. Her ability to snap a ball to a corner with consistency gave her team so much momentum. Add that both her and Fisher were punishing balls with the easy balls coming over gave them a dominating win and gold at AAU.Elena Lam/Zara Stewart – A team that possesses good ball control led the way to their second-place finish at AAU. This group’s passing touch in serve receive and defense gave them so many opportunities on offense. Attacking wise for this duo they had not only court vision but countless shots and wrist aways that completely stretched the defense and left them scrambling.Lily Dee Davis/Aubrey Mcbride – Mcbride’s energy and willingness to dive on defense brings some exciting rallies to her matches. She usually converts with a good court awareness cut shot or booming deep kill. Davis is a perfect complement for Mcbride’s defense with a solid block and ability to transition and finish with big kill for the 6-0 blocker. They teamed up for a good 3rd place finish.Audrey Davis/Samantha Hsu – This team’s third place relied on the arm of Davis. Davis’ swing is textbook example of something repeatable with success. An over-the-top high reaching swing gives her so much range she’s able to hit around most blocks. She gets so many opportunities due to Hsu and her ball control. Her hands delivering sets are strong and coupled with quick feet she gets to most balls and is a beast on defense. 14ULayla Austin/Jordyn Scribner – Austin was on fire. She was getting her feet to the ball and let that big arm produce some impressive kills all day. Scribner provided excellent ball control with not only her sweet sets but also a strong serve that produced long runs resulting in a gold medal for this duo.Ella Olson/Addison Terrell – Watching Terrell go swing for swing with Austin in the finals was fun. Terrell’s jumping abilities along with a great wrist snap allows her hit hard straight ahead or cutting the ball towards the sideline. Olson has great court sense and continuously makes strong reads on defense and converts with cut shots helping this duo to a strong second-place finish.Gentry Barker/Sophee Peterson – This team showed resilience, placing a well-deserved third. After losing 29-31 on Day 1 they bounced back and won six straight sets before losing to the eventual champions. Peterson showed good explosiveness with her block and approach along the net. Combined with strong hands she easily wins joust and scores with her swing. Barker compliments her with a hard serve and quick feet

On a sunny Saturday from Hermosa Beach we attended Day 3 of the AAU beach championships. The 14 and 15U finished pool play for a chance at the gold bracket. The silver brackets for 18 and 16U finished up. Here are the Show Stoppers for Day 3.18U Consolation ChampsAlexa Fernandez/Carys Patton – We were able to see a couple of this team’s matches and they were exciting to watch. Fernandez looked fearless out there. She played with a high defensive intensity going for every ball then converting with big swing after swing. Patton has an effective jump serve tracking towards the sideline and scoring points in bunches. She also possesses good court vision by continuously being able to chip the ball over the block and eluding the defender. 16U Consolation ChampsMadelynn Hokanson/Jordan Patrick – Although we only saw them once we were impressed. Patrick is a good defender and a low-error attacker. She perfectly compliments the 5-11 Hokanson and her big swing. An athletic lefty with a good jump and a high reach on her swing, we saw Hokanson absolutely crush it. We can’t wait to see her return next season with a year to train. The sky’s the limit for her. 14UElla Olson/Addison Terrell – Terrell dominated with her attack today. She can crush a ball, while also mixing in a roll shot made defending her a chore. Olson chipped in with some strong serving and low attack errors in a recipe for success.Sara Moynihan/Simone Roslon – Moynihan is a lefty who can play effectively on both sides and was solid again. She’s active defensively, leading to a powerful transition swing. Combined with Roslon’s ball control and a myriad of offensive shots gives this duo a good chance at a medal.Olga Nikolaeva/Thais Treumann – This duo’s ball control is solid. They were one of the better teams in serve receive that we witnessed. Nikolaeva can defend the best attackers with her reading and passing touch. Treumann is a spark, playing with good energy. It seems her team always goes on a long run with the momentum she gives.Nafanua Alofipo/Janie Mccanna – After watching these two play they can definitely make a run in the gold bracket. Both are plus defenders with good anticipation of where the attacker is looking at. Combined with a good court vision on offense made their day relatively easy. 15UElena Fisher/Kyra Zaengle – The No. 1 seed overall was impressive. Fisher was steady with her digging and offense. Rarely making errors she has a good feel for where the set and block are and made good choices. Zaengle put on a serving clinic. Her jump serve was on point. It blended her intensity with a consistent high velocity serve that scored in bunches.Mikki Carlin/Kiara Edwards – Both of these splits are not only tall but very skillful. Carlin’s moves are athletic and quick, constantly getting to shots usually reserved for smaller defenders. Edwards has a high reaching swing that makes it hard to block, combined with some feel for the block, she has no problem scoring.Lily Dee Davis/Aubrey Mcbride – Davis and McBridge are a well-balanced team. Mcbride covers the defense with her quickness and high conversion rate. Davis plays the net well. Getting good touches and blocks, Davis also shows quickness reading a shot then dropping to defend and getting back up to put down a big kill.Avery Cukjati/Ariana Medchill – We saw this team for the first time and came away impressed. Both possess good ball control making their defense and serve receive solid. Medchill moves well in the back defending and making good reads. Cukjati sees the court well offensively mixing in hard shots with a couple of wrist away swings finding the sand for points.

Hermosa Beach welcomes the 29th Annual AAU Junior National Beach Volleyball Championships running July 21-24th. We are excited to be here and catch all the action. Day 2 play featured 18, 16, 15 and 14U. 18U and 16U were battling in pool play to make Gold bracket. For 15 and 14U it was Day 1 of their pool play. With all matches at AAU played to one set anything can happen. Here are the teams which impressed us and made our Day 2 Show Stoppers.18UErin Inskeep/Ashley Pater – This team battled through the consolation pool to make the gold bracket. One of the top defending tandems, they can do it all with top tier ball control. Finding more offense can give them a deep run.Bailey Showalter/Madison White – This duo of USC commits dominated play. Showalter’s ability to reach over the net blocking is solid. White puts away balls with a quick and powerful swing, they are playing like the No. 1 seed overall.Ensley Alden/Taylor Hagenah – The power that these two possess is daunting. Both have a heavy swing complimented by excellent ball control. What really stands out watching this group is their on court chemistry. Communication, body language and energy is a big part of this team.Indigo Clarke/Phoenix Clarke – We love watching these two sisters play. Their tempo and style is upbeat, catching many teams scrambling to get into position. Phoenix has a good swing capable of some extreme angels.Malia Gementera/Kylie Vaickus – This team dominated. Gementera has an impressive high reach on her swing, giving her the ability to cut the ball sharply inside the block and score with ease. 16UVictoria Henkel/Stacey Reeves – Reeves continues to impress with her energy and court presence. Playing upbeat and backing it up with big swings sets a strong tone for her team. Henkel adds sound defense and good serves puts this duo in medal contention.Katherine Morley/Julia Waugh – Morley and Waugh are a sound ball control group who doesn’t make too many errors. Morley is very savvy at the net with her ability to mix up her shots confusing defenders. Waugh has an excellent passing touch and places the ball well with her swings.Claire Sun/Logan Tusher – This team has a deep run in them. Both 6-0 splits have good ball control and definitely can put balls away. Tusher has a good touch and controls the ball well. Sun has good court vision combined with a power swings, giving this duo plenty of offense.Haylee Lafontaine/Danielle Sparks – Sparks defense is clean. She reads and covers most shots complimenting Lafontaine’s effectiveness blocking. A good blocker Lafontaine can also hit a good heavy ball, making this a very balanced team. 15UElena Fisher/Kyra Zaengle – This group showed excellent ball control. They both locate their serve well leading to long serving runs. Zaengle is very quick picking up shots and on scramble plays not allowing opponents any easy points.Mikki Carlin/Kiara Edwards – Edwards was a force attacking today. A 6-0 attacker with a nice over the top swing, she see’s the court well. She’s able to not only power the ball cross court but also showed a good wrist away swing that produced good results.Audrey Davis/Samantha Hsu – Davis’ attacks were scoring a lot. Her athleticism shows when she simply overpowered the block with her jump to crush the ball straight down.Jade Curtis/Pyper Nelson – Curtis plays with good energy. She covers the court with her quick defense and proceeds to put balls in play while not making errors to put a lot of pressure on defenses. Nelson plays the net well, showing good athleticism reading the ball and then being able to hit a good ball in transition. 14UElla Olson/Addison Terrell – We enjoyed watching this duo. A smart team that takes advantages open spots on offense either with a variety of cut shots, plus the occasional option play, but also with the power of Terrell. She brings the heat with a good over the top swing peppering the sidelines.Layla Austin/Jordyn Scribner – Austin continues her hot play as of late. Making deep medal runs the last two tournaments her team dominated pool play. Her arm is electric and if she gets on top of it, watch out because that ball is coming in hot!Olga Nikolaeva/Thais Treumann – Olga continued her victory at the BVCA last week with a dominating day in pool play. On defense her fast feet combined with good footwork and powerful makes her conversion points hard to dig.Emma Champagne/Anabelle Redaelli – Champagne is a 6-0 blocker who has a good feel for the ball. She has the ability to block and contend tight sets. Also, she has a good jump and swing putting balls in play with pace.

We spent the week releasing our final Club National Rankings. Last in line is the 14s divisions, which you can find below. You can find the 18s, 17s, 16s and 15s that were already put out by clicking on the links. There are lots of factors to take into consideration when formulating a list like this. It leaves plenty of room for debate as these rankings are ultimately subjective. There are power league results, qualifier results, national tournaments like Triple Crown and of course the USAV Girls Junior Nationals and AAU national championships. All these come into play. We put more weight on what happened at Junior Nationals than a qualifier because the whole season is built toward peaking at JN’s. We also had one steadfast rule we didn’t break no matter the circumstances. That rule was if Team A defeated Team B in a gold challenge match or gold bracket match at JN’s, Team A is always going to be ranked ahead of Team B. That’s because everyone comes to JN’s to win a gold medal and if Team A eliminates Team B from contention, it won at the absolute right time. It can make for some skewed overall rankings as a team might be too high or low overall but what’s the point if the biggest head-to-head matches of the season aren’t the most important ones? The Top 25 teams have comments to hopefully give some insight as to why they are ranked where they are. A select few from 26-50 have comments as well but not all. 1. MINTONETTE M.41 (6 – previous ranking) Going 10-1 overall, Mintonette captured the 14 Open gold medal at Junior Nationals after fedning off Flyers 14 Anthony in the championship match. Mintonette’s only loss came to Forza1 North 14 UA in the second round of pool play. That contest was one of seven consecutive three-setters for Mintonette, which went on to defeat NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami in the challenge round, Wave 14 Brennan in the quarters and Elevation 14 Molly in the semis, all in three as well, before sweeping Flyers. Mintonette beat Flyers in three sets in the first round of pool play as well and finish off the year going 26-11 against Open-qualified teams. Mintonette finished first at Northern Lights and fifth at both MEQ and Windy City, as well as Triple Crown. 2. FRISCO FLYERS 14 ANTHONY (5) Two of the three losses at Junior Nationals – where Flyers took home the silver medal in 14 Open – came to Mintonette. HPSTL 14 Royal was the only other team to top Flyers, coming in the first round of pool play. It was a tremendous year for Flyers, which took second at Lone Star, third at Salt Lake and fourth at Triple Crown. Flyers ends the season with a near identical record as Mintonette against the Open field at 26-12. 3. ELEVATION 14 MOLLY (9) Elevation capped its year with a bronze medal in 14 Open at Junior Nationals, falling to Mintonette in the semis. Elevation outlasted Austin Skyine 14 Royal in challenge play before scoring a big victory over TAV 14 Black in the quarterfinals. The only other loss in Indy came to SG Elite 14 Rosh in the first round of pool play. Elevation finished first at Big South and fourth at MEQ, as well as taking sixth at Triple Crown. Elevation went 24-15 against Open competition. 4. TAV 14 BLACK (3) It was TAV which ended the hopes of Boiler Jrs 14 Gold of ‘doubling up’ when the North Texas Region club took down the 14 Open AAU champion in the challenge round at Junior Nationals. TAV then was stopped in the quarterfinals by Elevation and finished tied for fifth in Indy. TAV ended first at NEQ, fifth at MEQ and 11th at Lone Star. TAV wraps up with a 21-12 mark versus Open teams. 5. BOILER JRS 14 GOLD (8) Though Boiler Jrs wasn’t able to advance to the gold bracket at Junior Nationals, the Hoosier Region club turned in one of the best seasons. Boiler Jrs captured gold in 14 Open at AAU and lost just twice in Indy, to TAV in the challenge round and to Flyers in the second round of pool play. Other results on the season include winning Windy City, taking second at NEQ and third at MEQ. Boiler Jrs also won Bluegrass and the JVA SummerFest and finished 15th at Triple Crown. Boiler Jrs compiled a 30-11 record when facing Open teams, the second-most victories of any team. 6. WAVE 14 BRENNAN (4) A loss to Mintonette in the quarterfinals kept Wave from medaling at Junior Nationals. The only other loss in Indy came to Alamo 14 Premier in the first round of pool pool as Wave finished tied for fifth overall. It was a remarkable season for the So Cal club, which finished first at the Red Rock Rave and fourth at Salt Lake City, as well as second at Triple Crown and winning the JVA West Coast Cup. All that led Wave to a 34-11 mark against Open competition, the most victories of any team against such opponents. 7. SG ELITE 14 ROSH (20) There are always surprises at Junior Nationals and SG was one of the biggest. The So Cal club upset Madfrog 14 Green in the quarterfinals before falling to Flyers in the semis to secure a bronze medal. SG Elite also took out Forza1 North 14 UA in challenge play and together it elevated SG Elite 13 spots in our final rankings. SG Elite – which finished 14th at Triple Crown – took second at the Red Rock Rave and third at PNQ. Its record against Open teams stands at 16-18, with five of those losses coming against Wave. 8. MADFROG 14 GREEN (1) It was a tough ending to an incredible season as Madfrog finished tied for fifth at Junior Nationals. Madfrog came to Indy having lost just once – to Elevation –

The final National Rankings release party continues on with the 15s divisions below. You can find the 18s, 17s and 16s that were already put out by clicking on the links. There are lots of factors to take into consideration when formulating a list like this. It leaves plenty of room for debate as these rankings are ultimately subjective. There are power league results, qualifier results, national tournaments like Triple Crown and of course the USAV Girls Junior Nationals and AAU national championships. All these come into play. We put more weight on what happened at Junior Nationals than a qualifier because the whole season is built toward peaking at JN’s. We also had one steadfast rule we didn’t break no matter the circumstances. That rule was if Team A defeated Team B in a gold challenge match or gold bracket match at JN’s, Team A is always going to be ranked ahead of Team B. That’s because everyone comes to JN’s to win a gold medal and if Team A eliminates Team B from contention, it won at the absolute right time. It can make for some skewed overall rankings as a team might be too high or low overall but what’s the point if the biggest head-to-head matches of the season aren’t the most important ones? The Top 25 teams have comments to hopefully give some insight as to why they are ranked where they are. A select few from 26-50 have comments as well but not all. 1. ALAMO 15 PREMIER (19 – previous ranking) Alamo is the perfect example of the beauty that is Junior Nationals. The only at-large team in the field, Alamo stormed its way to the 15 Open gold medal. Alamo showed flashes during the season. One instance was taking fifth at the Salt Lake City qualifier. Alamo also finished seventh at the Sunshine Classic, but came in 11th at the Lone Star Classic and 17th at Triple Crown. While Alamo was most assuredly deserving of the lone at-large, there was hardly a case to be made for Alamo winning it all. The Lone Star Region club came into the tourney with a 9-14 mark against the Open field then reeled off nine victories to finish on top, including beating Arizona Storm 15 Thunder in the championship match. Alamo ends the year with a 18-17 mark against Open teams. 2. ARIZONA STORM 15 THUNDER (1) There’s no doubt Storm was the best, most consistent team throughout the club season. However, Storm’s only loss at Junior Nationals happened to come in the championship match to Alamo. Storm’s year included a ninth-place finish at Triple Crown and winning both the Salt Lake City and Red Rock Rave qualifiers, as well as the JVA West Coast Cup. Storm lost just four matches to teams in its age group – Dynasty 15 Black, Aspire 15 Premier, Seal Beach 15 Black and Alamo. It finishes the season with a 30-2 record against Open opponents. 3. TAV 15 BLACK (3) TAV is well deserving of a Top 5 ranking after the season it turned in. The North Texas Region club wrapped up an incredible year with a bronze medal at Junior Nationals after falling to Storm in the semis. It capped a year in which TAV never finished lower than fifth place, which came at the Lone Star Classic. TAV finished first at NEQ and third at Red Rock and finishes with an impressive 28-7 clip against Open-qualified clubs. 4. DRIVE NATION 15 RED (21) With its remarkable run at Junior Nationals, Drive Nation makes a huge leap in our final rankings and climbs inside the Top 5 after taking home the bronze medal in Indy. Drive Nation upset Hou Skyline 15 Royal in the quarterfinals before falling to Alamo. Along with Alamo winning gold, it was one of the most surprising results in 15 Open. Drive Nation entered JNs with a 5-14 mark against the Open field but reminded everyone that it’s not how many but when the victories come that matters most. Drive Nation finishes the season with an 11-19 mark against Open teams, but most importantly it earned itself hardware. 5. HOU SKYLINE 15 ROYAL (2) For Hou Skyline it was simply a case of losing at the wrong time as the Lone Star Region club was upended by Drive Nation in the quarterfinals and settled for a fifth-place finish at Junior Nationals. Regardless, it was an incredible year for Hou Skyline, which never finished lower than fifth place. It included coming in first at both the Northern Lights and Sunshine qualifiers, as well as a third at Lone Star and fifth at Triple Crown. Hou Skyline ends with a hefty 20-6 record against Open teams. 6. 1ST ALLIANCE 15 BLACK (6) Another club which showed tremendous consistency all season, 1st Alliance was in position to medal at Junior Nationals but came in fifth after falling to Alamo in the quarterfinals. Among the results this past spring for 1st Alliance include winning Triple Crown, taking second at MEQ, third at Windy City and fifth at Sunshine. 1st Alliance finishes with a great 20-8 mark playing Open opponents. 7. LEGACY 15 ADIDAS (8) The AAU 15 Open champions had its medal hopes dashed at Junior Nationals after losing to TAV in the challenge round. Overall, Legacy turned in a strong year, coming in third at Triple Crown, second at the Sunshine Classic and fourth at MEQ, as well as winning the JVA SummerFest. Legacy went 22-13 against Open teams. 8. OT 15 RANDY (7) OT Randy finished with a silver medal in 15 Open at AAU before heading to Junior Nationals, where it came in fifth after going down to Arizona Storm in the quarterfinals. This is another club that was steady and consistent throughout the season, never finishing lower than fifth. It featured winning the Big South qualifier, as well as taking second at Triple Crown, third at Sunshine and fifth at MEQ. On the

July 19 marked the final day of the BVCA 2022 National Championship. Below is a recap of the Gold bracket for 14U, which had exciting finishes along with the dominating performance of Madsand in the Open Division of 5 versus 5.14UQuarterfinals Gentry Barker/Haylee Wright vs Tiana Shaw/Layli Ostovar – Shaw and Ostovar were patient defending the power of Wright. Wright’s got such a powerful swing it was scoring tons of points leading up to this match. Ostovar’s answers with a big swing of her own and along with Shaw’s defense, they served smarter and kept the ball in play more often for a three-set victory.Layla Austin/Jordyn Scribner vs Allyn Brewer/Sophee Peterson – Austin has one of the hardest swings on the beach and it sure helped keep her team undefeated into this match. Both Peterson and Brewer handle the net duties well. Peterson was really strong blocking at the net winning most blocking and jousts. While Brewer, who jumps well and has a whip for an arm swing, had no problem scoring. This duo won in straight sets with their ball control.Blaire Bowers/Gabriella Rodriguez vs Shayla Martinez/Ciela Luna Hendrickson – Martinez and Hendrickson have good ball control. With Hendrickson’s good serves and stellar defense, matching up with quickness and good left-handed swing of Martinez, they made for a well-balanced team. They just ran into the power of Bower’s big swing, whether with a full approach or short one she gets the same results, a big kill. While Rodriguez digs most balls that get past the block and can also convert with a good jump for this small defender. They won in two close sets to move on.Audrey Flanagan/Olga Nikolaeva vs Kennedi Diamond/Paisley Pavliska – Diamond and Pavliska complement each other well on offense. Diamond primarily on the right side has got a good cross court swing that gave defenders fits, while Pavliska has got a good high reach and disguises her swing with roll shots to keep defender guessing. Nikolaeva had a big impact in this match going on long serving runs with her pinpoint accuracy. Flanagan chipped in with big swings of her own and this duo won in straight sets.Semifinals Blaire Bowers/Gabriella Rodriguez vs Audrey Flanagan/Olga Nikolaeva – What an exciting match. Within the first seven points there were three blocks and many defensive thrillers. The tone was set. Rodriguez and Nikolaeva were both amazing to watch as they mirror each other with their hustle and energy playing behind the block. Bowers had big moments with her kills that gave her team momentum. Flanagan matched her blocking counterpart with big swings of her own, but the separation came from her blocking. That skill took the other team out of the game plan and the moved on to the finals with a 2-0 victory.Tiana Shaw/Layli Ostovar vs Allyn Brewer/Sophee Peterson – These two teams mirrored each other with the same style. Low error, ball control groups that force opponents into errors. In this match Brewer and Peterson excelled at their craft. Peterson’s athleticism at the net blocking was forcing a lot of errors and easy dig and conversions for Brewer. With Brewer’s tough serves this duo breezed into the finals with a dominating two-set victory.FinalsAudrey Flanagan//Olga Nikolaeva vs Allyn Brewer/Sophee Peterson – This match pitted the ball control and Brewer and Peterson going up against the strength of Flanagan at the net. Brewer continues to impress with her arm as she was getting big swings past the block of Flanagan early on and winning a joust versus the 6-1 blocker. Peterson was showing her athleticism with quick drop off the nets then quickly transitioning for amazing points. Flanagan got her revenge with three blocks in the set coupled with many aces as her team won 21-17. The second set was a blend of power and savvy for Flanagan’s team. Nikolaeva surprised everyone by going with the option play continuously to keep the defense off balance. While Flanagan absolutely dominated at the net recording five blocks in this set as they cruised to 21-11 win giving them the BVCA 14U title. ***Open Division 5v5A recap of how this tournament is formatted. This division pits club versus club. Each club picks five pairs to represent a team and in the matchup the first team to have three out of five pairs wins. Madsand won the Open Division of 5v5 in dominating fashion. This club brought enough pairs to make two teams, a Madsand White and Madsand Black. The Black team had a strong run, going undefeated on Day 1 and eventually lost in the quarterfinals. This team had a pair that went undefeated in play. The domination was with the White team which won it all with a 7-0 record. The amazing numbers comes from their pairs as they went 30-0 in matches and an unbelievable 60-3 in sets! They were only pushed to three sets in three out of 30 matches. Below we have highlighted Madsand’s six pairs that went undefeated as our Show Stoppers of Day 5. Maggie Boyd/Gabrielle Walker – Boyd-UCLA, Walker-USC Liv Johnson/Madison Morrow – Johnson-LMU, Morrow-SFA Mabyn Thomas/Madison Goellner – Thomas-USC, Goellner-USC Kaileigh Truslow/Harper Cooper – Truslow-FSU, Cooper-UCLA Kaylee Young/Dylan Kate Brewer – Young-USC, Brewer-FGCU Presley Wright/Katherine Hansen – Wright-South Carolina, Hansen-Santa Clara A big spotlight goes to Maggie Boyd/Gabriella Walker as they won AVP 18U, BVCA 18U and 5v5 titles this past two weeks. They should bring some Hermosa sand back home to Texas as a reminder of their great run. In their their tournaments they were pushed to three sets five times, while going undefeated with a 26-0 record!

Our final Club National Rankings release continues on with the 16s division. You can find the 18s and 17s that were already put out by clicking on the links. There are lots of factors to take into consideration when formulating a list like this. It leaves plenty of room for debate as these rankings are ultimately subjective. There are power league results, qualifier results, national tournaments like Triple Crown and of course the USAV Girls Junior Nationals and AAU national championships. All these come into play. We put more weight on what happened at Junior Nationals than a qualifier because the whole season is built toward peaking at JN’s. We also had one steadfast rule we didn’t break no matter the circumstances. That rule was if Team A defeated Team B in a gold challenge match or gold bracket match at JN’s, Team A is always going to be ranked ahead of Team B. That’s because everyone comes to JN’s to win a gold medal and if Team A eliminates Team B from contention, it won at the absolute right time. It can make for some skewed overall rankings as a team might be too high or low overall but what’s the point if the biggest head-to-head matches of the season aren’t the most important ones? The Top 25 teams have comments to hopefully give some insight as to why they are ranked where they are. A select few from 26-50 have comments as well but not all. 1. MADFROG 16 GREEN (22 – previous ranking) Madfrog put together an unbelievable run in winning the 16 Open gold medal at Junior Nationals. There was no way to predict Madfrog could pull off the unexpected the way the North Texas Region club did. Madfrog had a good but not great season heading into Indy. There was a 13th-place finish at Triple Crown followed by coming in 11th at the Salt Lake City qualifier. Madfrog then qualified by taking third at PNQ and finished off with a fifth at the Lone Star Classic qualifier. We had Madfrog ranked No. 22 heading into JN’s. Madfrog actually lost two of its first three outings in Indy, falling to MKE Sting 16 Gold and NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami with a victory over SG Elite 16 Rosh in between. But after the loss to NKYVC, Madfrog reeled off eight consecutive victories, including beating A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe in the second round of pool play and again in the gold medal match. Madfrog also topped AJV 16 Adidas in challenge play and then 1st Alliance 16 Gold in the quarterfinals and Premier Nebraska 16 Gold in the semis. Madfrog entered JN’s with seven victories against Open teams and surpassed that number with eight wins in Indy. Madfrog ends the season 15-12 against Open foes. 2. A5 MIZUNO 16 GABE (3) It was a tough ending to a remarkable year as A5 fell one victory short of pulling off the double. Few teams had the overall consistent A5 displayed. The team never finished lower than fifth place, where it placed at Triple Crown. A5 ended first at Central Zone and Bluegrass, as well as winning the Sunshine Classic qualifier. A5 also earned second at Northern Lights and third at Big South. A5 went undefeated in winning 16 Open at AAU and then brought home the silver medal in 16 Open at Indy. It lost three times in Indy, twice to Madfrog and once to KC Power 16-1, which came in the last match of the first round of pool play after A5 already had the pool clinched. A5 earned a big victory over TAV 16 Black in challenge play and then topped original No. 1 seed Dynasty 16 Black in the semis. A5 posted a 27-7 mark against Open-qualified teams, as well as beating Munciana 16 Moana twice and Tri-State Elite 16 Blue once. 3. DYNASTY 16 BLACK (1) If Junior Nationals carried equal weight as every other tournament this season, Dynasty would be the top team in the nation in our final rankings. No team put up better results heading into Indy than Dynasty. It included winning Triple Crown, MEQ, Windy City and Northern Lights, as well as taking third at Show Me and earning the bronze medal at JN’s. Dynasty started slow in Indy, losing two of its first three matches to OT 16 Roberto and TAV. It was surprising given Dynasty only lost two matches coming into the tourney – to TAV and NKYVC. Dynasty earned the bronze by beating NKYVC in the quarters before falling to A5 in the semis. Dynasty finishes 26-5 against Open opponents. 4. NKYVC 16-1 TSUNAMI (2) NKYVC was remarkably steady and consistent all season and showed strong at Junior Nationals, losing only to Dynasty in the quarterfinals. NKYVC’s showing at Indy included beating eventual champion Madfrog in pool play. NKYVC didn’t finish lower than fifth at any event. NKYVC won Central Zone, took seconds at Show Me, Triple Crown and the JVA SummerFest, thirds at Bluegrass and NEQ and tied for fifth at MEQ. NKYVC went 21-8 against Open competition. 5. 1ST ALLIANCE 16 GOLD (7) It was not surprising to see 1st Alliance tie for fifth place at Junior Nationals. Not after the season put together by the Great Lakes Region club. 1st Alliance lost to Metro 16 Travel in the first round of pool play and to MKE Sting 16 Gold in the second round of pool play, but defeated Seal Beach 16 Black in challenge play, as well picking up victories over Coast 16-1 and Co Jrs 16 Sherri. After coming in 29th at Triple Crown, 1st Alliance went on a tear and didn’t finish lower than second place until JN’s. It featured runner-ups at Sunshine, Windy City and MEQ. 1st Alliance finishes 16-14 against Open opponents. 6. PREMIER NEBRASKA 16 GOLD (18) Premier Nebraska makes a huge leap into the Top 10 in our final national rankings, moving up 12 spots from No. 18. Perhaps

The excitement and good times rolled on during Day 4 of the Beach Volleyball Club of America at Hermosa Beach. Monday’s play included the start of the Club versus Club National Championships, as well as the continuation of gold bracket for 14U. We followed the Open Division 5-on-5 Club versus Club. In this format there are 4 clubs in each pool. Each club chooses its best pairings and proceeds to play against another club’s five pairs at the same time. The first club to win three out of the five matches is declared the winner. After Monday’s pool finishes all 16 teams are reseeded for Tuesday’s championship bracket. Here are the pairings that impressed us in our Day 4 Show Stoppers.Club v ClubTaylor Hagenah/Ensley Alden – The duo of tall and strong attackers showed hustle and touch on a play we saw. Alden dug a hard driven ball to the end line, forcing Hagenah to hustle and bump set a high, perfect set to the net. It culminated in Alden’s big swing for an impressive kill.Arden Besecker/Macey Butler – Butler, a UCLA commit, is a savvy attacker. While she does possess a good arm swing, we saw her change it up and chip to an open area for seemingly effortless points.Mackenzie Miller/Kealy Dirner – Miller has a good smart swing. The tall blocker has a good wrist snap that produces good topspin. Couple that with her ability to hit line or angle makes her hard to stop.Haylee LaFontaine/Danielle Sparks – Sparks generates many easy points. The serving catches opponents off guard, and when digging the easy balls her court sense allows her to put balls in spots that are impossible to get to.Presley Wright/Katherine Hansen – Wright has a good swing. Her high reach and wrist snap gives the ball heat and lands at sharp angels. With a quick approach it’s hard to time a block against her.Bailey Showalter/Kelsey Richards – Showalter has one of the highest reaches on the beach. On tight sets she has the ability to snap and hit good angels and if her opponents set tight, she usually smothers the ball with her block.Kyleen Filimaua/Abbie Wolf – Filimaua has the strongest hands on the beach. Her great timing allows her to win most jousts while watching her set the ball is very satisfying as it comes off so smooth and clean.Carra Sassack/Ashley Vincent – Sassack is one best athletes we’ve seen. Her net play leaves you speechless at times. Not only does this lefty have a powerful swing, she often hangs in the air. Blocking wise this helps her delay block and get more touches and with hitting she’s just able to wait and see what’s open.Maggie Boyd/Gabriella Walker – Boyd has one of the best jump serves. At the net she’s a beast blocking with good timing and strong arms. Walker hitting on the right side is amazing as she has a hard cross court shot or a wrist away down the line that is impossible to read.Liv Johnson/Madison Morrow – Johnson’s power and quickness showed on plays we saw her on the net. She has a strong jump and times her blocks and jousts well. Her quickness showed when she block jumped then picked up a shot behind her and proceeded to get back up and get a good swing in. It was impressive. Kaileigh Truslow/Harper Cooper – Truslow can do it all. Her quickness in defense and ability to convert is good. Her supportive and positive attitude on the court makes her a great teammate.Savannah Standage/Erin Inskeep – Standage’s net play was instrumental in going undefeated. Good footwork and strong hands gave her key blocks while her explosive jump and strong arm finished off her attacks with big kills.Zoey Henson/Clara Stowell – Henson’s ball control was evident. Her stellar serving forced opponents into tight situations. Stowell finished a couple of those points off with big blocks.Kate Morley/Stacey Reeves – Reeves hustles on defense. We saw her pick up a couple of roll shots and immediately converted to points with good swings. 14ULayla Austin/Jordyn Scribner – This duo of strong attackers gives this team a good shot at a deep run. Scribner’s swing has good pace while Austin’s high contact gives defenses so many different looks.Blair Bowers/Gabriella Rodriguez – The energetic Rodriguez frustrates her opponents. Never giving up on any shot, she will dive and hustle for any ball and convert it for a point.Audrey Flanagan/Olga Nikolaeva – Flanagan is impressive at the net. Her block timing is good and creates some blocks but many soft touches. Nikolaeva in turn picks up the soft contact and easily converts with her many shots.Nafanua Alofipo/Ella Olson – Olson’s court sense and her ability to control her shots makes defending  her a tough task. Alofipo compliments her with good net play and consistent setting.Zoe Znider/Addison Williams – Znider’s left-handed float serves gives opponents problems as she goes on many long serving runs. Williams chips in with some well placed cut shots.