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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.

On Day 3 of the Beach Volleyball Club of America the 18 and 16U national champions were finally crowned on the sands of Hermosa Beach. The 18s division featured 157 teams battling it out while 16s included 125 pairs competing for gold. Sunday also marked the start of 14U division. Here are the teams from all three divisions which caught our attention in our Day 3 Show Stoppers. 18U Maggie Boyd/Gabriella Walker – It was back-to-back 18U champs for this team! They are the most complete team on the sand. At the net both are strong attackers but Boyd produced some big blocks. Defensively and in serve receive they both read and have a good passing touch allowing for consistent looks for offense. Boyd has got one of the best jump serves on the beach. It’s consistent and has a little cutting action making it tough to read. Carra Sassack/Ashley Vincent – What a great run to second place for this team. Vincent is just exciting to watch. Her big swing produces so much force and always gets the crowd going. Sassack athleticism was on display in the finals. Being a smaller block she would delay and hang up to get touches while also cutting amazing shots by the big blocks. Savannah Standage/Erin Inskeep – Inskeep had a week to remember. Last weekend she got second in both 16U and 18U at the AVP tourney. On Sunday, her team had an impressive third-place finish in a stacked field. Her defensive ball control is absolutely amazing, then you add her ability to hit for power and finesse and you get an absolute stud. Delaney Karl/Chloe Hooker – Karl – a USC commit – was dominating. Her ball control for a blocker was a big reason for her third-place finish. Her serve receive has good passing touch and the defensive transition for big kills showed how athletic and powerful her swing can be. Sydney Miller/Kaitly Smith – This group was the winner of the silver bracket and Miller impressed in the championship match. With a 6-2 frame and a high reach she hits tough to defend angels. Her athleticism shows in her footwork at the net blocking and ability to drop and defend. 16U Madeline Walker/Vivian Johnson – This duo’s run to gold here showed poise. With a deep field, not only was their ball control relied upon but they showed how tough they were with a couple of three-set wins. Johnson is an athletic blocker with good control and court vision. Ingrid Timon-Johnson/Mallory LaBreche – This duo had a great run and finished second. Johnson has good defensive energy with the ability to convert with power. LaBreche doesn’t rattle under pressure. Time and time again she produced big points in tight situations. Kate Morley/Stacey Reeves – This duo’s ball control and defense rivals anyone else on the beach. Both Morley and Reeves cover an enormous amount of court. While they don’t hit for power their court vision and shot making abilities got them a third-place finish. Alexandra Kurz/Bella Adishian – Adishian’s net play contributed big time to her team’s third place. She has an excellent block reach allowing her to surprise teams with her block coverage. Kealoha Phillips/Aensley Matautia – This team took the silver division championship. Phillips’ powerful swing and Matautia’s defense rallied this team back for an exciting three-set win. 14U Gentry Barker/Haylee Wright – The No. 1 seed had no problems. Wright was a force at the net with her big blocks and crushing kills, while we saw Barker making amazing digs and converting for points. Audrey Flanagan/Olga Nikolaeva – Flanagan is intimidating. Her 6-0 frame at this age allows her to block so many balls not usually seen. Nikolaeva carries a wide variety of shots in her arsenal and her serves are rockets. Sara Moynihan/Kara Namimatsu – Moynihan, a southpaw, is explosive. Teams at this age usually don’t see a power swing from that arm angle. Namimatsu covers the court well and shows a good passing touch. Layla Austin/Jordyn Scribner – Scribner drives her team with her big, powerful swings and fiery emotions. She brings a lot of energy. Austin does a good job picking up balls and converting for points. Blaire Bowers/Gabriella Rodriguez – A well-balanced team. Rodriguez patrols the end line and doesn’t let many balls drop, while Bowers brings the heat with her big blocks and powerful swings.

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.

The Beach Volleyball Club of America is holding its 9th annual National Championship from July 15-19 in Hermosa Beach. Age groups participating include 18, 16, 14 and 12U and have staggered start days. All of the previous beach tournaments we’ve covered have been teams which were not playing for and representing a club, but this tournament is and all teams have been picked by the club directors. This introduces different pairings with exciting skill sets and dynamics involved. Below we highlight the Day 1 Show Stoppers from the 16s and 18s. 16U Kate Morley/Stacey Reeves – The No. 1 seed overall, this duo impressed. Their ball control allows them to contend with any team, but it’s their defensive intensity that will give them separation from others. Charlotta Bell/Savanna Lau – Bell’s got one of the best blocks on the beach, which allows the speedy Lau to cover most of the back row. Kealy Dirner/Mackenzie Miller – Miller is impressive at the net. The blocker can bring the heat and with her high reach has some extreme angles that she creates with her arm speed. Haylee Lafontaine/Danielle Sparks – Their ball control allowed them to breeze through pool play. Sparks shined with her defense and conversions, whileLafontaine had strong serving runs and impressive kills. Elise Lenahan/Kiera Tanioka – We loved watching this duo play. A strong team with good communication and sound ball control. They can rally with any team. Tanioka makes good reads and completes the play with well-placed shots. Ingrid Timon-Johnson/Mallory LaBreche – LaBreche plays with the steadiness of a veteran. She makes good reads as a blocker and playing the net well. Nothing rattles her. Kiki Remensperger/Isa Wiklund – This team caught our attention with their energy and teamwork. They both did a good job of rotating around each other and communicating during broken plays, saving many points. Wiklund’s vocal and positive energy is fun to be around. Ella Irwin/Lilianna Tosches – Irwin and Tosches pulled of a mini upset coming in third in the pool and eventually taking first. Tosches does a good job as a defender with her reads. She covers a lot of court and her conversion rate leading to points is excellent. 18U Maggie Boyd/Gabriella Walker – Fresh off winning the AVP tournament last weekend, this duo cruised through pool play. Walker showed great athleticism picking up shots then transitioning with some thunderous kills. Bailey Showalter/Kyleen Filimaua – This duo stands out. Both are over 6-0 tall and can punish balls at the net. Whether it’s blocking, attacking or defending their skills are excellent and will allow them to make a deep run. Savannah Standage/Erin Inskeep – Standage impresses at the net with her powerful swing. Paired with Inskeep’s ball control and this group had no problems on Day 1. Kelly Belardi/ Jenna Colligan – Belardi – a Stanford indoor and beach commit – plays with great court vision. She has a good sense of where the defense is positioned and has a good arm swing to be able to place it where she wants. Tawny Ensign/Skylar Ensign – Winners of the silver bracket at the AVP last week, this team had no problems in pool play. Tawny is very quick as a defender and able to read and pick up tough cut shots. She then has a good ability to convert usually with a good line shot. Ashley Pater/Kennedy Coakley – Coakley’s strong presence at the net, combined with Pater’s defensive intensity make them a fun and exciting team to watch. Rallies are usually finished with Pater hustling for a ball, then converting with great angle shots. Zoey Henson/Clara Stowell – A good mixture of Stowell’s net play and Henson’s ability to defend and convert points made for an easy day for this duo. Henson’s serve with good pace and accuracy could give them a chance at a deep run. Kelly Mccloskey/Finley Rollins – Rollins is another impressive blocker we watched. When she squats down and then explodes up to block, she actually gets her elbows to the tape and intimidates the opposing attacker.

One way of wrapping up the latest club season is with the final set of national rankings. We released the final 18s rankings Monday and continue Tuesday with the final ones from the 17s division. 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 18s 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. 1st ALLIANCE 17 GOLD (1 – previous national ranking) Given the depth and competitiveness of the 17s division it was a truly remarkable season for the Illinois club. 1st Alliance opened in impressive fashion by going undefeated at the early Northern Lights qualifier to secure its Open bid. The club then finished third at Triple Crown, where it lost twice to Drive Nation 17 Red. 1st Alliance went on to take fifth at the Sunshine Classic, falling only to A5 Mizuno 17 Jing before going undefeated in winning the Windy City qualifier. In Indy, 1st Alliance displayed the high-level consistency needed to capture a gold medal against such a difficult field. OT 17 John and AZ Rev 17 Premier joined Drive Nation and A5 as the only teams in the same age group to defeat 1st Alliance, which finished with a 26-5 mark against Open-qualified opponents. 2. MN SELECT 17-1 (13) When it came to MN Select – which finished the year 18-12 against Open teams – the potential of this group was obvious. It was only a matter of if the team could produce at a consistent level when it mattered most. That’s exactly what MN Select did in Indy by taking home the silver medal. It included an impressive victory in the semifinals over a hot Club V 17 Ren Reed squad that helped propel MN Select up the rankings. The team didn’t fare as well as it would’ve liked at AAU, where MN Select participated in a tune-up for Junior Nationals. In Orlando, MN Select finished tied for fifth after falling to OT John in the quarterfinals. In Indy however, MN Select lost just twice – to Tstreet 17 Naseri and to 1st Alliance in the final. The loss to Tstreet was not consequential however, as MN Select already had its pool wrapped up before facing Tstreet. MN Select moved up 11 positions in our final rankings, after being No. 13 heading in our May release. 3. CLUB V 17 REN REED (8) Club V had a monster season that ended with a bronze medal in Indy. After Triple Crown – where Club V finished 19th – is when the Utah club caught fire. It finished first at the Salt Lake City qualifier. Club V then finished fifth at Red Rock, third at Lone Star and grabbed another qualifier victory at Far Western. Club V picked up arguably its biggest victory of the season when it topped Circle City 17 Purple in three sets in the 17 Open quarterfinals in Indy to clinch a medal. For the season, Club V went 27-11 against Open opponents. The 27 victories ties Drive Nation for the most Open wins. 4. CIRCLE CITY 17 PURPLE (2) It was not the ending Circle City was hoping for but it shouldn’t take away from an amazing season. Circle City proved itself as one of the best and it showed with a 24-3 record against the Open field, including Indy. Open teams to beat Circle City included TAV 17 Black, 1st Alliance and Club V. Circle City’s only other losses came to Rev Raptors 17-1, which Circle City went 2-2 against. The only setback in Indy came against Club V in the quarterfinals. 5. COAST 17-1 (4) Coast capped a strong season with a bronze medal at Junior Nationals. Against Open opponents, Coast went 22-9. Its run in Indy was stopped by 1st Alliance in the quarterfinals. Some of the highlights for Coast this year beyond the bronze was going 3-0 against Drive Nation and 4-1 against rival Wave 17 Juliana. 6. LEGACY 17-1 ADIDAS (10) Legacy had perhaps the most heartbreaking performance at Junior Nationals of any 17 Open team. The Michigan club finished the four-day event 9-1 but its only loss to 1st Alliance kept Legacy from breaking the second round of pool play and participating in the challenge matches. Combined with Legacy earning the gold medal in 17 Open at AAU lands Legacy at No. 6 despite the lower finish in Indy. Legacy posted a 24-10 against Open opponents. 7. WAVE 17 JULIANA (6) Wave’s hopes of medaling in Indy ended with a loss to Coast in the challenge rounds. Still, it was a great year for the San Diego club, one that included winning the Big South qualifier as well as the JVA West Coast Cup. On the year, Wave was 22-10 against Open qualified teams. 8. PREMIER NEBRASKA 17 GOLD (11) Another

vballrecruiter.com presents its final 18s Top 50 National Rankings. 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 18s and AAU national championships. All these come into play. We put more weight on what happened in Phoenix than a qualifier in January 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 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. There was only one minor change to the rankings after taking into consideration results from AAU. That was switching around Munciana 18 Samurai and SPVB 18 Elite after Munciana defeated SPVB in the 18 Open final at AAU in Orlando. With Munciana winning AAU, there was consideration whether or not Munciana should replace Sunshine in the No. 1 spot in our national rankings because Munciana does own a head-to-head victory over Sunshine their lone meeting. While there is an argument to put Munciana in the top spot, we held off based on overall strength of schedule. Sunshine played one of the top-three toughest schedules in the country and loss just four times all season while going undefeated at two national qualifiers and the 18 Open national championships. Given that, we kept Sunshine at the top. 1. SUNSHINE 18 LA Comment: The USAV 18 Open gold medalist was the easy choice to be No. 1. Munciana owns a head-to-head victory over Sunshine in the finals of Triple Crown, but as we stated strength of schedule was a factor keeping Sunshine No. 1. A5 Mizuno 18 Marc is the only other team to own a victory against Sunshine on the national stage. Coast 18-1 and Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar each picked up a victory against Sunshine in local Premier Volleyball League action. Sunshine collected 38 victories against the Open field, including its time in Phoenix. That’s the most of any team. 2. MADFROG 18 GREEN Comment: Madfrog showed moments of vulnerability in losing pool matches to Adversity 18 Adidas and FC Elite 18 Elite at JN’s. Yet, it responded by upsetting A5 in its challenge match on its way to finishing with the silver medal. That propelled Madfrog to No. 2 in the rankings. Yes, A5 did defeat Madfrog in Nashville, but there’s no doubt that A5 would gladly trade that victory for the one in Phoenix that didn’t happen. Madfrog also owns impressive victories outside of JN’s which includes beating Hou Skyline 18 Royal, Skyline 18 Royal, Coast and SASVBC 18-1. 3. A5 MIZUNO 18 MARC Comment: A5 had a tremendous overall season. It just lost one match at the wrong time when it fell to Madfrog in the challenge round at JN’s. That was only A5’s third loss in a national tournament. OT 18 Chad and AZ Rev 18 Premier join Madfrog as the only clubs to own a victory over A5. A5 finished the year 3-1 against OT and 1-1 against Madfrog. A5 earned 31 victories against the Open field, second only to Sunshine. 4. MUNCIANA 18 SAMURAI Comment: Compared to others in the rankings, Muncie has played a much lighter schedule but has proved itself to be among the top in the country regardless. Not only does the club own a victory over Sunshine in the final of Triple Crown, it owns 10 more victories against teams which qualified for 18 Open at JN’s. Its only losses are to SPVB, Hou Skyline and Coast 17-1. Given the lighter schedule Muncie comes in at No. 4. 5. SPVB 18 ELITE Comment: It’s difficult ranking SPVB simply because it doesn’t have the same strength of schedule as others. Still, what it does have in terms of results has to be taken into consideration. SPVB owns a victory over Munciana and Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite, which finished tied for third at JN’s. SPVB only losses were to Team Indiana 18 Elite, which finished in the top half at JN’s, and Munciana in the 18 Open final at AAU. 6. ROCKWOOD THUNDER 18 ELITE Comment: From here on out it starts getting interesting as the results get more and more mixed and mashed. There’s no denying Rockwood Thunder turned in a strong performance at JN’s by tying for the bronze medal. It’s only losses there were to Madfrog in the semis and to Vital in pool play. It upset Coast in challenge play. On the season, RT has just one loss to a non-qualified 18 Open squad and that was against CUVC 18 Premier. It also owns a victory over Skyline, which tied for fifth at JN’s. 7. SKYLINE 18 ROYAL Comment: Skyline’s run to a fifth-place tie at JN’s included just one loss, to Sunshine in the quarterfinals. Like Rockwood Thunder, Skyline lost just once to a non-qualified 18 Open team in SA Junior 18 Adidas. It did earn some strong victories leading up to JN’s by topping Coast, Hou Skyline and Madfrog. It also owns head-to-head victories over bronze medalist FC Elite and Adversity, which tied for fifth. 8. FC ELITE 18 ELITE Comment: Some could argue by virtue of finishing with a bronze medal at JN’s that