The Nike Tournament of Champions Southeast definitely did not disappoint! With three divisions and 88 teams in the tournament there were plenty of amazing programs along with amazing athletes at the facility this weekend. There were early upsets on Day 1 that made Day 2 definitely fun to watch. With that being said the final matchup of the Nike TOC Southeast in the National Platinum Bracket was electric.
Two VERY different style squads squared off against each other. Cornerstone Christian out of Texas is a squad loaded with tons of talent in all positions. They captured the Volleypalooza title last weekend in Austin and looked to capture another title in Florida. The other squad, Westminster Christian out of South Florida, was more of a scrappy, ball controlled, thrive-off-of-energy team that once turned on was hard to beat.
Below is a run down of the National Platinum Bracket followed by Team Spotlights and Under The Radar Players.
National Platinum Bracket
Final
Westminster Christian d Cornerstone Christian (17-25, 30-28, 15-12)
This match was definitely a fun match to watch. Cornerstone Christian is completely LOADED with talent and was swinging with power all match on all pins. Westminster Christian’s scrappiness and chemistry were key to winning the match in the end. TONS of amazing rallies all match kept it tight the entire time.
Game 1 had Cornerstone on top pretty handily in the beginning with Westminster fighting back the entire match. Cornerstone senior MB/OH Nayeli Gonzalez (Iowa State) made her presence known early on. An outside who was playing mainly middle for her high school squad hit a very heavy and high ball wherever she was playing. Senior setter Taylor Anderson (Purdue), senior outside Rylee Busse (Memphis), sophomore outside Megan Fitch and senior libero Alyssa Manitzas (Notre Dame) were all also performing well. Westminster had a different style squad which started digging literally everything being hit at them. Westminster sophomore libero Zoey Matias was huge in leading the squad defensively. She was digging everything.
Game 2 started off the same way as the first, but Westminster started finding their groove. Senior OH/MB Emily Matias (Coastal Carolina), freshman Gigi Arties and freshman OH/Opp Alexandra Washington started finding the holes in the defense and scoring well. Back and forth it went but Cornerstone couldn’t capitalize as Westminster forced a decisive set with the overscore win.
Game 3 started off a bit differently with Westminster jumping to a quick lead. Senior setter Lamaya Fuller and junior setter Alyssa Cadavid did well dispersing the sets along with swinging from the middle. On the Cornerstone side junior opposite Macey Hughes had some big swings to keep things close but Westminster ended up winning 15-12 in the end.
Watch for long game highlights soon on vballrecruiter’s IG and tiktok pages.
Semifinals
Westminster Christian d Tampa Prep (25-19, 25-20)
Cornerstone Christian d Santa Fe (25-21, 25-22)
Westminster Christian’s defensive aggression was huge against Tampa Prep which helped them advance to the Platinum finals. Cornerstone Christian was just too much for Santa Fe in the other semifinal.
Quarterfinals
Tampa Prep d Lafayette (26-24, 25-16)
Westminster Christian d Trinity Catholic (26-24, 25-18)
Santa Fe d Calvary Christian (25-18, 25-21)
Cornerstone Christian d Venice (25-16, 25-14)
TEAM SPOTLIGHTS
Westminster Christian – The team that could! The tournament champions might not have been the top seed going into the match but they definitely earned the title. Scrappiness, athleticism and fire was apparent the entire match. Watch for them to be strong for the next few years too with so much talent on the court in the 2025 and 2026 class.
Lake Brantley – Watching this team you see three names that are well known on the national circuit in senior Sarah Gooch (West Virginia), junior Sam Bowron, and sophomore Amina N’Diaye. After watching a few matches I got to watch Bowron run the offense from the back row. All three stars shined in their own light on the pins.
Calvary Christian – Junior setter Taylor Parks (Florida) ran the show on the team. And with the addition of senior Deanna Dollar (College of Charleston) to the squad and also sophomore Morgen Talley swinging well from the middle CC could hang with the best of them.
Plant – Sophomore Maggie Dostic is a factor to deal with on the outside for this squad. Also fun to watch was junior Bella Lee (Florida), junior setter Quinn Morrissey, and junior middle Kaylee Peper who helped lead their team to the National gold bracket title.
New Smyrna Beach – The NSB Cudas was another one of the scrappy teams you could never overlook. Senior outsides Jalynn Brown and Madelyn Petersen were always firing on the outside while senior oppsite Eden Anderson added more fire power from the other pin.
Jensen Beach – The Gold bracket champions were fun to watch both days. The Falcons junior setter Raegan Richardson had plenty of options to set with senior MB/RS Lindsay Walch and senior MB/RS Haley Handlen swinging well. And senior libero Sophia Gannascoli was scrappy in the backcourt.
UNDER THE RADAR PLAYERS
Emma Matias, SR OH, Westminster Christian (Coastal Carolina)
Lamaya Fuller, SR S, Westminster Christian
Amelia Fitzpatrick, SR S/Opp, Trinity Catholic (Flager)
Marley Navaretta, SR L, South Fork (Southern Mississippi)
Miya Thomas, SR L, Santa Fe
Madelyn Peterson, SR OH, New Smyrna Beach
Hannah Howard, SR OH, Musselman
Caitlyn Little, SR OH/Opp, Lafayette
Lindsay Walch, SR Opp, Jensen Beach
Sydney Austin, SR MB, Buford
Hannah Spencer, SR MB, Cornerstone Christian (Angelo State)
Deanna Dollar, SR OH, Calvary Christian (College of Charleston)
Natalia Ruiz, SR OH, Windermere Prep
Allison Risley, JR OH, Lafayette (Northern Kentucky)
Quinn Morrissey, JR S, Plant
Emma Moore, JR MB, McGill Toolen
Sophia Iglesias, JR S, Bishop Moore
Hailey Tang, JR L, St. Thomas Aquinas
Connore Siler-Nixon, SO MB, Steinbrenner
Brighton Ferguson, SO L, Venice
Abigail Li, SO S, Walton
Ryan Murphy, SO S, Ponte Verde
Amaria King, SO OH, Trinity Christian
