Sunday in Austin proved to be a wild ride! A ton of great teams were squaring off right from the get go as the Invitational divisions started off the day with a crossover match for Gold.
The 17 Invitational final featured A5 17-Jing against HJV 17 Elite. HJV defeated TAV 17 Black in three the match before squaring off against Houston Skyline 17 Royal in the semis and winning another three-set match. A5 faced Skyline 17 Royal in the first round of the bracket, winning in three, followed by Madfrog 16 Green. A5 captured that match in straight sets. Two athletes that were the heart and soul of their teams in the finals were A5 libero Gabi Cornier and HJV libero Alice Volpe. Of course, we all love to see amazing defense but liberos who are also calm and can control the serve receive leads teams to massive success. A5 ended up winning in two, 25-20, 25-12.
The 16 Invitational division had HJV 16 Elite facing off against A5 16-Gabe. HJV’s path included a first round against Alamo 16 Premier which they won in three. Next was Drive Nation 16 Red, which HJV swept. A5 started off their bracket play against Houston Skyline 16 Royal, which A5 took in three before beating TAV 16 Black. In the final match, HJV ended up defeating A5 in straight sets. HJV was led by middle Jordan Taylor and outside Aaliyah Smith. A5 was led by setter Abigail Li and libero Francesca Popescu.
The 15 Invitational featured Madfrog 15 Green meeting Skyline 15 Royal in the finals. Madfrog’s path to the final included a first-round in-bracket against Austin Skyline 15 Royal, which Madfrog won in three. Madfrog then swept Alamo 15 Premier. Skyline’s road included a first round win in two against TAV 15 Black followed by a sweep over Houston Skyline 15 Royal. The final match was definitely entertaining with a Skyline victory in three. Madfrog was paced by libero Gabi Rodriquez and outside Kennedy Crayton. Skyline was led by the outside duo of Layla Austin and Skylar Jackson and middle Keoni Williams.
In 14 Invitational TAV 14 Black captured the championship over Madfrog 14 Green in straight sets. Madfrog’s path to the championship match included sweeping Houston Skyline 14 Royal in the first round and doing the same to Excel 14 Red in the next round. TAV’s path included a first round win in two against Austin Skyline 14 Royal followed by another sweep over Skyline 14 Royal. The final match ended up with TAV defeating Madfrog, 25-13, 25-13. TAV’s S/OHs Sophee Peterson and Brynn Stephens anchored a loaded squad while Madfrog was led by setter Charlotte Cavin and outside hitter Vanessa Glenn.
While the Invitational divisions get a lot of the focus we wanted to give a shout out to the National division winners. In 18 National, Alamo 18 Premier ended up winning the title over Mexico team NLJuvenil Mayo in two. In 17 National, Houston area clubs Houston Stellar 17 Elite faced off against Katy United 17 Adidas, winning in three. Roots 161 Green defeated SA Xtreme 16U in two in the 16 National division. In 15 National, Houston Skyline 15 Black defeated Texas Legacy 15 Elite in two. And in the 14 National division, Premier 14 Black (Texas) defeated SA Elite 141 Navy in straight sets.
Before we share the weekend’s Show Stoppers we must put out that there were many more athletes that could have been featured in this loaded tournament but with tons of divisions I am sharing the athletes who stood out this weekend in their respective age divisions.
Weekend Show Stoppers
Outside/Opposite Hitters
Hannah Benjamin, OH, A5 17 Jing
Macaria Spears, OH/Opp, TAV 17 Black
Suli Davis, OH, Drive Nation 16 Red
Taylor Porter, OH/Opp, Houston Skyline 16 Royal
Sydnee Peterson, OH/Opp, TAV 16 Black
Lauryn Mack, OH, TAV 16 Black
Aaliyah Smith, OH, HJV 16 Elite
Megan Fitch, OH, Alamo 16 Premier
Henley Anderson, OH, AP 15 Adidas
Kennedy Crayton, OH, Madfrog 15 Green
Skylar Jackson, OH, Skyline 15 Royal
Layla Austin, OH, Skyline 15 Royal
Ryan Sadler, OH, A5 15-Bob
Arianna Muoneke, OH, HJV 15 Elite
Gwenyth Koss, OH, HJV 15 Elite
Mya Cheatum, OH, Austin Juniors 15 Adidas
Halle Thompson, OH, Houston Skyline 15 Royal
Vanessa Glenn, OH, Madfrog 14 Green
Kaylie Davis, OH, Skyline 14 Royal
Kate Cuppett, OH, Skyline 14 Royal
Lexi Martin, OH, Drive Nation 14 Red
Jordan Morrow, OH Houston Skyline 14 Royal
Lucky Fasavalu, OH, Austin Skyline 14 Royal
Riley Koshkin, OH, Excel 14 Red
Liberos
Gabriela Cornier, L, A5 17 Jing
Alice Volpe, L, HJV 17 Elite
Gillian Pitts, L, TAV 17 Black
Callie Krueger, L, Austin Skyline 16 Royal
Gabriella Rodriquez, L, Madfrog 15 Green
Francesca Popescu, L, A5 16-Gabe
Middle Blockers
Logan Wiley, A5 17 Jing
Zoe Humphrey, MB, HJV 17 Elite
Favor Anyanwu, MB, TAV 17 Black
Ayden Ames, MB, Drive Nation 17 Red
Jaela Auguste, MB, Houston Skyline 17 Royal
Jordan Taylor, MB, HJV 16 Elite
Zoe Gillen-Malveaux, MB, Drive Nation 16 Red
Keoni Williams, MB, Skyline 15 Royal
Nyla Livings, MB, TAV 14 Black
Setters
Grace Agolli, S, A5 17-Jing
Savannah Skopal, S, Austin Juniors 17 Adidas
Kirra Musgrove, S Houston Skyline 17 Royal
Abigail Li, S, A5 16-Gabe
Blair Thiebaud, S, Houston Skyline 15 Royal
Sophee Peterson, S/OH, TAV 14 Black
Brynn Stephens, S/OH, TAV 14 Black
Charlotte Cavin, S, Madfrog 14 Green
Nafanua Alofipo, S/Opp, Austin Skyline 14 Royal
