This is “Dots,” VolleyballMag’s weekly look at 10 things in club volleyball, past or present, that interest me and hopefully will interest you. Look for Dots each week through Junior Nationals this summer.
• In Louisville last weekend, the JVA’s annual showcase event, the JVA World Challenge, convened. More than 900 teams descended on the Derby City, a massive number for a tournament, smack dab in the middle of qualifier season, that was not a national qualifier.
• Three of the Open divisions we cover were contested at the World Challenge, with Michigan Elite 17 Mizuno capturing 17 Open, Sports Performance 16 Elite winning 16 Open and Tri-State Elite 15 Blue taking 15 Open.
Michigan Elite went 9-0 in Louisville, taking home a title one week after qualifying in Open for Junior Nationals at the Show Me qualifier in Kansas City.
“I believe this weekend had a lot to do with momentum from the Show Me qualifier,” said coach Jaison George. “They were able to bring a lot to the table from that event. The offense has consistently shown up in transition and we have been able to force free ball opportunities to our side. We have had a consistent six-headed monster on offense with our roster.”
MEVBA fueled its impressive offense due to consistent ball control supplied by Jess Costlow, Mckenna Payne, Izzy Busignani and Addison Newblatt.
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Sports Performance, which had such a strong showing at Triple Crown in February but struggled somewhat at Bluegrass in March, defeated 23 other teams to take 16 Open. Seth Salmon’s team won despite being down two starters, standout setter Ellie Stiernagle (hand) and physical OH Haley Burgdorf (playing with 18 Elite).
“Everyone on the team was able to help make this weekend a great one and take care of our unfinished business from the last time we were in Louisville for Bluegrass,” Salmon said. “What truly helped us throughout the weekend was how great our blocking was as a team. We had 60 total blocks for the weekend, averaging 2.86 blocks per set.”
On championship Sunday, SPVB took its blocking to new height, averaging 4.29 blocks per set. Big blockers for Sports Performance included middle Olivia Stewart and pins Brooklynne Brass and Abbey Knight. Libero Elayna Davidson, who averaged 5.29 digs per set; and setter Lina Giovani, who averaged eight assists per set,…
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