This is “Dots,” VolleyballMag.com’s weekly look at 10 things in club volleyball, past or present, that interest me and hopefully will interest you. Look for Dots every Tuesday through Junior Nationals this summer.
• We open today’s Dots with tragic news.
The horrific mass slaying of seven family members in Joliet, Illinois on January 21 claimed a member of our volleyball family.
Alonnah Nance, a 16-year-old high schooler from Joliet West HS, was among the victims of the crime allegedly perpetrated by her older brother.
The killing spree also took the lives of Alonnah’s two sisters, a brother, her mother and aunt and uncle. The suspect, Romeo Nance, shot himself to death one day later after being confronted by police in Texas.
Alonnah was a member this season of the UNO Volleyball Club, a prominent club situated in Chicago’s West Suburbs.
“Alonnah was the epitome of perseverance,” UNO club director Terri Baranski told Phil Brozinski of IllPrepVB.com. “She was a phenomenal teammate and worked so hard for everything, not just in volleyball.”
UNO also released this statement on its Instagram account:
“Words cannot begin to express the pain and sorrow our Uno family is feeling after learning of the tragic passing of one of our own, Uno Girls 16 Elite player Alonnah Nance.
While it is impossible to comprehend how something like this could happen and painful to enter the gym knowing she won’t be there, not a day will go by where we won’t honor her, play for her, and find the love and joy in the game like she did. Alonnah’s passion, genuineness and spirit will live on and she will surely never be forgotten. We play for you #31 and miss you more than you could ever know.”
Rest in peace, Alonnah, but may your presence and spirit be felt by those who knew and loved you for all the years to come.
• There were two national qualifiers last weekend, one for 18s in Ft. Lauderdale and one for 15s, 17s and 18s in Minneapolis.
We start first with Florida Fest and the 18 Open division, which saw Triangle 18 Black, Madfrog 18’s National Green and Mintonette m.81 punch their Open tickets to Baltimore.
Triangle’s run to the title included a revenge win over Metro 18 Travel in Gold pool play, Gold play wins over two previously-qualified teams, Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite and OT 18 O Roberto, and a finals sweep of Madfrog.
“Florida Fest was an amazing opportunity for our team to…
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