On the weekend of January 14th, the boys and girls Academy Volleyball teams kicked off their 2017 seasons by playing in their first major tournaments of the year. Academy teams were spread out across the Northeast – and even in to the Midwest – with the girls Red teams in King of Prussia, PA for the ECP Invitational. The girls White teams were in Lancaster (York), PA for the MLK Kick-off Classic. The boys 15 Red team was in Chicago for the Boys Winter Championships, while all the other boy’s teams were in Rochester, NY for the CanAm tournament. The opening weekend was a resounding success for the club and there are many highlights to announce.
2017 Rochester CanAm
Participating in the CanAm tournament for the first time, the Academy boys made a great first impression.
The Boys 15 White team had a tough first day as they faced the top teams in the tournament in their bracket. They played hard all the way through and got stronger as the tournament went on.
In the end, the boys placed 12th overall and won the Bronze bracket in two straight sets over RCVC (25-16, 25-22)
The Boys 16 Red team had a tremendous tournament as they went undefeated throughout pool play. The boys earned a spot in the gold bracket where they defeated LVC in the first round (18-25, 25-18, 15-12), and MAC in the second round (25-17, 25-16), before falling to Pace in the finals (23-25, 23-25).
The 16 Red finished in 2nd place overall and became the first Academy team of the 2017 season to earn their bid to the Junior National Championships in Columbus Ohio. Congratulations to the 16 Red!
The boys 17 age group fielded three teams at the CanAm tournament, where the competition was intense throughout the entire filed. The 17 Blue team played hard throughout the tournament highlighted by their matches against the Oakville Thunder and Club SyrV.
The 17 White team’s tournament was highlighted by wins over SMASH (25-18, 25-21) and the Durham Attack (25-17, 26-24). The boys earned a spot in the Silver bracket where they earned a win over MAC (25-17, 25-19) before falling to SMASH in the second round of the bracket.
Also, having a highly successful weekend was the Boys 18 Red team. Like the 16s, the boys went undefeated throughout pool play. Impressively, they won all their matches in straight sets throughout both rounds of pool play.
Their record in pool play earned them a spot in the Gold bracket where they defeated the Ottawa Fusion in straight sets (25-21, 25-19) in the first round. In the second round, the boys lost to Pace (18-25, 14-25). The boys finished in 5th place overall out of 34 teams – great job!
2017 ECP Invitational
Moving on to King of Prussia, PA and the ECP Invitational where the girls Red teams were playing, once again the Academy Volleyball program put forth a very impressive tournament.
The 13s and 14s played very well amid tough competition at their age level. The 13s had an overall match record of 3-4, which awarded them 5th place overall.
The 14s, playing against tough competition, had a tough day – however they girls played steady and were in every match they played.
The Girls 15 Red team had a very successfully tournament as they went 4-1 during pool play, picking up wins over EC Power – Mystic, EC Power – Electric, DIGS, and PGH Elite. The girls qualified for the Gold bracket, where they lost to the EC Power – True in the first round in three sets (22-25, 25-22, 13-15). The girls finished 4th overall in the tournament.
Also, having a great tournament was the 16 Red as they also went 4-1 during pool play. The girls picked up wins over EC Power-Liberty, Princeton, EC Power-Honor, and Brandywine Blast. Like the 15s, the 16s also qualified for Gold bracket where they lost in the first round to the EC Power-Empire in two straight (23-25, 21-25). The girls 16 Red also finished in 4th place overall for the tournament.
The 17s-age group is always one of the toughest to play in for both girls and boys volleyball as the level of play is so highly competitive. The girls 17 Red team fought through a few rough patches and held an overall record of 3-2 during pool play. They picked up wins over DIGS, EC Power-Platinum, and EC Power-Chrome, while falling to EC Power-Clear and the Brandywine Blackout. The girls qualified for the Gold bracket, where they picked up a win of the PGH Elite and fell to the Metro 17 Travel team. The girls finished in 3rd place overall for the tournament.
Like the 17s, the girls 18 Red team also went 3-2 during pool pay, picking up victories over AVVC, Brandywine Bobcats, and Princeton. The girls two defeats were to the EC Power-Royal and the EC Power-Pearl. Their record in pool play qualified them for the Silver bracket, where they picked up a first-round win over the EC Power-Sapphire in two straight sets (25-21, 25-20). The girls lost in the Silver finals to the Brandywine Bobcats in three sets (19-25, 25-14, 10-15) and finished in 6th place overall.
2017 Boys Winter Championships
As the only team representing the Academy Volleyball program in Chicago, the boys 15 Red team had a very successful tournament. The boys faced only Midwest teams throughout the tournament, who are already more than a month into their club seasons.
The boys went 4-2 over the first two days of pool play. Due to the size of the 15-year-old field in Chicago, the boys had to play a 1-set match vs. Chicago Uno Elite, where the winner advanced to Gold bracket and the loser went to Silver.
The boys 15 Red pulled out the victory in a thrilling 28-26 set. They boys dropped their Gold first round match to the Cincinnati Attach in two straight sets and finished in 9th place out of 38 teams.
2017 MLK Kick-Off Classic
Also, playing in their first major tournament of the season were the Academy Girls White teams. The White teams headed down to Lancaster (York), PA for the MLK Kick-Off Classic.
First up is the girls 15 White team whose pool play schedule was highlighted with wins over the Bayside Vipers in two straight (25-18, 25-17) and the ECC 15 North White in two straight (25-8, 25-13). The girls qualified for the Bronze playoff bracket where they dropped their opening round match to the SRVC Surge in three sets (25-22, 20-25, 10-15).
Both 16s teams (Dills and Dave) competed at this tournament. 16 Dave’s pool play was highlighted by wins over WLVBC (25-21, 25-23) and MVA (25-21, 25-27, 15-9). The girls earned a spot in the Silver playoff bracket, where they made it to the finals by defeating CALI in three (25-18, 18-25, 15-11), Downstate in three (20-25, 25-17, 15-4), and GPS Crush in two (25-21, 25-15) before falling to Horseshoe VBC in three (26-24, 15-25, 9-15). Overall, the girls finished the tournament in 12th place.
16 Dills had a great two days of pool play as they went 5-1, which qualified them for the Gold playoff bracket on the third day. In the opening round of the Gold bracket, the girls defeated OCVBC in two straight sets (25-14, 25-20).
They moved on to the second round, where they defeated AVA 16-Eclipse Rox in two straight sets (25-9, 25-23). From there, the girls advanced on the Gold semi-finals where they fell to the eventual tournament winners, the SRVC Waves, in two straight sets (22-25, 18-25).
Overall the girls 16 Dills team finished the tournament in 3rd place.
Also, fielding two teams for Academy was the 17s-age group as both 17 Steve and 17 Dani competed in this tournament. 17 Steve had two strong days of pool play as they went 3-3, picking up wins over AVVC, ASEVC 17 National, and PVBDE 17 Black.
The girls qualified for the Bronze playoff bracket where they defeated Asphalt Green VBC in two straight (25-13, 25-18). The girls moved on to face the AVA 17s, where they also picked up a win in two straight (25-18, 25-14). The girls eventually fell in the Bronze semi-finals to AVVCA 17 White.
17 White Dani wins 2017 MLK Kick-Off Classic!
17 White Dani kicked off their first major tournament of 2017 in the best possible way – by winning the whole thing.
The girls went undefeated during the first two days of pool play, winning most of their matches in two straight sets.
Qualifying for the Gold playoff bracket, the girls defeated PGH 17 Elite Gold, DIGS 17 White, and ECE 17 Typhoon. In the finals, 17 Dani defeated the Xtreme Xplosion in two straight sets (25-16, 25-16) for the tournament win.
Congratulations to the 17 White Dani on your outstanding tournament!
The 18 White team also competed at this tournament and had an excellent first two days of pool play, going 5-1 throughout.
The girls won all but one of their matches in two straight sets and qualified for the Gold playoff bracket. The girls fell to the FVC 18 Elite in the first round of the Gold bracket, but took 5th place overall in the tournament – another great way to kick off the major tournament season.
Congratulations to all the Academy players and coaches for an outstanding weekend of volleyball.
Upcoming Tournaments:
Mid-Atlantic Power League (Girls), Hampton, VA - January 28/29, 2017
SCVA Invitational (Boys), Anaheim, CA - January 27-29, 2017
Dennis LaFata Gateway Classic, Indianapolis, IN - February 3-5, 2017