This past Memorial Day weekend, the Academy Volleyball boys teams ventured south to Richmond, Virginia for the last major tournament of the 2018 regular season. For some of the boys, it was a great way to close out their club volleyball careers. While others fought for (and attained) that elusive bid to the Junior National Championships. No matter what, it was a great weekend of volleyball, read on to see more!
14s
Always a fun time for the 14 White team! This is the team that was formed after the Boys Middle School Clinic/Tournament. For the boys this is their first experience participating in a tournament. They faced many of the well-established teams from Pace and Coastal – and event faced a team from Canada. They boys played well and picked up some nice wins over Coastal B14 Gold in three sets (25-15,25-19,20-25) and MVP – also in three sets (22-25,28-26,15-12). Welcome to club volleyball boys!
The 14 Red team continued their great first season as a team as they opened this tournament with a 2-1 record on the first day, picking up wins over RCVC and A10 Thunderbolt. On the second day of the tournament, the boys also went 2-1 as they defeated Pace (25-14,25-20) and TVP (25-23,25-17). After two days of the tournament – and a 4-2 record, the boys qualified for the Gold playoff bracket, where they fell to Boriquen (Puerto Rico) in the first round. The boys finished in 9th place overall – Great job!
15s
The boys 15 White team opened the tournament by falling to Annapolis and Coastal in the opening pool play round and to MVC in a cross-over match. However, on the second day of the tournament, the boys rebounded and came back with wins over RVC (25-22,25-7) and LIVBC 15 Regional (25-15,25-9). On the last day of the tournament, the boys swept their playoff bracket by defeating RCVC in the first round (25-14,25-16) and Sportime in the finals (23-25,25-8,15-11).
The boys 15 Red team had a strong opening to the tournament as they went 2-1 during the first day of pool play, picking up wins over Pace 15-2 (25-20,25-16) and RVC (25-10,25-13). On the second day of pool play, the boys dropped two matches to teams from upstate NY (Pace 15-1 and Niagara Frontier), while picking up a straight-set win over RVC (25-19,23-25). The boys qualified for the Silver playoff bracket, where they fell to the LIVBC 15 National team in three, extremely close sets (23-25,25-21,15-17).
16s
The boys 16 White team found themselves in one of the toughest pools on the opening day of pool play. They went 1-2 in that pool, but certainly held their own, picking up a win over Niagra Frontier – a match which featured a thrilling 30-28 set victory by the boys, followed up with a 25-21 victory for the sweep. The boys also went 1-2 on the second day of the tournament, with a victory coming over the Plainview VBC. During the last day of the tournament, the boys dropped their playoff bracket opening match to A5.
The boys 16 Red team opened the tournament with a 2-1 record during their first day of pool play, picking up wins over Coastal Hampton Roads and Griffons de l’Outaouais (Canada). During the second day of pool play the boys with two of the top-seeded teams in the tournament (Torrimar and 352 Elite). The boys went 1-2 on the day, picking up a win over Arlington. The boys qualified for the Silver playoff bracket, where they picked up an opening round win over RVC (25-16,15-25,16-14) before falling to MVC in the Silver finals. As it turns out, the win over RVC was a critical one as with that win, the boys finally clinched that elusive bid to the USA Volleyball Boys Junior National tournament (finishing 10th place overall).
17 Red
The boys 17 Red team opened the tournament with a 2-1 record during the first day of pool play. They picked up wins over RVC and MVC, but fell to a team called, Ghosts (Canada). On the second day of pool play, the boys were in a tough bracket, but also came out with a 2-1 record as they picked up wins over Pace (21-25,25-23,15-9) and Niagara Frontier (25-14,25-21), while falling to Toreros (Puerto Rico). With three teams tied, the boys also had to play a one-set match to settle a tie-breaker scenario with Toreros, which they fell by a very-close score of 23-25. The boys qualified for the Silver playoff bracket, where they dropped their opening round match to Ocean Bay Quicksilver.
18s
The boys 18 White team had a tough opening day as they dropped their pool play matches to MVP Academy and NOOKS, while also dropping a cross-over match to LIVBC 18 National. The boys rebounded on the second day of the tournament as they went 2-1 on the day, picking up wins over Triangle (25-15,25-15) and Sportime (25-19,25-19). The boys qualified for the Bronze playoff bracket, where they picked up an opening round victory over TVP (25-15,25-23) before falling to RVC in three sets.
The boys 18 Red team continued their strong season by going 3-0 during the opening round of pool play as they picked up wins over Ocean Bay Quicksilver, RVC, and TVP. On the second day of pool play, the boys went 2-1 picking up wins over Toreros (25-14,25-22) and MVP Academy. They boys also had to play a one-set match with BRYC, in which they won 25-18. For their strong play, the boys earned a spot in the Gold playoff bracket, where they dropped their opening round match to Niagara Frontier Gold.
End of Season - End of Era
With the completion of this tournament, the club volleyball season has come to a close for all of the boys teams – except for the Boys 16 & 17 Red teams, who will now train to compete in the 2018 USA Volleyball Boys Junior National Championships in Phoenix, Arizona.
For the Boys 18 Red and White teams, the completion of this tournament also marks the end of an era as this tournament puts a final stamp on their club volleyball careers. Many of the boys will be moving on to compete in the collegiate volleyball. All of us at Academy Volleyball would like to wish all of our graduating seniors the best of luck in all of their future endeavors. Remember, once Academy – always Academy. Please stay in touch with us.