Flohr/Grace Earn Freshmen Honors

Academy Volleyball would like to recognize and congratulate two alumni, Will Flohr and Matthew Grace, for their accomplishments as college freshman:

Will Flohr, of the St. Joseph's College Men’s Volleyball team, has been named the Rookie of the Week for the Skyline Conference.  Throughout the teams first few games, Will leads all SJC players in kills, attacks, and aces.  Read More Here.

Matthew Grace of the No. 2 ranked SUNY New Paltz Men's Volleyball team,  has been named Rookie of the Week for the United Volleyball Conference.  He is averaging 10.0 assists per set, which is second in the United Volleyball Conference and is tied for ninth in the NCAA Division III.  Read More Here.

Congratulations to Will and Matt on their  early success in their  college careers.  Will and Matt were teammates for Academy on the 18 Red.  Will Flohr is also and Assistant Coach for the Academy 17 Blue team.

 

Academy Goes Coast To Coast

The last weekend in January Academy spread its wings across the country as it had teams competing on both coasts of the United States. While most of us were back here in New York dealing with the rain and chilly temperatures, the Boys 16 Red, 17 White, and 17 Red teams were off to Southern California to compete in the SCVA Invitational tournament.  Meanwhile, the girls 15 – 18 Red teams headed south along the East coast to Hampton Virginia to compete in the Mid-Atlantic Power League. Two sides of the program, two sides of the country, one great weekend of volleyball – read on!

SCVA Invitational, Anaheim CA

16 Red
With the boys 16 Red team having already earned their bid to Junior Nationals at the 2017 CanAm tournament, the pressure was off – but the boys aren’t taking their foot off the gas, instead they just keep on rolling.  The boys opened their tournament with a loss to WAVE in two straight, but shook off their jet lag and rebounded with victories over Pali 16 Nike and Ohana AC.  On the second day of the tournament, they went 2-1 picking up victories over T.O. And MVVC, falling only to Team Rockstar. Later in the day, the boys had to play a challenge match against SB Coast in which they fell in two sets (25-20, 27-25).  They boys qualified for the Silver playoff bracket where they dropped their match to MB Surf Nike.

17 White
The 17 White team didn’t have an ideal situation to open the tournament – by playing the defending National Champions, Balboa Bay – which was then followed by playing perennial national powerhouse SCVC.  They remained competitive, but ultimately fell to both teams.  The second day of the tournament the boys went 2-1 and picked up wins over Ohana AC in three (18-25, 26-24, 15-13) and Coast 17 Black in three (25-19, 25-27, 15-8).  On the last day of the tournament, the boys faced A’o a Koa Volleyball in their flight bracket where they dropped the match in two sets (22-25, 16-25).

17 Red
Coming off of two straight strong performances in their last two tournaments, the 17 Red came out to test their game against the strong west coast competition.  The first day started out well for them as they went 2-1 in pool play, defeating Pulse Athletics and SMBC in two straight sets before falling to Bones 17 Black. On the second day of the tournament, the boys also had a strong day, going 2-1 in pool play as they picked up wins over VCVC and MB Surf Nike. There one loss was to NCVC, however that loss tied Academy with NCVC for 1st place in the pool, which resulted in a 1-set playoff to determine the pool winner.  The 17 Red took that set with a demonstrative 25-12 victory.   But the boys’ day was not over yet… That victory meant they advanced to a challenge bracket match with another Southern California powerhouse – 949.   The boys fell to 949 in two straight, but still qualified for the Silver playoff bracket.  In the Silver bracket, the boys faced SCVC 17 Quicksilver, who they defeated in two straight sets (25-21, 25-30).  The boys advanced to the Silver bracket finals, where they also had a straight set win over HVA 17 Performance (27-25, 25-18).   The boys 17 Red had an excellent tournament – and came home with having earned a bid to the 2017 Junior National Championships!  Congratulations to the 17 Red.

Mid-Atlantic Power League, Hampton, VA

15 Red
The girls 15 Red team, opened the first day of the tournament going 2-2 through two rounds of pool play.  In the first round, the girls dropped sets to the EC Power and Vienna Elite.  However, the girls kept their resolve and picked up wins over the MDJRS 15 Elite in two straight (25-19, 25-21) and Summit CJVA 16 Black in three (25-21, 18-25, 15-11).  On the second day of the tournament the girls picked up the win over the Vienna Elite 15s in straight sets (25-18, 25-21) before falling to the Coastal 16 Blue team.


16 Red
The 16 Red also opened the first day of the tournament by going 2-2.  The girls split the first pool by picking up a win over Triangle 15 Blue and dropping a match to the MDJRS 16 Elite.   In the second round of pool play, the girls also split their matches by picking up a win over Beach Elite in two straight (25-23, 25-21) before falling to Triangle 16 Blue in three (16-25, 25-23, 7-15).  The girls open the second day of the tournament by playing a Gold challenge bracket, where they fell to the TCVA 16 Royal in three sets (19-25, 25-12, 10-15).  The girls qualified for the Silver playoff bracket, where they fell to the EC Power 15 True in two straight sets (21-25, 18-25).


17 Red
The girls 17 Red team opened the tournament by splitting their first round of pool play with a win over Beach Elite 18B Adidas in three sets (25-21, 25-27, 19-17), while dropping a match to Triangle 18 Blue.  The girls also split their second round of pool play, picking up a win over Metro 17 Travel and dropping a match to VA Elite.  In order to make the Gold Playoff bracket, the girls had to play Academy 17 Diamond (no relation to our club), which they did in two straight sets (25-18, 25-21).  With that, the girls were in the Gold playoff bracket, where they eventually fell to the Triangle 17 Black team.

18 Red

Posting a very strong tournament were the girls 18 Red as they had an overall record of 5-2.  The girls split their first match of the tournament by picking up a win over MVSA Storm, while dropping a match to TCVA 18 Royal.  The girls swept their second round of pool play by defeating EC Power 18 Pearl and Team VB Rags 17N Carly.  With their record standing at 3-1 after two rounds of pool play, the girls qualified to play in a challenge bracket for the Gold playoff.  In that challenge bracket, the girls fell to EC Power 17 Titanium.  The girls did qualify for the Bronze bracket, where they defeated the VA Juniors 16 Elite in straight sets (25-21, 25,23).  They went on to pick up a win over the VA Elite 18s and winning the Bronze bracket.

Congratulations to all teams on another weekend of great volleyball!

 

Opening Weekend for Acad Volleyball

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

 

Academy Athletes Named To Newsday's All Long Island Team

Academy Volleyball would like to congratulate all of it's athletes who were recently named to Newsday's All-Long Island First and Second Teams.  

See the Academy athletes below. Click here for Boys and click here for Girls to see Newsday's article.

 

Academy Players Selected to
Newsday's All-Long Island First Team

 

Haley Anderson, 18 Red

“The all-around star led the Bulls to their 10th straight League III title and a berth to the county final. Her skill set will be on display at Quinnipiac next year.”
— Newsday, 12/11/16

Gabrielle Ayzenberg, 18 Red

“An offensive powerhouse who also possesses one of the best serves on Long Island. She had 336 kills this season, finishing with 1,066 for her career. She’ll play at SUNY Geneseo”
— Newsday, 12/11/16

Mackenzie Cole, 17 Red

Newsday's Suffolk County Player of the Year

“Cole plays with so much control and poise that’s it’s easy to see why she will be playing at Duke, where she has made a verbal commitment. Cole is the leader of Connetquot’s stingy defense, making 247 digs and just eight dig errors. She also had a 92.9 serving percentage.”
— Newsday, 12/11/16

Sean Hannett, 18 Red

“Hannett provided both veteran leadership and skilled play on the outside for Sachem North, and was instrumental in helping the Flaming Arrows complete a fourth straight unbeaten regular season.”
— Newsday 12/11/16

Nicole Migliozi, 17 Red

“She’s one of Long Island’s best at distributing the ball, racking up 667 assists, and with so many hitting options, Migliozzi makes sure they all stay involved. The junior has already verbally committed to Quinnipiac.”
— Newsday 12/11/16

Christopher Shanley, 17 Red

“The powerful hitter was instrumental in leading the Bulls to their first county and Long Island Championships. He had 15 kills in the county final and 20 in the Long Island Championship, and was named to the all-state tournament team.”
— Newsday 12/11/16

Jamie Smith, 18 Red

Newsday's Long Island Player of the Year

“The Iona-bound lefty is the most versatile talent Long Island has to offer. She had 419 assists, 235 kills, 151 digs and 38 blocks this season as the on-floor general for another extremely talented Chiefs team that won its 17th consecutive Nassau AA title. Smith’s value comes in her willingness to do whatever it takes to score or prevent a point. As a setter, she combines great awareness with overwhelming confidence in her hitters. When she’s not setting, she’s arguably the team’s most consistent hitter. Defensively, she’s a stud on the back line and at the net.”
— Newsday 12/11/16

Lauren Wilke, 17 Red

“The team leader’s versatility helped the Phantoms trump longtime rival Glenn in the Suffolk B Championship game. She’s a two-way setter who is equally as effective at setting and hitting.”
— Newsday 12/11/16

Academy Players Selected to
Newsday's All-Long Island Second Team

Parker Bachisin, 17 RedEastport SouthManor

Parker Bachisin, 17 Red
Eastport SouthManor

Julia Beckmann, 17 RedGarden City

Julia Beckmann, 17 Red
Garden City

Taylor Cole, 18 RedConnetquot

Taylor Cole, 18 Red
Connetquot

Sammy Gibson, 17 RedLong Beach

Sammy Gibson, 17 Red
Long Beach

Dan LaRosa, 17 RedSachem North

Dan LaRosa, 17 Red
Sachem North

Alec Lehnert, 17 RedSachem North

Alec Lehnert, 17 Red
Sachem North

Connor Pallman, 17 RedSachem North

Connor Pallman, 17 Red
Sachem North

Cassandra Patsos, 17 RedConnetquot

Cassandra Patsos, 17 Red
Connetquot

Mackenzie Taylor, 17 RedConnetquot

Mackenzie Taylor, 17 Red
Connetquot

Academy Salutes Players In New York State Championship Tournament

Academy Volleyball would like to recognize and congratulate all of the Acad athletes who competed in the New York State Public High School Championships this past weekend, November 19,20, 2016.  Every year, the New York State tournament is fielded with highly talented teams - and this year's tournament lived up to those same high standards.  

Please join us in congratulating the following athletes for their participation in the tournament:

Bayport Bluepoint High School


Lauren Wilke, 17 Red

G17Red_Wilke.jpg

Connetquot High School - NEW YORK STATE FINALISTS

Taylor Cole, 18 Red
Mackenzie Cole, 17 Red
Nicole Migliozi, 17 Red
Cassandra Patsos, 17 Red
Mackenzie Taylor, 17 Red
Skyla Schoppmeyer, 17 White - Dani
Taylor Konzen, 17 White - Dani
Daniella Balsano, 16 Red
Kiarra Rae Roth, 15 Red
Diana Migliozzi, 15 Red
Julia Patsos, 15 Red
Olivia Edwards, 15 Red

Smithtown West High School - NEW YORK STATE FINALISTS

Christopher Shanley, 17 Red
Brian Grudman, 17 Red
Owen Doherty, 17 White
Ray Rose, 17 White

Andrew Sanchez,
Assistant Coach, Smithtown West
Assistant Coach Boys 17 Red

NEW YORK STATE CHAMPIONS

Eastport-Southmanor High School

Parker Bachisin, 17 Red (SUNY Polytechnic)

Academy Summer Camps A Success!

Bohemia, NY.   August is famous for being known as “the dog days of summer” and is usually all about vacations and backyard barbecues.  At The Island Volleyball Academy, August is also a time to improve.  As such, Academy has just wrapped up weeks of volleyball camps right here on Long Island.  

For three weeks - from late-July through the week of August 15th – Academy’s summer programming included hosting a number of different volleyball camps each designed with a specific purpose in mind.  The first week featured skill-specific camps. These camps go in-depth on the nuances of important volleyball skills including:

•    Setting
•    Attacking and Blocking
•    Defense, Passing, and Serving

The camps allow athletes the ability to focus on the area of their game they want to improve on the most.  The second week featured a camp each for middle/high school boys and girls. These camps cover a wide range of volleyball skills and give athletes plenty of opportunities to fine tune their games.  

The last week of camp featured a co-ed Advanced Skills camp for high school students, which covers more advanced techniques and high-level training.

“One of the best things about these camps is that it provides multiple opportunities for volleyball players of all abilities to develop their game and take it to the next level.”
— Kevin DesLauriers, Director of The Island Volleyball Academy

Those athletes who attended one or more of the Academy camps received a high-quality training experience – and best of all – they were able to train right here on Long Island.  If you play youth volleyball on Long Island, you should consider attending an Academy camp next summer (see the gallery below for a few highlights from this year's camps).


Regardless of where you play middle school, high school, or club volleyball, Academy camps are open to everyone.  “One of the best things about these camps is that it provides multiple opportunities for volleyball players of all abilities to develop their game and take it to the next level”, said Kevin DesLauriers, Director of The Island Volleyball Academy.

With most high school programs beginning their tryouts this week, these camps came at the perfect time.

NEWS & NOTES:
The Island Volleyball Academy would like to wish all athletes good luck on their upcoming high school season.  Please be sure to check acadvolleyball.com for tryout information on the 2017 club season.

Manchenko Takes 3rd at USA Volleyball Junior Beach Tour Championships

Manchenko & Gibson finish in 1st place at the GEVA Open

Oakdale, NY:  The Island Volleyball Academy would like to congratulate Boys 16 Red player, Jeremy Manchenko, for finishing in third place at the USA Volleyball Junior Beach Tour Championships.

The mission of the USA Volleyball Junior Beach Tour is to be the premier junior beach tour in the United States. The tour has had more than 60 events (tournaments) this year in 24 states and 26 USA Volleyball regions.  Players who competed in these tournaments had an opportunity to earn bids (invitations) to the USA Volleyball Junior Beach Tour National Championships, which were held in Bradford Beach (Milwaukee, WI) on July 22-24, 2016. 

Manchenko & Gibson finish 3rd out of 33 teams from around the USA.

Manchenko and his beach partner, Sammy Gibson, earned their invitation to the Junior Beach Championship tournament by finishing in first place at the Garden Empire (GEVA) Open on June 18th in South Beach, Staten Island NY.  

Manchenko and Gibson competed in the Open division of the USA Volleyball 2016 Junior Beach Tour National Championships.  In a field of 33 teams from around the country, Manchenko and Gibson finished third in the Gold bracket and third overall.  



For more information on the Junior Beach Tour Championships, please click here.  

Congratulations to Jeremy Manchenko!

 

###

2016 Junior National Championships - In the books!

At the end of this past June and the beginning of July, The Island Volleyball Academy boys and girls teams spread their wings across the country to compete in USA Volleyball's Junior National championships. The girls traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana while the boys were off to Dallas, Texas. 

Competing in the Junior National Championships is an honor for all teams that attended because they made it there by winning enough throughout the season to earn a bid. However, making it there is only part of the battle, because once you are there, you are facing all of the top teams from around the country. There are no weak teams and your best is counted on every match of every day. 

This year Academy is proud to have sent eight (8) teams to the Junior National Championships and each team represented Academy honorably.  Following is a quick round-up for each team.

First up are the Girls 12 Red who enjoyed their trip to nationals for the first time.  The girls were excited to experience volleyball in such an intense atmosphere, facing teams from as far away as Colorado, San Francisco, and Hawaii.  The girls played an exciting three set match against the Rockford Volleyball Club (Illinois). They dropped the first set in extra points (24-26), but came back to win the second set in dramatic fashion by winning 25-8.  They eventually lost the match in the third set.  Congratulations to the Girls 12 Red team on their first trip to Nationals!

Also in Indianapolis for the GJNC was the Girls 13 Red. The Girls 13 Red took full advantage of their time in Indiana as they went for a ride around the track at the Indy-500 in an official track car and also had a chance-encounter with Hoda from The Today Show! On the court, the girls were focused against their competition.  While the girls played in many competitive games, their best match came against the NI Thunder (Northern Idaho) in a three-set victory.  They opened the match with a 25-18 win, but the Thunder came back in the second as Academy dropped the set 17-25. In a winner-take-all third set, the Academy Girls 13 Red pulled out a victory by taking the set 15-13.  

Meanwhile, over in Dallas, Texas, the Boys 14 Red team was competing in their first Nationals. The boys had a rough first day dropping all three matches, however they rebounded on the second day going 2-1 with victories over BRYC (25-23, 23-25, 15-13) and Central California (25-21, 25-21).  The only match they dropped on the second day was to the Richmond Volleyball Club (12-25, 28-26, 13-15).  In sports, earning the respect of your peers is the best compliment a team can get.  That was the case between these two clubs as players from both teams bonded afterwards.  There is no doubt these teams will have many more competitive games over the next several years.  After dropping two matches on the third day, the boys finished the tournament by defeating the Pacific Rim (California) and Panther (Pennsylvania) volleyball clubs in their flight bracket, before falling in the finals to the Madfrog (Texas).  Congratulations to the Boys 14 Red team on a strong performance at Nationals.

Also competing in Dallas was the Academy Boys 15 Red team, who had a very strong tournament.  The boys opened the tournament going 2-1 on the first day with victories over the Milwaukee Sting (25-12, 25-19) and Bay To Bay (California, 29-27, 25-13) and one match dropped to 949 (California).  The Boys 15 Red had a tough second day as they dropped all three of their matches.  Although they didn’t have the result they wanted in those matches, the boys were very competitive in every match – as each set went right down to the wire.  Their game against the Cincinnati Attack featured two sets that went to extra points – 28-26.  The boys were both on the winning and losing side of those sets. They were back at it again on day three, going 2-1 and earning a spot in the Bronze bracket.  In the Bronze Bracket, the boys defeated MVVC (California) in two straight sets (25-21, 28-26) before falling to High Performance St. Louis in three sets (25-16, 28-26, 15-7).  The Academy Boys 15 Red team placed 15th overall – Congrats to the boys on a successful tournament.

The Academy Boys 16 Red team came into the tournament and immediately was placed in a pool with some of the top teams in the competition.  In their second match of the first day they played the eventual national champions, 949 (California). While the boys lost the match, they took the second set 25-19 – it would be one of only four sets that 949 would lose all tournament.  On the second day of the tournament, the boys picked up a thrilling victory over Pace (Rochester, NY) in three sets (25-23, 24-26, 15-13), while splitting games on the third day with MVC and Ocean Bay (Florida).  The boys dropped the match against Ocean Bay, while picking up a victory over MVC (Milwaukee) in two straight sets (25-17, 25-23).  Great job by the Academy Boys 16 Red!

Back to Indianapolis and the Academy Girls 16 Red team.  The girls earned a bid to compete in the National division of the Junior National Championships.  The girls had a tough first day dropping three matches.  Like the Boys 15 Red, while the girls may not have had the result they desired they were competitive the whole way through.  This includes an opening set against Adrenaline (Iowa) that went to the final score of 31-29.  On the second day of the tournament, the girls picked up a victory over the Celtic Force (Illinois) in two straight sets (25-14, 25-19). The Girls 16 Red team also picked up a big victory over Sky High (Illinois) in three sets (16-25, 25-23, 15-12).  Great job to the Academy Girls 16 Red!

The Academy Girls 17 Red team also earned a bid to compete in the National division of the Junior National Championship tournament.  The girls started the tournament by going 1-2 in pool play.  Their first match was a three set thriller vs. Tejas (Texas).  The first set of the match went to extra points by the score of 28-26, as did the second set (26-24) before the girls fell in the third set to lose the match.  They picked up a victory over Six Pack (Iowa) in two straight sets (25-16, 25-23).  They split their matches on the second day losing to EC Power (Pennsylvania) and winning against Rockford (Illinois).  The girls finished out the tournament by picking up victories over Lanakila (Hawaii) in two straight sets (25-20, 27-25) and Xcel (North Carolina) also in two straight sets (25-22, 25-23).  Congrats to the Girls 17 Red for their performance at the tournament.

Returning to Dallas for our final recap for the Academy Boys 18 Red… The Boys 18-Open field at Nationals this year was an exceptionally strong field, which featured upsets in every pool on every day. Playing in their last tournament as a team, the boys came out of the gate strong the first day. While it is rare, playing five matches on one day can – and did happen.  The boys picked up victories over the Hitmen (Illinois) in two straight (25-18, 25-18) and NCVC (California) in three sets (25-23, 20-25, 15-12). The boys fell to SG Elite (California) in two (25-21, 25-15), Ultimate (Chicago) in two (25-18, 25-19), and Santa Monica (California) in three (23-25, 25-17, 15-9).  After 12+ hours of playing, the Boys 18 Red finished the day 2-3.   The boys were not able to regain their footing after that marathon first day; however, after one of the most highly successful boys’ club careers, they will now soon embark on their college careers.  All of us at The Island Volleyball Academy wish them luck on the next chapter of their lives. 

NEWS & NOTES:

There is still time to pre-register for a spot in one of Academy’s upcoming summer camps, but spots are filling up fast!  Acad camps are a great way to improve your skills and get a jump on the upcoming high school season.  To learn more as well as to register for a camp, please visit our camp page on our website.

Academy Athletes Earn High Performance Honors

The Island Volleyball Academy is dedicated to providing the highest quality training to all of its athletes and is committed to helping them achieve their dreams of playing at the highest level they desire.

During the course of the club season, many Academy athletes choose to attend USA Volleyball and/or GEVA High Performance tryouts.  Attending these tryouts provides them with the opportunity to compete for a spot in programs that will continue their development by placing them alongside the top players in the region/country at their age level.  

Earning a spot and participating in these programs is a significant accomplishment that all athletes should be proud of.  

On behalf of all of us at Academy, congratulations and good luck to all athletes participating in a High Performance program this summer.

Please click here to view all of Academy’s High Performance athletes.

Beckmann/Patsos Earn Bid to RoxVB National Championships

The Island Volleyball Academy is pleased to announce that Julia Beckmann (17 Red) and Cassandra Patsos (16 Red) have won the RoxVB National Qualifying tournament in Point Pleasant, New Jersey on Sunday June 12, 2016.  This victory earned them a bid to the RoxVB National Championship Tournament in Florida, July 28 - 30, 2016.  

The tournament was very challenging from both the excellent competition as well as having to play trough heavy wind conditions throughout the tournament.  Beckmann and Patsos defeated a solid team from Pennsylvania in the finals to earn the top qualifying bid.  

Congratulations and Good Luck in Florida to Julia and Cassandra!