Brady Named News 12/Bethpage FCU Scholar Athlete

Academy Volleyball would like to congratulate Allie Brady on being selected as one of the News 12/Bethpage Federal Credit Union Scholar Athlete.

Allie is a long-time Academy Volleyball player and a senior at Smithtown East High School.  Allie is a picture of perserverence as an ACL injury at the beginning of last season prevented her from playing the previous year.  She has come back strong and is leading her team in kills.

In addition to her on-court achievements, Allie is also a piano player and 7-time participant in the New York State solo competition.  She currently has a 4.0 GPA and is in the National Honor Society. 

Please join us in congratulating Allie on this tremendous accomplishment.

To see the video on News 12, please click here.

Cole Named First-Team High School All-American

Academy Volleyball athlete and Connetquot High School senior, Mackenzie Cole, has been named a 2017 First-Team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

Out of over 620 nominations from around the United States, the AVCA selected a total of 150 athletes to be named All-Americans (and honorable mentions). 

Cole's selection to the "First-Team" All-American is significant as they represent the top-24 high school volleyball players in the country.  In addition to this honor, Cole and the other First-Team All-Americans, will play in the Under Armour Girls High School All-America Match. 

The Under Armour All-America match is a national showcase game that is designed to feature the women's volleyball stars of tomorrow.  The match will be played during the AVCA Convention at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mousouri on December 15th.

Academy Volleyball would like to congratulate Mackenzie Cole on this tremendous honor and recognize her for her hard work, committment, and positive attitude that it takes to achieve this distinction.

Fore more information on the AVCA All-Americans, click here.

To learn more about the Under Armor All-America match, click here. 

The match will be streamed on FloVolleyball.

 

Beckmann Featured in Newsday.

Academy athlete and Harvard University commit, Julia Beckmann, was recently featured in a Newsday article.  Julia is being recognized by Newsday for currently leading her high school team, Garden City, with 113 kills and to a 2-2 league record.

You can read the article here (paywall).

Congratulations to Julia on her sucess so far this high school season!

Academy Volleyball Players Recognized by Newsday.

Academy Volleyball is pleased to recognize it's athletes that have been named by Newsday in their High School Volleyball pre-season "Top-25 Players to Watch" report.  12 Academy boys made the list as well as 15 Academy girls - an amazing 27 out of 50 athletes named by Newsday are Academy-trained athletes (more than half of all players named).  Please see the list below for all of the althletes named by Newsday:

BOYS

  1. Trey Cole, Connetquot
  2. Timothy Drake, Massapequa
  3. Sammy Gibson, Long Beach
  4. Dan LaRosa, Sachem North
  5. Alec Lehnert, Sachem North
  6. Daniel Murphy, Smithtown East
  7. Conner Pallmann, Sachem North
  8. Jack Poplawski, Walt Whitman
  9. Ben Sandt, Northport
  10. Chris Scandole, Long Beach
  11. Chris Shanley, Smithtown West
  12. Troy VonHolt, Lindenhurst

To see the Newsday article (paywall), please click here.

GIRLS

  1. Daniella Balsano, Connetquot
  2. Julia Beckmann, Garden City
  3. Mia Cergol, Glenn
  4. Mackenzie Cole, Connetquot
  5. Cierra Dolan, Sachem East
  6. Caroline LaMacchia, South Side
  7. Nicole Migliozzi, Connetquot
  8. Cassandra Patsos, Connetquot
  9. Mackenzie Taylor, Connetquot
  10. Lauren Wilke, Bayport Blue-Point
  11. Ally Brady, Smithtown East
  12. Molly Jandris, Sachem East
  13. Grace Rosenberg, Long Beach
  14. Kathleen Doherty, Massapequa
  15. Nicole Karabaich, St. Anthony's

To see the Newsday article (paywall), please click here.

Cole Departs for Team USA Camp

Mackenzie Cole of the Girls 17 Red team will soon depart for the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO as one of 20 athletes invited to the USA Volleyball Youth National Training Team.  

She is one of only two Liberos chosen to attend this camp and hopes to make  the cut-down when the roster will be trimmed to 12.  Those 12 will then travel to Rosario and Santa Fe, Argentina to compete in the 2017 FIVB Girls U18 World Championships.

Academy Volleyball would like to wish Mackenzie good luck on her journey and will be rooting for her success.

Mackenzie's story was recently picked up by Newsday.  You can read it here (paywall).

 

Curaro/Beckmann Win Bronze Medal in 2017 USA Beach Volleyball Junior National Championships

Academy Volleyball would like to congratulateBoys 15 Red players John Curaro and Mark Beckmann for winning the 14U Bronze medal (3rd place overall) this week at the 2017 USA Beach Volleyball Junior National Championships in Siesta Key, Florida.    

Despite being seeded 16th (out of 24 teams) at the start of the tournament, the boys were able to advance their position after a successful two days of pool play. The duo earned a spot in the single elimination, 12-team Gold bracket playoffs.  The quarterfinal match was a nailbiting 22-20 come-from-behind win.   The semi final match then put the team against the current top 14U team in the Country (two USA Beach Junior National team members).   While Beckmann and Curaro played a great match, with many exciting plays, the experienced team from California/Florida went on to win the match and the tournament.  

Beckmann and Curaro then faced a very strong team from Canada for third place overal - and the Bronze medal!   Given this is only their second beach tournament playing together, this pair has a bright future ahead in beach volleyball!

Academy Athletes Represent at 2017 USA Volleyball High Performance Championships

The 2017 High Performance Championships have concluded in Fort Lauderdale, FL and Academy Volleyball is would like to congratulate all of the teams on their participation in the tournament.  

Academy Volleyball would also like to congratulate it's players who represented Academy on various teams throughout the tournament.  

Whether it was a USA Volleyball national team or a GEVA High Performance team, Academy players were involved at all levels.

 

 

Bronze for the Boys

The GEVA Boys Select Blue team, playing in the Regional division had an impressive 7-2 overall record throughout the tournament and defeated the Ohio Valley Region team in four sets to win the Bronze medal (3rd overall in the tournament).  

Representing Academy on the GEVA Boys Select Blue team was:

  • Joshua George (16 Red)
  • Jack Driscoll (17 Red)
  • Jack Palmer (16 Red)
  • AJ Fitzgerald (15 Red)
  • CJ Johnson (15 Red)

 

Academy Volleyball Represented on USA Teams

Academy Volleyball was represented on Team USA High Performance teams.  

Representing Academy for the second year in a row is Trey Cole.  

Trey is a Libero on the Boys 16 Red team and played on the Boys USA Select A1 team.  

Also representing Academy on Team USA is Andrew Watts.  Andrew, also on the Boys 16 Red team, is a Middle Hitter and played for the Boys USA Select A1 Stars.

 

Gold for the Girls

The GEVA Girls Youth team had an outstanding tournament with an overall record of 8-0, a 1st place overall finish - and a Gold medal.  Representing Academy on the GEVA Girls Youth team were:

  • Daniella Balsano (16 Red)
  • Mia Cergol (16 Red)
  • Cassandra Patsos (17 Red)
  • Mackenzie Taylor (17 Red)
  • Lauren Wilke (17 Red)
  • Cierra Dolan (17 Red)
  • Grace Rosenberg (17 White Steve)

Academy Volleyball was well represented at the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships, to see how all of the teams that had an Academy player on it finished, please use the links below.  Congrats to all of the teams and to the Academy Volleyball athletes.

GEVA Teams

Boys Select

Boys Youth

Girls Select

Girls Youth

Girls Future Select

USA Volleyball HP Teams

Boys USA Select A1

Boys USA Select A1 Stars

 

2017 Junior National Championships

Oakdale, NY – The 2017 USA Volleyball Junior National Championships are officially in the books as this past late June/early July, six Academy teams competed this years tournament.  For the girls, the tournament was held in Minneapolis, MN where the 13, 16, and 17 Red teams competed.  The boys national championships were in Columbus, OH where the 15, 16, and 17 Red teams competed.

Every team who competes at the Junior National Championships had to qualify to be there.  That’s why this tournament is the most competitive of the club season.  The teams at this tournament represent the best teams from around the country.  

Girls 13 Red

First up is the girls 13 Red, who had a very strong season in qualifying for the national tournament.  Playing in the National division the girls split their matches on the opening day of the tournament as they picked up a win over Club V and dropping a match to Aspire.  

During the second day of the tournament, they dropped matches to Circle City, MDJRS and 915.  However, they rebounded on the third day of the tournament with a three-set victory over NAVC (25-16, 17-25, 15-11).  In their playoff bracket, the girls defeated Niagra Frontier in three sets (26-24, 17-25, 115-11) before falling in the finals to the NYC Juniors.

Boys 15 Red

The Academy Boys 15 Red went to Nationals with a roster of 7 boys, but displayed plenty of heart.  Experimenting with a new format by USA Volleyball, the boys opening round pool was played with six teams and split out over the first two days of the tournament.  

The boys went 1-3 against the four teams they played, picking up a win over Ku’ikahi (Hawaii).  However after the opening round was completed, there was a three-way tie.  The boys needed to play two tie-breaking sets before the field could be separated.  In the tie-breakers, the boys defeated Phoenix 15 Red in convincing fashion, by a score of 25-13.  The second tie-breaker game was against Ku’ikahi, which the boys won 25-23.  

After the first two days of the tournament, the boys were still in contention for the Gold bracket, however they dropped three matches on the third day of the tournament to San Clemente, Hitmen, and OCVC.  In their playoff bracket the boys fell to Rise in three sets. Overall the boys finished 23rd in the country.  Finishing in the top 25 with only 7 boys is a great accomplishment!

Girls 16 Red

Also playing in a six-team pool (played over two days) was the Girls 16 Red.  On the first day, they split their matches, going 1-1, picking up the win over Northside Out Chicago in straight sets (25-22, 25-21).  During the second day of the opening round of pool play, the girls went 1-2 as they defeated RVC 16 National, while dropping matches to A5 South and Dynasty 16 Black.

During the second round of pool play, the girls dropped matches to Club One and AJ Storm, which set them up for one more match on the day (a challenge match to determine their playoff seeding).  In this match, the girls defeated C1VB 16 Elite in straight sets (25-21, 25-15).   In their playoff bracket, the girls faced the Celtic Force in the opening round, who they defeated in two straight sets (25-16, 25-14).  

The girls advanced to the finals of their playoff bracket, where they fell to the Asics Willowbrook 16 Gold.

Boys 16 Red

The boys 16 Red team arrived at nationals coming off a tournament win at the Boys East Coast Championships in Richmond, VA.  The boys had a rough first day at Nationals as they went 0-3, dropping matches to Seaside (California), SB Coast (California), and NV Elite (Puerto Rico).

The boys were resilient in coming back to go 2-1 on the second day of the tournament as they picked up wins over Bay to Bay (25-20, 25-18) and MAC (25-21, 25-19) and dropping a match to LBVC.  During the third day of the tournament the boys defeated a team from Florida, 352 Elite, in three sets (25-18, 21-25, 15-9) while dropping their match against High Performance St. Louis.

Those matches set up the boys for their playoff bracket, where they defeated Vanguard in the first round (25-15, 25-19) before falling in the finals to Pulse Athletics.  The boys capped off a very successful season by finishing in the top 25 teams in the country (23rd overall).

Girls 17 Red

The girls 17 Red team had a rough start to their tournament as they went 0-3 on the first day of the tournament, dropping matches to Club One, CVC, and Manoa Beach.  After that start, the girls were able to re-focus and come back strong on the second day of the tournament as they went 2-1, picking up wins over Volley FX (25-17, 25-16) and M1 (25-19, 18-25, 15-10).  

The girls won both of their matches on the third day of the tournament, picking up wins over Paramount (25-17, 25-25) and Brandywine Blackout (20-25, 25-16, 15-11).  These victories set the girls up for their playoff bracket where they fell to the Top Select 17 Elite in two straight.  

Boys 17 Red

The boys 17 Red team opened their tournament the same as many of the other Academy teams began their tournament – by going 0-3 on the first day,  dropping matches to Torimar, Coastal, and Coast.  

However, like many of the other Academy teams, the boys were also able to re-focus and come back strong on the second day as they picked up wins over LVC (20-25, 25-23, 25-12) and Yorktowne 17 Blue (15-25, 25-21, 16-14), dropping their only match of the day to LIVBC.  

The third day of the tournament, the boys won both of their matches ], notching a win over the Milwaukee Sting in two straight sets (25-19, 25-17) and Eden Mizuno (25-19, 25-19).  With those two wins, the boys qualified for the Bronze “A” bracket where they fell to the MB Surf Asics in the first round in three sets (26-24, 11-25, 16-14).  The boys played strong throughout the tournament and finished 17th overall.

This completion of the Boys and Girls Junior National Championships officially ends the 2017 Club Volleyball season.  For some of the players on the 17s teams, this was the final tournament of their club careers as they are graduating from high school and moving on to the next phase of their academic and athletic careers.  

Academy Volleyball would like to wish all of those players good luck and much success in all you do.  Please share your success stories with us and come back and visit.

Missry Making an Impact on USA Men's Junior National Team

UPDATE

Long Island's, Dylan Missry, led Team USA in scoring to help the team defeat Morocco at the FIVB Men's U21 World Championships.  To read more please click here.

Missry played under Academy Volleyball's Boys Directors Matthew Rivera and Matthew DiStefano at Sachem North High School.

Academy Volleyball would like to acknowledge Long Island's Dylan Missry as he competes on the USA Volleyball Men's Junior National Team at the FIVB Men’s Under-21 World Championship in Brno, Czech Republic. 

Missry played under Academy Volleyball Boys Directors Matthew Rivera and Matthew DiStefano while at Sachem North High School, winning a New York State Championship in 2014.  

Missry, a starter on the Men's Junior National team, recently led the team in scoring with 12 points on 12 kills against a very talented team from Russia.  Missry is also an Outside Hitter at UCLA and will be entering his Junior year there in the fall.  Missry's younger sister, Danielle, plays for the Academy Girls 12 Red team.

Congratulations to Dylan Missry on his recent success good luck the rest of the way at the Men's Under-21 World Championships.  You can follow the FIVB Men's U-21 World Championships by clicking here.

Virginia is for Ballers!

May 30, 2017, Richmond VA -  On Memorial Day weekend, the Academy Boys teams traveled to Richmond, Virginia to compete in the East Coast Championships.  The tournament was full of excitement as the newly-formed 14 Red team got their first taste of tournament action, the 18 Red team closed out their club careers, and in between there was plenty of non-stop action!  The tournament featured three Academy teams who advanced to the Gold bracket – with the 16s winning the championship!  Read on.

14 Red

Academy Volleyball is excited to welcome the new 14 Red team to their first-ever tournament.  This team was formed following Academy’s Boys Middle School Clinic & Tournament.  

Having only practiced a few weeks together, we’re happy to see them out there and having fun. They faced established clubs such as Coastal and MVC.

They earned a pair of wins over LIVBC 14 White – but most importantly were able to experience the competition and fun of participating in a tournament – welcome to volleyball boys!

15s

Both the 15 Red and 15 White team competed in this tournament.  The 15 White team played in a tough, 4-team pool on the first day.  At the end of the first day, they were tied with three other clubs at a 1-2 record.  This forced a play-in match to determine pools for the second day, which they dropped to LVC Black (a team they had picked up a win over earlier in the day).  

On the second day of pool play, the boys went 2-1 as they picked up wins over Plainview and RVC.  This set them up for the Bronze playoff bracket on the last day of the tournament.  In the Bronze, they defeated the LVC Black team in the semi-finals before falling to BRYC in the Bronze finals.  The boys finished the tournament 10th overall.

The 15 Red team had one shot left to earn a bid to Nationals – and they were determined to do so right from the start.  The first day of pool play featured wins over RVC and RCVC as the boys went 2-1, dropping a match to cross-town rivals LIVBC.    

On the second day, the boys made their run as they once again went 2-1, picking up wins over Warren Sixpak and Sportime – and dropping a match to A-10.  

The boys record of 4-2 over the first two days of the tournament earned them a spot in the Gold playoff bracket – and that elusive bid to the BJNC!  The boys dropped their semi-final match to Pace in the Gold bracket, and finished the tournament tied for 3rd place overall.

16 Red

The 16s came out of the gate fast – and never looked back as they went a perfect 9-0 at the tournament!  During the opening day of pool play the boys defeated RVC, Top Select 16, and Coastal Navy all in straight sets.  During the second day of pool play, the boys defeated Orlando Gold, TVP, and Warren Sixpak – dropping only one set to Orlando.  With a 6-0 record after two days, the boys qualified for the Gold playoff bracket.  

In the Gold playoff bracket, they boys took nothing for granted as they worked harder than ever to pick up wins over Warren Sixpak, RVC, and Pace – all in straight sets – for the tournament championship!  Their performance was as dominant an Academy boys team had so far this season. Congratulations to the boys 16 Red on your tournament victory.

17s

All three 17s teams participated in this tournament. The 17s division is always one of the toughest divisions to play in during the club season as there is so much competition.  The 17 Blue team felt it on the first day of the tournament as they went 0-3 in pool play.  However they bounced back strong on the second day as they went 2-1 in pool play as they picked up wins over Sportime and FIMOJO.  The boys qualified for the playoffs on the third day of the tournament where they fell in the first round to Coastal 17 Gold.

The 17 White team had a rough first day of the tournament as they dropped their matches during the opening round of pool play. The boys bounced back on the second day as they went 2-1, picking up wins over JJVA and Coastal Hampton Roads.  In the playoff round, the boys faced Warren Sixpak R1 in the first round and picked up a three-set victory (25-20,22-25,15-11).  With that win, the boys advanced to their playoff bracket finals, where the fell to Coastal 17 Gold in three sets (24-26,25-18,15-12).

The 17 Red team opened the tournament with three straight wins over RVC, FIMOJO, and Sportime respectively – all in two straight sets.

The second day brought more success for the 17 Red as they once again swept their pool, defeating LVC, MVC, and Pace.  

After the first two days of the tournament, the boys were 6-0 and headed to the Gold playoff bracket.  

In the Gold bracket, the boys faced Warren Sixpak in the first round where they fell in two sets.  Overall, the boys tied for 5th place out of 29 teams.

18 Red

The 18 Red opened the tournament going 1-2 during the first day of pool play, picking up a win over Coastal 18 Gold.  

During the second day of pool play the 18 Red went 3-0, picking up wins over RVC, Triangle, and SERV – all in two straight sets!  

 

In their playoff bracket, the boys faced Texas Permier in the first round and defeated them in two straight sets (26-24,25-19).  From there they advanced to the playoff finals against GSA, which they won in three sets (24-26,25-11,15-11).  

For the 18 Red, this tournament will be the final tournament of their club careers.  All of us at Academy Volleyball would like to thank them for their dedication and passion – and wish these young men much success on their future endeavors.