Academy Players Earn Medals at GEVA Beach Tournament

On June 9th, the Garden Empire Volleyball Association (GEVA) held a junior beach volleyball tournament on New York's famous Coney Island Beach.  The tournament was a bid-qualifier for the Junior National Beach Tournament, which is held in July in Siesta Key, Florida.

Academy is proud to announce that it's players earned both medals and bids at this tournament - see below for more information:

John Curaro and AJ Fitzgerald of our 16 Red team competed in the 16U division, going 5-1 in pool play and making the finals in their age bracket.   

The boys came in second place overall, earned a Silver Medal, and a bid to the Junior National Beach Tournament in Siesta Key, Florida.

A special shout-out goes to 16 Red teammate, Quincy Rooi, who also earned a bid to USA Junior Beach Nationals at this tournament.

Samantha Green of our 14 Red team and her partner competed in the 14U age division, which featured 35 teams. 

She and her partner, Katie Martinez, were a perfect 10-0 and captured the Gold Medal and a bid to the Junior National Beach Tournament in Siesta Key, Florida. 

Boys East Coast Championships Recap!

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.
 

Player Spotlight

Welcome to another edition of the Academy Player Spotlight.  In this edition, we have more exciting college commitments to announce, please see below:

Dee-Ana Mitchel of our Girls 18 White North team has commited to Queens College.

Trey Cole of our Boys 17 Red team will head west to California and Pepperdine University.

Timothy Drake of our Boys 18 Red team will join fellow Academy athletes and attend SUNY New Paltz.

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Kevin Kelleher of our Boys 18 Red team has committed to Virginia Tech.

Congratulations to our athletes for their college commitments.  Please make sure you visit our College Commitment page to see all of our athletes who are planning to continue their playing careers at the collegiate level.

Missry Is NCAA Division One National Finalist

Picture this, it's early in January of 2015.  The UCLA recruiting staff is at yet another volleyball tournament looking for potential players when they discover a big, strong kid from, of all places, Holbrook NY.  After the match, the recruiters were left with two questions, (1) Who is this kid? and (2) Why isn't he being sought after by more major college programs than what there were?

That kid, was Sachem North High School senior, Dylan Missry.

A couple of months later, after Missry signed his letter of intent to play for UCLA, the coaches felt they received the "steal" of the 2015 recruiting class.  A recruiting class (2015) that already had prominent top recruits such as; DeFalco (Long Beach, U.S. Men's National Team),  Ma'a (UCLA), Ensing (Long Beach), and Tuaniga (Long Beach). 

It's no surprise that UCLA coaches considered Missry a steal.  After all it isn't a stretch to say that boys volleyball on the east coast of the United States does not have the popularity, nor receive the attention or school funding that it does in the Mid-West and West Coast, which is why he was able to fly under the radar for so many college programs.

Fast forward to May 2018 and the NCAA Division One National Championship match and there was the "steal", Dylan Missry, playing a major role (along with the top recruits of 2015) in a thrilling 5-set match.  While Missry did not get the result he wanted (UCLA lost to Long Beach State in 5 sets), he was a force throughout the entire match.  Missry played every minute of all 5 sets and posted very solid numbers; 11 kills (.364 hitting percentage), 6 aces (a match high,  a career best, and a NEW NCAA record for most aces in a championship match), and 3 digs.

However, his numbers were only a part of the story as Missry's all around play stood out.  Since it was the NCAA's championship match, the game was nationally televised on ESPN.  Many times throughout the broadcast the commentators noticed the difference he was making and spoke in glowing terms about Missry's performance, at times calling him "Superb".  Not bad for the "steal" from New York.

Academy Coaches DiStefano and Rivera made the trip to Southern California to show support for Missry.

Over the last two years, it has not been very frequent that Missry makes his way back home.  However, when he is not in California with UCLA or traveling the world with the U.S. Men's Junior National team, he can be found working out with the Academy boys teams, helping them by pushing the pace of practice and setting a great example for how to train and approach practices.

Missry was coached by current Academy Boys Directors and Coaches, Matthew Rivera and Matthew DiStefano for four years at Sachem North High School.  On behalf of Academy Coaches Rivera and DiStefano, please join us in congratulating Dylan Missry on an outstanding season and great performance in the NCAA Championship match.

Girls 18s Compete at the 2018 18U Junior National Championships

While not quite over yet, the 2018 Academy Club Volleyball season has already been one of the most successful seasons to date.  To drive home that point, you don’t need to look any further than the Girls 18 Red and Girls 18 White North teams – both of which earned a bid to the Girls 18U Junior National Championships this year.  It cannot be overstated to say what a rare and special accomplishment this is.  

The coolest parents in youth sports!

It takes a village – Academy Volleyball would like to congratulate both teams on this accomplishment and acknowledge all those involved in making it a reality.  

From the coaches who have provided training and guidance, to the parents who supported their daughters throughout their club careers and spent countless hours driving/flying to tournaments, and most importantly, to the girls who dedicated themselves both physically and mentally to a sport they are passionate about.  

See below for recaps of their performance at the 2018 Girls 18U Junior National Championships:

GIRLS 18 WHITE NORTH

Playing in the American Division, the Girls 18 White North dropped their matches during the opening day of pool play. On the second day of pool play the girls went 1-2, picking up a win over Hanahou (Hawaii) in straight sets (25-23, 25-21).  

The girls hit their stride during the last day of the tournament as they won their playoff bracket by defeating the Iowa Rockets in the semifinals in straight sets (25-17, 25-18).  

In the finals, the girls defeated Legacy in three sets (23-25, 25-17, 15-11).

GIRLS 18 RED

The Girls 18 Red competed in the National Division at the JNCs.  They began the tournament by dropping their matches during the opening day of pool play.  The girls rebounded in a big way as they did not drop a single match during the remainder of the tournament.  

On the second day of the tournament, the girls went 2-0 picking up wins over Forza (California) in three sets (23-25, 25-17, 15-11) and Smash (New England) in straight sets (25-21, 25-19).  In their playoff bracket, the girls defeated WVA in the semi-finals and Five1 VBC (Michigan) in straight sets in the finals (25-12, 25-23).

End of an Era
With the close of the 2018 Girls 18U Junior National Championships, it marks the end of an era for these two teams as it was the final tournament of their club volleyball careers.  Both teams can be proud of ending their final games with a win.

Academy Volleyball would like to wish all of the girls good luck in their future endeavors.  Most of the girls will be continuing their playing careers at the collegiate level and we ask that you all stay in touch.

Congratulations and Thank you!

Academy Coaches Lead Men's NCAA Skyline Conference

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Academy Volleyball would like to congratulate Head Coach, Bill Kropp, as well as fellow Academy Assistant Coaches as they earn NCAA Honors at St. Joseph's College.

Currently, in it's second season of existence, the St. Josephs College Men's Volleyball team won the Skyline Conference Championship and a bid to the NCAA tournament.  The team fell to Kean College in the opening round, but have plenty of achievements to be proud of as the season comes to a close.  See below for more:

Bill Kropp, Skyline Conference Coach of the Year
This season at Academy, Bill Kropp was the Head Coach of the Boys 18 White team.  At St. Josephs College, he earned Coach of the Year honors for the Skyline Conference with a 23-9 overall record and a bid to the NCAA tournament in only the program's second year.  The legend of Bill Kropp continues to grow.

Paul Curaro, Skyline Conference First-Team All Conference
This season at Academy, Paul Curaro is the Assistant Coach of the Boys 16 Red team.  At St. Josephs College, he led the conference in kills (265) and kills per set (3.08).

Will Flohr, Skyline Conference First-Team All Conference
This season at Academy, Will Flohr is the Assistant Coach of the Boys 16 White team.  At St. Josephs College, he was second in kills (234) and kills per set (2.60)

Congratulations to our Academy coaches on their outstanding NCAA seasons.

Academy Coaches/Alumni Compete for NCAA Bid

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Academy Volleyball would like to congratulate Head Coach Bill Kropp and the St. Josephs College Men's Volleyball team on winning the Skyline Conference Regular Season Championship in only their second season in operation.   

Not only is St. Joseph's College coached by Academy Coach Bill Kropp, but there are also a number of players on the team are Academy Volleyball alumni - including current Academy Assistant Coaches (Paul Curaro, Will Flohr, and Michael Bosco).

The Golden Eagles defeated Yeshiva Univesrsity on Thursday evening in the semi-finals of the Skyline Conference playoff bracket and have earned a trip to the Conference Finals, which will be played this Saturday afternoon at 12pm.  The Academy contingent at St. Joseph's College will look to earn the school's first ever bid to the NCAA tournament with a win on Saturday. 

Please come down to the Danzi Athletic Center at St. Josephs on Saturday April 14th at 12 pm to watch the fast-paced action and support your fellow Academy athletes and coaches. Show up early and be sure to make lots of noise!

For more information, click here.

Player Spotlight

Welcome to another edition of the Academy Volleyball Player Spotlight.  In this edition of the Spotlight, we have more college commitments to share.  Please see below for all the great news and join us in congratulating these athletes as they continue their journey.

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Ben Sandt of our Boys 17 Red team will take his talents to Johnson & Wales University.

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Mary Catherine Saladino of our Girls 18 White South team will continue her playing career at SUNY Geneso.

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Megan O'Brien of our Girls 18 White South team has committed to Kings College, where we hope she'll be the Queen of Kings.

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Troy Von Holt of our Boys 17 Red team will join fellow Academy Athletes Brennen Brandow and Jason Koehler at the top-ranked Springfield College

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Dan LaRosa of our Boys 18 Red team will join Academy teamate Chris Shanley (as well as a few Academy alumni) at the Division III top contender, SUNY New Paltz.

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Emily Rail of our Girls 18 White North team will continue her career at "the Bing" Division I, SUNY Binghamton.

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Bryan Kaplan of our Boys 17 Red team is proud to be a Hawk next season, joining fellow Academy Athletes Chris Shanley and Dan LaRosa (and a couple of notable Academy alumns).

Make sure you visit our College Commitment page to see all of our athletes who are planning to continue their playing careers at the collegiate level.

 

ACAD Girls Compete in the Northeast Qualifier (NEQ)

Every year the Northeast Qualifier is held in Philadelphia, PA.  The tournament has such massive participation that it's broken down by age group and spread out over three weekends - with some of the girls playing during Easter and Passover.  First up are the 18s, followed by the 16/17 year olds, then comes the 13-15s.  Now that all of the age groups have finished their competition, we have captured all of their recaps here.  Read on!

GIRLS 18s - March 24-26

18 Red
With a bid to Nationals securely in hand, the NEQs are all about fine tuning their game to prepare for the big tournament.  

On the first day of the tournament, the girls dropped matches to Forza and Rockwood Thunder before picking up a win over Dulles in their third match.  The second day took a similar path as the first day with the girls dropping matches to VB Rags and PGH Elite before picking up a straight sets win over Whirlwind.  

The girls had one more match to play on the second day as they were in a 5-team pool, which they dropped to EC Power in three sets.  On the final day of the tournament, the girls dropped their opening playoff round match to Spiral.  The girls are now getting set to compete in the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships in Anaheim CA later this month.

Talent abounds on the Girls 18 White Northh team - and not just on the court.  Pictured above, Maria Vasiliou performs the National Anthem at the Philadelphia NEQs.

Talent abounds on the Girls 18 White Northh team - and not just on the court.  Pictured above, Maria Vasiliou performs the National Anthem at the Philadelphia NEQs.

18 White North
Like the 18 Red, the Girls 18 White North team already have their bid to Nationals, so this tournament is all about fine tuning their game to prepare for the national tournament.  

The girls came out strong picking up two straight wins over Surge and CEVA before dropping a match to Coastal.  On the second day of the tournament, the girls dropped all of their matches, falling to 18 Elite, Renaissance, and Brandywine respectively.  

The girls qualified for the Bronze playoff bracket, where they defeated AVVC in the first round (15-25, 25-20, 15-11).  In the second round they faced CBVBC, who they also defeated in three sets (25-14, 20-25, 15-12).  From there the girls advanced to the Bronze bracket finals – winning in straight sets over MDJRS 18 Elite (25-16, 27-25).  Nice job by the 18 White North as they too will now prepare to compete in the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships in Anaheim, CA later this month.
 

18 White South
The Girls 18 White South team competed in the American division at the NEQs.  On the first day of the tournament the girls dropped their matches to Metro, Husky, and Synergy respectively.

On the second day of the tournament, they fell to Horseshoe and Pinnacle before picking up a win over SOMD in straight sets (25-19, 25-18).  This set the girls up for their first playoff match on the last day of the tournament, which they fell to SERV in three, very competitive sets (23-25, 27-25, 15-9).  

The NEQs were the last tournament of the Girls 18 White South club careers and all of us at Academy would like to wish the girls best of luck as they move to the next chapter in their life. Many of the girls will be continuing to play volleyball at the collegiate level and we ask that you please keep in touch.  Congratulations girls!


GIRLS 16s & 17s - March 31 - April 2

The Easter Bunny made a special visit to the NEQs - Just ask Mary Dexter!  Word is that the bunny led the tournament in Digs.

The Easter Bunny made a special visit to the NEQs - Just ask Mary Dexter!  Word is that the bunny led the tournament in Digs.

16 Red
The Girls 16 Red opened their tournament in a three-team pool, dropping matches to High Performance St. Louis and AJV.  

The girls had a very strong second day of the tournament as they went undefeated, picking up wins over DVA Aston, Coastal, and NC Elite.  

For their strong play, they earned a spot in the Bronze playoff bracket where they defeated Princeton 16-1 in two straight sets (25-20, 25-20) before falling to the ECVC Hurricanes in the second round of the playoff bracket. 

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16 White North
The Girls 16 White North opened the tournament by going 1-2 on the first day of pool play, dropping matches to EC Power, and Madfrog before picking up a win over the ECE Cyclones (25-19, 26-24).  

The girls also went 1-2 on the second day of the tournament as they defeated ASEVC (25-20, 25-22) and fell to Club SyrV and DVA Aston.  

On the last day of the tournament, the girls won their playoff bracket by defeating the MDJRS 16 Elite (26-24, 23-25, 15-11) and Phoenix (19-25, 25-12, 15-11).

16 White South
The Girls 16 White South opened the tournament by playing hard in facing some very tough teams and falling to 0-3 on the day.  

On the second day, the girls continued to battle ad they fell to  Dulles, Ignit, and Phoenix.  

In their playoff bracket, the girls picked up a big win over BRYC winning 25-21 in the first set, then following it up with an emphatic win in the second 25-15.

17 Red
The Girls 17 Red team opened the tournament by posting a record of 1-2 during the first day of pool play, picking up a three-set victory over Ballyhoo (25-21, 19-25, 16-8).  Their day wasn’t done after pool play as the girls had to also play a crossover match, in which they fell to Revolution.  

The girls also went 1-2 on the second day of pool play, falling to AP Asics and Brandywine, while picking up a win over ATTACK in two straight sets (25-23, 25-16).  

On the third day of the tournament, the girls fell to Beach Elite in their playoff bracket.


17White
The Girls 17 White team also opened their tournament with a 1-2 record, picking up a win over NVA in three sets (18-25, 25-16, 15-12).

 The girls a a great second day of the tournament as they went 2-1 in pool play – picking up wins over the CT Stars (25-20, 25-12) and Mill City (25-16, 25-20) while falling to Rocky Select.  In their playoff bracket, the girls fell to Allegro in three sets.
 

GIRLS 13-15s - April 6-8

13 Red
The mighty 13s!  The Girls 13 Red opened the tournament with a 3-0 record as they picked up wins over EC Power, Asphalt Green, and BRYC – all in straight sets.  

The second day of the tournament, the girls continued their winning ways as they also went 3-0, picking up wins over Team VB Rags, Sportime, and WPVC – also all in straight sets.  

The girls took their perfect 6-0 record in to the Gold Playoff bracket, where the fell to Asics Willowbrook.  For the entire tournament, the girls finished 5th out of 45 teams – Great job!!
 

14 Red
The Girls 14 Red team opened the tournament with a 1-2 record.  After dropping matches to TAV and MDJRS, the girls picked up a big win over NVVA in three sets (25-18, 19-25, 17-15).

They carried that momentum in to the second day as they went 2-1 for the day, picking up wins over NYC Juniors (25-19, 25-23) and Liberty Elite (25-22, 25-13), but falling to AP Asics.  

The girls qualified for the Bronze Playoff bracket where they defeated the EC Power in the first round (23-25, 25-20, 15-11) be for falling to AP Asics in the second round.

14 White
The Girls 14 White team opened the tournament with two-straight wins and going 2-1 during the first round of pool play.  Their wins came over CSA (25-14, 25-16) and Columbia Condors (25-19, 16-25, 16-14).  

During the second day of the tournament the girls dropped their matches to OT, TAV, and Blocksport.  The girls qualified for the Bronze “A” Playoff bracket where they fell to AP in the first round.
 

15 Red
The Girls 15 Red team had a tough first day of the tournament as they dropped all three of their matches with A5, Excel, and Metro.  

The girls bounced back the next day as they picked up  a win over Dulles in straight sets (25-13, 25-15) and going 1-2 on the day.  

In their playoff bracket during the third day of the tournament, the girls picked up a win over Capital City Elite in straight sets (25-12, 25-21) before falling to the NYC Juniors in three sets in the finals for their bracket.


15 White North
The Girls 15 White North team also had a rough first day of the tournament as they dropped all three of their matches with Premier, Rocky Select 15s, and CPVBC.  

The girls regrouped for they second day of the tournament as they finished the day with a. 1-2 record, picking up a win over AVA in three sets (25-20, 15-25, 15-10).  

In their playoff bracket, the girls defeated the Surge 15 Lime in three sets (10-25, 25-20, 15-13).  From there they advanced to play CJVA – where they fell in three sets.


15 White South
The Girls 15 White South team also had a rough first day of the tournament as they dropped all three of their matches with Beach Elite, Instinct, and PGH Elite.

Just like the 15 Red and 15 White North, the girls regrouped during the second day of the tournament as they went 2-1,  picking up wins over CPVBC in three sets (23-25, 25-18, 15-7) and Dynamix in two straight (25-23, 25-14).  

In their playoff bracket, the girls fell in the first round to EC Power.