Tawa’s Club Dots: Recapping AAU Girls Junior National Volleyball Championships

During the season, Dots consists of a collection of notes and highlights from the previous week in girls club volleyball. In this case, this edition recaps AAU Nationals with one more Dots to go this summer when we recap USA Volleyball girls nationals.

• The 51st edition of AAU Girls Junior Nationals concluded last week in Orlando. Let’s take a look at what transpired in the four age divisions we cover, starting with 18s, where Munciana 18 Samurai repeated as 18 Open champions. Mike Lingenfelter’s team showed dominance in going 8-0 with just two dropped sets over the four-day event.

Muncie won despite playing without its starting setter and right side and backup middle. The team thrived thanks to its trademark back row, which may not have any peer in club volleyball; and the hitting of outsides Abby Tindall and Lindsey Mangelson.

• It should be noted that only seven teams competed in 18 Open, down from 12 a year ago. This continues a trend of 18s teams ending their seasons earlier than everyone else, which started USA Volleyball eight years ago started conducting its Junior National Championships for 18s as a stand-alone event in April.

In order for play to last four days with only seven in the field, the teams played best-of-five matches. Munciana went 6-0 in pool play, which comprised all seven teams; then swept WVBA 18 Adidas in the semifinals before defeating tough FaR Out 18 Black in a four-set final.

Munciana’s win was not a surprise. The team went 7-2 in 18 Open at USAV’s 18s Junior National Championships in April and finished second to Triangle 18 Black two weeks before that at the UA 18U National Championships in Louisville.

• What’s most surprising about 18 Open at AAUs was that Sports Performance 18 Elite was not a participant. Historically, one might expect Munciana and SPVB to engage in a titanic struggle for supremacy at AAUs. This year, with Sports Performance acknowledging the trend that 18s end their seasons in April, the club decided to let seniors decide whether to play through June. Only five seniors in the club decided to do so. This caused the flagship 18 Elite team, which had only two seniors to begin with, to convert to a 17s team for AAU Nationals.

The loss of 18 Elite, combined with so few teams participating in 18 Open in Orlando, means this was probably the last June 18 Open AAU championships.

“The event has to conclude in April to continue to exist,” Lingenfelter said.

This may mean joining a pre-existing event or ceding the 18s division to another entity, like Top Court Events, which organized the UA event.

• Munciana won 18 Open without star hitter Charlotte Vinson, but the junior, committed to Indiana University, was never out of mind.

In mid-May, Charlotte began experiencing symptoms consistent with strep throat. They worsened overnight, causing doctors in Muncie the next morning to have her airlifted to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.  Charlotte’s organs were shutting down due to toxic shock syndrome caused by an invasive strain of Strep A. Charlotte was placed on life support and had machines take over heart and lung functions for eight days.

“She was very, very sick and we were very worried about her,” Dr. Alvaro Tori at Riley’s ICU told a local reporter.

Charlotte’s body eventually fought off the infection. After two weeks, she slowly began to eat and speak again.  On the day before Munciana headed to Orlando, Charlotte was released to go home from the hospital. Lingenfelter called that his team’s “biggest win.”

Charlotte continues to recover and has her mind set on returning to play her senior year for Yorktown this fall, though it may not be until late in the season depending on how quickly her heart function improves sufficiently. Charlotte fully expects to be in a Hoosier uniform starting in the fall of 2025.

“I’m incredibly excited to get home and work with her,” Lingenfelter said. “It’s going to be a long road, but I’m ready to get her back in the gym. Getting kids from point A to point B has always been my purpose … not titles.”

• Tribe 17 Elite Cardinal did not pick its national qualifiers well. The South Florida squad went to three, all with fields of more than 30. Two, the Sunshine Classic and Lone Star, had 48 teams. Given those numbers, two fifth-place finishes and a ninth in Dallas labeled coach Brian Coughenour’s team as elite, even if it didn’t actually qualify. That explains why USA Volleyball turned to Tribe to fill an At-Large slot in 17 Open for Junior Nationals.

Tribe, however, turned it down. The cost to plan a trip from Florida to Las Vegas in mid-May was just too great.

“We then decided, ‘Let’s just go win a national championship in Orlando at AAUs,’ and we happened to manifest those dreams into a reality!” Coughenour said.

Indeed, Tribe, which won Bluegrass in March, went 13-0 against a 71-team field that included five Open-qualified USAV teams, and dropped just three sets in the process. The performance continued a trend, dating back to last year, of being in Gold in every tournament the team played in. Tribe didn’t win every event, but the players certainly were battle tested.

“These kids were forged in adversity this year and I truly believe that’s why we were able to win a national championship,” Coughenour said.

“All season the biggest driving point was focusing on the little details and being able to repeat them consistently at a high level,” Coughenour added. “We practice so much out of system which quite literally carried us through the week.”

The championship match found Tribe squaring off versus the reconstituted Sports Performance team. SPVB entered the match, like Tribe, with a perfect 12-0 record.

It was, in Coughenour’s words, a “legendary battle” that ended with Tribe on top, 23-25, 25-22, 15-12.

“Anytime we got a lead, I felt like it was never large enough, so we had to just settle on that one-point advantage,” Coughenour explained. “We talk a lot about staying in the moment and not worrying about mistakes from the past.”

Outside hitter Tekoa Barnes, the tournament MVP, had 20 kills in the final, hitting .378. The Oklahoma commit passed a 2.15 and added three aces. Coughenour called her “arguably the most fearless attacker I have ever had the pleasure to coach.”

RS Mija Bendziute, a UCLA commit, added eight kills on .429 hitting. Minnesota-bound OH Kelly Kinney led the team defensively with 10 digs and overcame a slow start offensively with six huge kills in the final set. Libero Zoey Matias, a Missouri pledge, proved again to be the heartbeat of the team in the back row. She had nine digs and tallied six assists in out-of-system situations. Setter Charlotte Glass, a Duke commit, orchestrated a phenomenal game and finished with 29 assists for the champions.

• Sports Performance 17 Elite’s road to the final included wins over KiVA 17 Red and Northern Lights 17-1, the lone tournament losses for those elite squads. Coach Troy Gilb said that a Day 3 win over physical A5 17-1 Calvin gave his team the “next level of confidence” to go on a run to the championship match.

The win over KiVA was 16-14 in the third. Last year, SPVB 16 Elite beat KiVA twice at AAUs, but it was KiVA that came away with the AAU title in 16 Open. That made SPVB’s win sweet. Also sweet was the win over Lights, a team Sports Performance lost to in three sets three weeks ago at the Prep Dig Gauntlet, its second tournament as a 17s team after playing 18s the majority of the season.

Gilb said that the championship match could have gone either way, but that successive errors with the score tied 10-10 in the third – the only errors the team made the entire set – proved to be costly and dug a hole the team could not crawl out of.

“It was a tough match and a tough way to end the tournament but these girls fought their asses off and we are very proud of them,” Gilb said.

 OH Bella Bullington led the way for SPVB in the final with 16 kills. She was outstanding all tournament long, averaging more than five kills per set, with 14 aces and 2.1 passing. Other Sports Performance standouts includes setter Audrey Asleson, libero Morgan Asleson, MB Sidney Hamaker and RS Lauren Coyne.

“The majority of this group played 18 Open most of the season and took their beatings and learned a lot of hard lessons on how to play at a high level,” Gilb explained. “These kids have put in a tremendous amount of work this whole season and have learned how to get tough. All that hard work, sacrifice and commitment put them on the championship court at the end of AAUs. We are disappointed with the finish but also very proud of their accomplishments. Next season starts today for them!”

***

OT 17 T Aaron joined Northern Lights in tying for third. Those two teams combined to go 20-2 for the event.

OT, which reigned at MEQ and Big South this season to earn the No. 1 overall seed, fell in three to Tribe in the semifinals, the rubber match between the two teams. OT battled back from a 6-0 deficit to start the final set and got within one at 12-11, but made some costly mistakes at the end.

“While we didn’t finish like we wanted, the girls played hard all four days,” coach Aaron Harrison said. “Coming in as the overall No. 1, we knew we would have a target on our back. We hadn’t played in a tournament since winning Big South, roughly 13 weeks ago, so we weren’t sure what to expect after that extended layoff.”

“Maggie Dostic and Hannah Hankerson did a phenomenal job leading the team in both ball control and attacking all weekend,” Harrison said. “They never came off the court and helped give us a chance in every match.”

Setter Izzy Mogridge also was a catalyst.

“She gets better every match,” Harrison said. “She was more offensive this week, which helped open up the offense. Lily Hayes played some of the best volleyball I have seen from a libero on the final day. This team revolves around relentless pursuit of the ball and getting extra touches.”

***

Northern Lights won its first 11 matches, including three-set tussles with Tulsa Power 17-1 and Illini Elite 17 Cardinal, before running into revenge-minded Sports Performance in the semifinals.

Outside hitter Messaiya Bettis led the offense with 100 kills while hitting .332. Middle blocker Keira Schmidt hit at a .432 clip while adding 20 blocks on the defensive side. Libero McKenna Garr was phenomenal with 111 digs with a 2.2 passing average. Both Bettis and Garr were honored with spots on the AAU All-American team.

• Mintonette m.61 has been at or near the top of the national 16s club rankings all season. The squad from Ohio won two national qualifiers and finished second in a third. Max Miller’s squad also placed second at the Triple Crown NIT. That resume was bolstered further last week when Mintonette completed a 12-0 run, as the No. 1 seed, through the 79-team 16 Open division at AAU Nationals.

It wasn’t easy, however. On Day 3, FaR Out 16 Black, aided by a transcendent performance from freshman libero Mallory Johnson; pushed m.61 to three sets. So, too, did Academy 16 Diamond, led by Texas-bound setter Genevieve Harris, to open the final day of play.

Mintonette then faced off against MN Select 16-1 in the semifinals. The top seeds dropped the first set and rallied to win the next two, including 18-16 in the third to make the final.

“Our match versus Minnesota Select was probably the toughest and most stressful match of the tournament,” Miller said. “Minnesota recruit Elena Hoecke [made it] extremely difficult to find seams within the block. We really only had one run when she was present in the front row throughout the three sets.”

Mintonette took on a familiar foe in the championship match: Dallas Skyline 16 Royal. Those two teams met for the USAV 15 Open title at Junior Nationals last year, with Skyline prevailing. Mintonette gained sweet revenge with the straight set win.

“Both sets we were able to control tempo and force them into situations we were comfortable defending with our serve,” Miller explained.

OH Layla Hoying (Ohio State) and setter Mallory Matheny (Indiana) played very well throughout for m. 61. Libero Emma Cugino (Texas) showed off her talent and was especially potent in helping Mintonette score when out of system. The team’s middle play on the last day from Alia Schoonover and Keala Jenkins probably catalyzed the title.

“Alia put on a clinic by running the slide and finding openings in front of our setter,” Miller said. “Jenkins, along with scoring, shut down in-system opportunities with her blocking.”

• Skyline’s loss to Mintonette was its only one after 12 wins to open the tournament. The team appears poised to make a solid bid to defend its age group national title against an elite 16 Open field when Junior Nationals begin Wednesday in Las Vegas.

Skyline made the championship match in Orlando thanks to excellent serve-receive, led by Georgia Whann and Kiley Brooks; and by displaying team unity throughout. Offensively, Madison Victoriano led a group that scored efficiently. Simone Heard was critical to team success on the left side, while MB Keoni Williams and RS Taylor Clarke hit for very high percentages.

***

GP 16 Rox went 11-1 to tie Northern Lights for third.

GP, an Orlando team, made the semifinals by beating Legacy 16-1 Elite in three in the quarterfinals, the only sets lost by the Triple Crown NIT champion all tournament long.

Cate Palmi, Maddie Wehr, Jordin Southall, London Atkins and Jenness Orcut all played great for GP.

“We were able to serve and pass well and we just played awesome,” said coach Sindee Snow.

***

MN Select was pumped up about getting to the Gold Bracket at AAUs because it was one step closer to a goal the team set during its first meeting of the year: to get on the podium at AAU Nationals.

“It didn’t matter that we were way down the rankings,” coach Drew Rongere noted. “The girls bought into what we were doing and created the necessary team culture to be successful and win close matches against great teams.”

Lights overcame a 15-13 Day 2 loss to a Northern Lights 16-1  team it had twice defeated earlier in the year to get to Day 3, then pulled off an upset by beating Boiler Juniors 16E Gold to open Day 3. A subsequent loss to OT 16J Will put the Minnesota team in a do or die position heading into its final pool play match: beat EC Power KOP 16-Empire to win the pool or lose to finish fourth and lose out on the Gold Bracket. The team made adjustments to its blocking to counteract ECP’s powerful pins and won in two.

“You have to play your best in close matches because all of these teams are so good,” Rongere said. “That win was the difference in a potential top 5 finish or falling outside of the top 35.”

On Day 4, Select upended two Indiana clubs, Team Pineapple and Rev, to earn a match with Mintonette.

“Ever since we watched Mintonette play in the championship match at Triple Crown, we were hoping for the chance to meet up with them in a gold bracket at some point this season,” Rongere explained. “They are a well-coached team with phenomenal athletes who rarely make a run of mistakes. Our girls believed that they could beat anyone all season and this match was no different. 

“We run an extremely balanced offense that is tough to defend against with setter Ellery DeBoer leading the charge. After getting down 1-7 in the first set, we battled back one point at a time with tough serve after tough serve and took the first set 25-20. Mintonette won the second set 25-17. We once again had too many unforced errors and got down big in the third, 7-12, before we started a massive comeback to get up 15-14. We had three match point serves but couldn’t get that last point and eventually lost 16-18. I love coaching in that type of intense environment and our girls are always up for the challenge. It was a fun match! Mintonette is legit and there is a reason why they have been at the top of the rankings all year. We hope to see them again in Vegas.”

For Select, OHs Romi Chlebecek and Bryn Lunski both hit over .200 on the week. The team’s middles, Hoecke and Abby Conklin, hit over .350. Hoecke led the team in blocks with 24. DeBoer had 259 assists and 21 kills. Sidney Burley and Hayden Reeder led the back row and kept the team in system. Hoecke and Reeder, a six-rotation right side, were named AAU All-Americans.

• Legacy 15-1 Adidas won 15 Open at AAU Nationals as the No. 2 overall seed.

“We were pretty confident in how we were playing going into AAUs and felt we were playing our best ball of the year,” said coach Tyler Strom.

That all changed on Day 1 when a player came under the net and standout setter Marlie Smith rolled her ankle.

“As she was being carried off I think the general feeling of the coaching staff was, ‘Well, I guess that’s it.’ Marlie is an unbelievably tough kid but no one recovers from an ankle injury as bad as that one was in weeks, let alone days.”

With its libero setting, Legacy dropped its first match of Day 2 to a team it had dominated two weeks before.

“Marlie was on crutches and I think had we not lost that game…the story would’ve been different,” Strom said. “She hobbled over to the athletic training booth, got taped up and told me she wanted to play. We made the decision to go after warm ups and I think that having her back completely changed the teams mentality.

“Every night she would go to a cryotherapy place and do everything she could so that she could perform the next day. Day 2 she couldn’t jump at all. Day 3 she started trying to soft block and Day 4 she left it all out there, including a solo block in the semis to seal it. Her foot was completely purple on both sides but I don’t think there is anything that would’ve kept her off that court.”

Legacy also benefited from terrific ball control and passing. Addison Thompson-Stepp and Makayla Naves were the best they’ve been all year “and they had to be because Marlie couldn’t really move outside the 10-foot line,” Strom explained. “Cynthia Ockerman was a machine for us with almost 90 kills (hitting over .400) and Calli LeFevre had the best tournament she’s had all year scoring for us when Kate Kalczynski was in the back row.”

“In 15 years of coaching, I’ve never had a team that was as close as this team is,” Strom concluded. “We’ve had teams with more individual talent than this one, but none in my opinion that are a better example of what a ‘team’ is and that’s why they’ve been so successful and will continue to be so successful. Everyone pulls in the same direction.”

• Legacy defeated surprising Top Select 15-Elite in the 15 Open championship match. The Orlando squad started 2-2, then won seven in a row to reach the finals, including wins over A5 15-1 Kelly and Munciana 15 Blue in the quarterfinals and semis.

“I really thought the girls did a great job playing as a team and overcoming a few setbacks,” said Top Select coach Charles Wolsonovich.

On Day 2, starting setter Andie Bowron went down to an ankle sprain. Paeton Wheeler came in and helped engineer five straight wins. (“She was amazing!” Wolsonovich exclaimed).

On Day 4, Bowron was able to go and the team switched to a 6-2 offense. The setters, and team, handled it well, as Lilly McNamara gave the team some quality time on the right and came up with a few key blocks.

Top Select was 1-2 versus A5 heading into the quarterfinals. The team was motivated and prevailed in three to get to the semis against a Munciana team it knew little about. Knowing that winning meant playing for a title was motivation enough for a team that was passed over for a 15 Open at-large bid after coming very close at a few qualifiers.

“We challenged this group throughout the year, and while there was some push-back, you could see the challenges being met,” Wolsonovich said. “Their blocking improved perhaps more than any team I’ve had at the 15’s age group, and the team matured a ton over the last 2-3 months. Those two areas were a big part of why they made it so far. They handled losses on Day 1 and 2 well, and held their composure with the injury. Paeton’s maturity really showed when she came in, and I think it settled the team down.”

***

Munciana 15 Blue and Northern Lights 15-1 tied for third.

Muncie was unbeaten heading to the semifinals. Hard work in the gym during May helped fuel the fire to do well in Orlando.

The team, coached by Sarah Roush, battled through adversity to make the podium. On Day 1, London Evans had a shoe malfunction. Because she wears a size 13, she could not buy shoes at the event. By the end of the tournament, her feet were bleeding but she battled through it. 15 Blue also lost one of its middles for the event due to a pneumonia diagnosis while in Orlando.

“This set the tone that we were going to fight for the duration,” Roush said.

A big win over Sports Performance 15 Elite on Day 1 also helped give Muncie belief that battling hard would produce wins.

Winning a medal required a collective offensive effort from Shania Rhamy (OH), Paige Rudolph (OH), Carsyn Comer (MB), Caroline Hanchar (RS) and Evans (S/RS).
Reserve MB Ella Nagelkirk also did a nice job of filling in when her number was called.

“Our pins did a nice job of challenging the line, and Carsyn did a nice job of always being an option and holding blockers,” Roush said. “Shania gave us an offensive option in the back row as well which was vital to our success.”

Service pressure was important for team success as well, especially since 15 Blue, other than the 6-1 Comer, is on the smaller size. Rhamy and Emily Blevins gave Muncie a big push behind the service line, while back row players Lyndsey Robinson and Kyla Hurley brought the energy that kept the team pointed in the right direction.

“It was a group effort,” Roush stressed. She also called out OH Makayla Moulton for the energy and fight she gave throughout the season, saying, “that impacted our team dynamic in a huge way whether we were in practice or competing in a tournament.”

***

Northern Lights is a team that has experienced both highs and lows this year. Finishing AAU Nationals with a medal after starting as the No. 25 seed overall certainly qualifies as a high.

Lights started the tournament on fire with three sweeps on opening day, including one of Top Select. S/RS Kaelyn Bjorkund was critical to the win over Top Select. On Day 2, Northern Lights won its first two matches to clinch the pool, then gave Ryah Cotton the opportunity to show off her ability as a six-rotation player in the day’s final match.

On Day 3, Northern Lights defeated three Florida teams, including Open-qualified GP 15 Rox, to conclude pool play 8-1.Stellar play from all three middles was a spark, as Natalya Singer, Lauren Bunge and Auri Benshoof blocked well all day and were enough of an offensive threat to get Lights’ pin hitters plenty of good looks.

The final day started with a sweep over crosstown rival MN Select 15-1. Great serving runs from Taylor Peterson and great all-around play from pins Elleora Utecht, Ellie Osowski and Liv Sathre helped Lights forge its way to the quarterfinals to play an RVA Naples team that entered seeded 59th in the field of 61. Libero Clara Christ, who was terrific all four days, went to another level to help Northern Lights sweep into the semifinals, where it lost to eventual champion Legacy.

“This team is special, and we are hoping to upgrade our medal in Vegas, where we will be playing in 15 National,” said coach Andy Guggisberg.

***

OT 15T Randy, the top seed, won its first five matches and swept Legacy on Day 3. But a straight set loss to KiVA 15 Red and a dropped set to Mintonette m. 51 resulted in the Tampa team being on the wrong side of a three-way 2-1 tie. OT will be the No. 11 overall seed in 15 Open at Junior Nationals.

The post Tawa’s Club Dots: Recapping AAU Girls Junior National Volleyball Championships appeared first on Volleyballmag.com.