Iowa HP Results
Three Iowa Region teams mounted the podium last Saturday at the USAV High Performance Championships. The Iowa Boys’ Regional Team captured gold and both the Girls’ Youth International and Girls’ Select Black captured bronze. The USAV High Performance Championships ended…
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Three Iowa Region teams mounted the podium last Saturday at the USAV High Performance Championships. The Iowa Boys’ Regional Team captured gold and both the Girls’ Youth International and Girls’ Select Black captured bronze.
The USAV High Performance Championships ended Saturday, July 28th, after five days of elite-level competition. The Iowa Region sent six teams to Tulsa in six different divisions, all with the goal of bringing home the gold. Members of the teams were selected from a series of try-outs this spring, representing Iowa’s top talent in each age group.
The High Performance Championships is run as an international-style tournament, where games are best of 5 and each team is allotted just 6 substitutions per set. Overall, Team Iowa went 31-17 at the tournament and tied for 1st place in the medal count with Team USA, and region teams: Florida and Aloha.
After a long week of training, traveling, and competing, here is a look at the results of the phenomenal performances by the Iowa Region.
Women’s Junior Team
The Women’s Junior Team was composed of 10 athletes of ages 17-18 who competed in the Women’s Junior International Division at the USAV High Performance Championships. Coached by Tina Carter and Makani Cantor of Grand View University, the team went 3-5 in the tournament, finishing 12th overall. The Women’s Junior team faced both national and international competition, playing other region teams, USA teams, and teams from Canada and the Dominican Republic.
The Girls’ Youth International Team was composed of 10 athletes of ages 15-16 who competed in the Girls’ Youth International Division. Coached by Vicki Brown of the University of Iowa and Devon Wells of Grand View University, the team captured 3rd place with a 7-1 record. A final victory over USA Youth Continental White earned them a bronze medal. Aliyah Carter and Akacia Brown were named to the all-tournament team.
The Girls’ Youth National Team was composed of 10 athletes of ages 15-16 who competed in the Girls’ Youth National Division in Tulsa. Coached by Marc Neef of Stony Brook University and Andie Olson of Osage High School, the team posted a 4-4 tournament record, finishing 11th overall.
The Girls’ Select Black Team was composed of 9 athletes of ages 14 and younger who competed in the Girls’ Select Division (youngest age division) at the USAV High Performance Championships. Coached by Jenna Ness of Loras College and Joe Lynch of Iowa State University, the team captured 3rd place with a 6-2 overall record. Iowa Select Black defeated the Garden Empire Region in 4 sets, earning them bronze.
The Girls’ Select Red Team was composed of 9 athletes of ages 14 and younger who also competed in the Girls’ Select Division. Coached by April Elsbernd of the University of Dubuque and Daniel Cabrera of Culver Stockton College, the team finished 17th overall with a 3-5 record.
Boys’ Regional
The Boys’ Regional Team was composed of 10 athletes throughout the state of Iowa and competed in the Boys’ Regional Division. Coached by Frank Flanagan of Augustana College and Ben Bahr of Adrenaline Volleyball Academy, the team placed 1st at the tournament with a perfect 8-0 record. Iowa captured the Boys’ Regional High Performance Championship with a victory over Texoma Select Black from the Lone Star region. The gold medal winners dropped only two sets the entire tournament where they faced competition from several regional teams: Lone Star, Garden Empire, Puget Sound, Ohio Valley, Northern California, and Old Dominion regions.
The 2019 High Performance Championships are scheduled in be in Ft Lauderdale, Florida, July 18th-23rd. The Iowa Region hopes to be taking 2 Boys’ teams and include the addition of a Future Select team, increasing the total number of Iowa teams competing for the gold to 8 in 2019.