Sparks Fly High in Chesapeake Showdown
MVSA- Sparks 16 atoned for a Saturday pool play loss (19-17) by defeating Virginia Elite 16 in the third game on Sunday 15-7 to take the Chesapeake Showdown championship. This was a tournament broken out into two age groups, 15/16…
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Continue ReadingMVSA- Sparks 16 atoned for a Saturday pool play loss (19-17) by defeating Virginia Elite 16 in the third game on Sunday 15-7 to take the Chesapeake Showdown championship. This was a tournament broken out into two age groups, 15/16 and 13/14. We could only attend the tournament on Saturday.
First Place – MVSA Sparks 16
They will be playing in Indy in the Junior Nationals Freedom Division. For Saturday they only played with seven players. Perhaps they got some reinforcements on Sunday.
Lauren Schroeder left side 5’9″ – She was the go to person when the Sparks needed a kill. Against the big block of Virginia Elite she was effective tooling the block and peppering the one spot for points. She did struggle against them with her passing. Despite her height Lauren did get some key blocks against taller players.
Jessica Chen libero 5’3″ – When you have seven players and still use that seventh player in the libero role you know it was important to have Jessica passing and playing defense for two rotations. She covers a lot of ground on defense and covered the setter dump well.
Second Place – Virginia Elite 16
They were the tallest team in the tournament. In qualifiers Virginia Elite teams choose to play in Opens, which is tough to earn a bid.
Riley Buddie Riley Buddie 6'1" | OH Langley | 2024 State VA left side 6’1″ – Excellent arm extension and just whips that arm into the ball. A left side hitter that can put the ball away in the clutch.
Chloe Hokenson Chloe Hokenson 6'1" | S Langley | 2024 State VA setter 6’1″ – Good height for a setter. Chloe got some good solo blocks and her serve contributed a number of aces. She has good hands but I’d like to see her get quicker to the ball so she can use her hands more. Better passing could help with that.
Third Place Paramount 14
The surprise team of the tournament. They were placed in a pool with four 16 teams and managed to earn a trip to the gold bracket. They beat a good MVSA Charge 15 team to advance to the semi-finals where they lost a second time to Virginia Elite. Pretty impressive when you consider one of their primary setters (Ingrid Smith) is in the 2027 class and was just a back row role player for the club she played for last year. The two 5’8″ outsides, Charlotte Arrington and Lindsey Canty battled against girls two years older than them. They show a lot of promise.
MVSA Charge 15
This was perhaps my favorite team. They will be going to the Junior Nationals in the Freedom Division.
Ema Djordjevic left and right side 5’11″ – A veteran coach of many years calls her his “favorite” teammate and a fabulous human being. She is a lefty with a fast arm swing who hits lasers between the antennae and the right hand of the right side block when she hits left side, but struggles on inside sets. When hitting right side she is automatic with the kills. Ema was solid at hitting the back row attack.
Kareena Rathnam libero 5’2″ – Considering her age perhaps the best libero I have seen this year. She has an aura about her on the court. The passes are all “3”s and the two times she got aced she only smiled after getting up off the floor. Kareena uses her hands a lot for out of system sets, even one time in front of the ten foot line, where she immediately recognized her error. She could use some work on defense with foot work and positioning, but that will come with experience.
Corinne Howard middle/leftside 5’10″ – She is a basketball player who only started playing volleyball last year. In the game she played middle, but in warmups she also hit left side. During warmups she powered a ball into the calf of a girl standing in front of the 10 foot line shagging balls. A natural athlete who with time could become an impact player if she focuses on the sport.
Colombia Black 16
They finished in fourth, losing to MVSA Sparks in the semifinals.
Natalia PeBenito Libero 5’6″ – She has setter’s hands but I don’t recall her using them in the game. She made some great defensive plays and her passing is almost automatic.
MacKenzie Calhoun setter 5’9″ – She was my top setter of the tournament. She dished out her sets sometimes going fast and other times slow to the outside. Ran the quick well and got a lot of aces with her serves.
The 5’5″ Rebel trio
They played for MVSA Rebels. Isabella Brennan and Sophia Dasilva were the left sides. Both had good verticals and when given good sets they could hit the ball with velocity. They teamed with libero Iris Thea Ramiriz to form a trio of formidable passers. They also had no fear of hitting the floor, playing fearless defense. This may not be the top MVSA 15 team, but they were fun to watch.