Best of 2024 at East Coast Championships
The 2022 East Coast Championships were held in Pittsburgh over the Memorial Day Weekend. The age group I focused on were the class of 2024, or the 16’s in the Select Division. One of the teams I first watched early…
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Continue ReadingThe 2022 East Coast Championships were held in Pittsburgh over the Memorial Day Weekend. The age group I focused on were the class of 2024, or the 16’s in the Select Division. One of the teams I first watched early in the year, St. James Navy ended up winning this Division, finishing 10-0 (20-1). Wow. Those girls have come a long way since I first watched them at Shamrock.
St. James Navy
I have already written about many of their players and they all shined at the tournament. 5’10 middle Simara Alexander was a beast in the middle, closing up the court with her blocks and displaying a terminal offense hitting the quick sets. She is a player that many should keep an eye on.
The left side Seliz Aktuglu may have grown a little from her listed 5’9″ height, or increased her vertical, or perhaps she is just getting stronger because there was more velocity in her spikes and she seemed to hit around the block with ease. There seemed to be no stopping her.
The other left side Saige Thibodeaux was actually used at setter as St. James Navy ran a 6/2. She played right side when in the front row and showed some good skills at setter. With her high volleyball IQ that could be the best position for her, though you hate to lose her contribution on the left side. She is a terminator from there. You also lose her passing when she sets, but there is one thing you will never lose, her enthusiasm on the court, regardless of the position she plays.
One of the players I have not mentioned is their libero Sadee Gedse. She seemed to be sharing the job when I first watched them at the Shamrock, but she appears to have won the job now. The offense would not be able to click without her precision passing and stellar defense.
Some of the other girls from the Chesapeake Region who stood out at the tournament:
Kara Jean-Baptiste (Maryland Juniors Yellow, left side) – She has a long, fast wing span that allows her to bury spikes to the floor with good velocity when her timing is right. She is listed as a right side, but played an impressive left side in the games I watched. She also looked strong playing the back row, with quick foot movement to play a solid defense.
Kaiyana Rawlins (Maryland Juniors Yellow, Libero) – I liked the ease in which she passed the ball. She also has some length to cover the court when playing defense. Her serve also came off her arm, spraying bullets to all areas of the court.
Grace Tucker (Vienna Elite 16-RS, left side) – She is just a solid six rotation player. I like her approach as she prepares to pass. Her kills are clutch and she is the go to person on this team. She is not intimidated by the score, swinging hard “to win” and not settling for a tip “to not lose”. She may not have great height for an outside, but she has a lot of heart to get the job done.
Camille Pomeroy Camille Pomeroy 6'2" | MB Madison | 2024 State VA (St. James White, middle) – I did not watch too much of their game, but I was attracted by her 6’1″ height in the middle. She made a couple blocks against the second place Monsters Elite team and put one ball away. Perhaps a bit raw at this moment, but lots of potential. We see enough in her to include her in our top 40 Virginia rankings.
Gwyneth Vu (DYS, setter) – DYS finished fifth in the select division, losing their only game in the quarterfinals to third place finisher Champion National. The reason for this was their setter Vu. The placement of her sets are very consistent, no matter where the location. She won best setter at the Capital Hill Classic club division and now I can see why. This was her opportunity to be exposed at the higher levels and she did not disappoint.
Savannah Thomas (Vienna Elite 16-L) – She had some clutch hits in a 26-24 win allowing Vienna Elite to advance to fourth place. Her next stage will be Indianapolis at the Nationals. She hits angles and line and was the person called on when a kill was needed.
Vienna Elite 17-F won the 18 select division. I’ve already written about them qualifying for the 18 Nationals. They were the only 17 team in the division and they should be back together to play as 18s next year, with coach Danny Molina leading the charge.
Vienna Elite 17-L won the 17 select division. They have a 2024 setter in Marguerite Barvick who can be an impact player. She hits the ball like a left side so when she is setting in the front row you have to be aware of her presence on the right side. The more repetitions she gets setting at the 17 level the better her game for next year.
Liberty Elite 15 won the Beast of the East 15 Division. They will be going to Indy to compete in the National Division in late June/early July. They beat another Chesapeake team, MVSA Charge, who will be competing in the Freedom Division at Indy. We hope to be writing about players from these two teams in a future article.