ORLANDO, Florida – The AAU Boys Junior National Volleyball Championships wrap up Sunday with championships in 14s, 15s and 17s, and Bay to Bay, Balboa Bay and MB Surf continue to show their dominance with multiple teams in the Open championship bracket.
Saturday’s highlights
— 14s Open championship bracket: Academy, SC Legends, Mountain View, Coast, GVA, Club V MP, MB Surf, Balboa Bay, 630, and Team Rockstar.
— 15s Open championship bracket: Team Rockstar, C2 Attack, Pinnacle, Balboa Bay, Bay to Bay, Aspire, MB Surf, and Coast.
— 17s Open championship bracket: MB Surf, Vanguard, Academy, Balboa Bay, Bay to Bay, Houston Volleyball Academy, MKE Sting, and Winter Park.
— For decades club athletes from all over the country set up shop in the convention center to trade gear from their club. In the photo, you can see that Evan Alarcon (Miami United 17 Premier), Jerry Beres (supporting his brother Cole Beres Winter Park), Gavin Meador (Hobart University libero), and Cooper Meador (MVC 17 Sydney) were right in the middle of the trading madness.
— Winter Park 17s was our team of the day after a huge 20-25, 26-24, 15-3 win against Rockstar. Winter Park was led by Jacob Little-Phillips (committed to Stanford), who had 18 assists, and libero Nick Karr, who went on a seven-point serving run in the third set.
The team’s coach, Roger Peluso, is an assistant coach at George Mason. “
“This is not a surprise to us, we belong here,” Little-Phillips said. “We are excited to face Sting tomorrow.
— Houston Volleyball Academy 17s Open 6-foot-5 outside hitter Myles Jordan, a Long Beach State commit, is our player of the day. His team is 7-1 and plays Bay to Bay.
“Our team is fired up to compete and show what we can do at the national level,” Jordan said.
— Everyone seems to know Devin Busam of Team Rockstar 17s.
Busam, who attends Mira Costa High School and is the manager of one of the top high school boys programs in the country, is also the manager for Team Rockstar.
“Being with Rockstar means so much to me, I love the coaches and their willingness to grow the sport. I truly believe it is one of the best clubs in the world,” Busam said.
Through Rockstar Busam has worked with some of the top coaches in the country, including USA men’s national team assistant coach Matt Fuerbringer and UCLA assistant coach Nick Vogel.
“Devin, or as we all know him, D Bus, is a consummate professional and the hardest worker in the gym,” Vogel said. “His inexhaustible work ethic and eternal positive attitude keep us on the right track and his knowledge of volleyball statistics and personnel is boundless.”
— The 15s Open Outrigger team from Hawai’i helped continued a tradition to show their appreciation towards their 18s team from their Hawai’i club. A few years ago, Jen Lyons started making the Outrigger 18s team ti leaf lei po’o, a symbol of protection and good luck in Hawaii. Lyons passed away suddenly in June during the 2021 club season but the Outrigger program and the community have kept the tradition alive.
“Parents from our 16s and two 18s teams spread out all over the hotel lobby to make the ti leaf lei po’o for several hours, sharing laughter, tears, and the aloha spirit. The 15s did the same at the UH practice gym before they came to Orlando. It was a wonderful bonding experience for our families,” said Heather Williams Smith, Outrigger 18s team parent.
The 18s team lost in the Open final.
They said it
“I am extremely proud of our 14s Open making the championship bracket. This is an impressive group of athletes. Each one of them have put in a ton of work to prepare for the national stage. We can’t wait to cheer them on.”
— Nick Maruyama, 630 Club Director.
“We are excited to compete for a shot at a 17s Open national championship, but we are staying composed because the job is not finished. Our preparation watching film will be intensive for our upcoming match, and we are eager to get after it.”
— Nick Whitley, setter for Academy 17s.
“It is an incredible experience to be part of this tournament. I have never made an Open AAU nationals division championship bracket. I can’t wait to see how far we go.”
— Daniel Hornyack, a 6-foot-8 middle from Coast 15s.
VolleyballMag contributor Kevin Pratte is the boys varsity coach at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, California and Grant elementary physical education teacher. Pratte, who lives in San Diego, played at the University of Pacific. He was a graduate assistant at Nebraska, an assistant at Pacific, and has coached at the junior college level. He also is a college recruiting coordinator, Rotary member, president of the www.kevinprattefoundation.com, host of the KP HERE Podcast and editor of the boys volleyball website middlehitter.com.
