This is “Dots,” VolleyballMag’s weekly look at 10 things in club volleyball, past or present, that interest me and hopefully will interest you. Look for Dots every Tuesday through Junior Nationals this summer.
• Last week was the busiest by far of the qualifier season, with events in Chicago, Spokane, Las Vegas and Atlanta.
Let’s start in Chi-Town and the 17 Open division, won by home towners 1st Alliance 17 Gold with a 10-0 record.
“This accomplishment was truly a team win, with 17 Gold passing a 2.41 and attacking at a hitting efficiency of .343 as a team,” said coach Danielle Mikos.
A familiar quartet led the team on the weekend: OH Abby Vander Wal had 102 kills over 25 sets. Addy Horner contributed in several categories, with 62 kills, 57 assists, 13 kills and a team-high 21 blocks. Aniya Warren accumulated 92 digs and, passing half the court, received serve at a 2.5 clip. And setter Hannah Kenny, the “heartbeat of the team,” took over in big matches and had 175 assists, nine blocks, 10 aces, 43 digs and passed a 2.6.
After being taken to three sets in five of its first nine matches, 1st Alliance swept previously-qualified Circle City 17 Purple in the final, winning 25-6, 25-20.
“The championship match against Circle City was one of the best I have coached in a while,” Mikos said. “In set 2, both teams were aggressive but also low error. Rallies lasted for what seemed like minutes. After each team alternating scoring, you could look at both sides and see the girls trying to regain their energy to compete for the next rally. We really battled and made each other earn our points.”
This marked the third straight year that a 1st Alliance 17 Gold team won Windy City.
***
MAVS KC 17-1 and Nebraska ONE 17 Synergy tied for third to take home the other two 17 Open bids.
Logan Parks and Maddie Mitchell made the All-Tournament Team for MAVS
“Both were both integral to giving our offense key opportunities to score,” said coach Kelley Kelley. “Maegan Mills also helped us close out Day 3 in several key moments from the pin.”
Nebraska ONE was one of the five teams to take a set off of 1st Alliance. That set win was crucial, because it allowed the team to advance to the Gold pools.In Gold, the team went 2-1 to clinch a bid, edging talented squads Tribe 17 Elite Cardinal and Legacy 17-1 Adidas, each in three sets.
Standouts for the weekend included libero Keri Leimbach, setter Malorie Boesiger and OH Mattie Dalton. The team also got strong play from OH Anna Jelinek, middles
Lexi Hasselbalch, Natalie Wardlow and Kiera Link, DS Harper Gabel and RS Abbie Hagedorn.
“These girls continue to impress me all the time,” said coach Christina Boesiger. “They are so determined, competitive, and execute our game plan really really well. The belief they have and how they play together is pretty amazing. They are always up for a challenge. It was a total team effort this weekend. We only have 9 players and all of them played a huge role in our success this weekend. Every player made big plays at just the right time.”
• Austin Skyline 16 Royal earned its bid and the 16 Open title at Windy City by winning its final two matches on Saturday in do-or-die situations, then outlasting Legacy 16-1 Adidas in what was effectively a semifinal and two-time qualifier champion Mintonette m. 61 in the championship match. I haven’t yet heard from the coaches at Austin Skyline, but this is a loaded team with the kind of firepower to make a run all the way to a national championship.
***
Legacy and Tribe both also qualified. Legacy is the reigning Triple Crown champion and another 16 Open national championship favorite with Meredith Martin digging and Eva Long setting.
The key to Tribe’s qualification was going 6-0 in three-set matches. Mia Gold had 15 kills and Gigi Artiles added 11 aces in a three-set Saturday win over Academy Volleyball Cleveland 17 Red. Artiles also was huge in Game 3 of a win over HP STL 16 Royal.
Setter Riley McCaughey ran a smooth offense had some key defensive plays for Tribe, athletic, undersized MB Brenna Hasey showed off her all-around game and defenders Vittoria Belfort and Kaylee Maikranz took turns making big digs and great hustle plays.
• In 15 Open, TAV’s second Black team, TAV 15 Black Fifer went 9-1 to take first place. The team lost on Day 1 to Premier Nebraska 15 Gold, which also qualified; but gained revenge in the championship match.
“It was a great tournament all the way around for our team and we were able to gain some good wins against some really talented teams,” said TAV coach Kaylee Fifer. “Each day they were faced with some form of adversity and were able to overcome each circumstance with grit and determination.”
Notable standouts include outsides Alyssa Todd (94 kills; hitting .317) and Landri Trice (75 kills). The defense started at the net with middle Londyn Pope having 18 total blocks and continued into the back court, where libero Callie Gardner had 66 digs.
“It was a full team effort by all of the girls and they had each other’s back through each match!” Fifer said.
HP STL 15 Royal finished third to nab the final bid.
• At Big South in Atlanta, OT 17 T Aaron won its second straight 17 Open qualifier by going 10-0 without dropping a set.
“We had some great practices after winning MEQ, but I wasn’t sure how we would respond after getting the bid in Indy,” coach Aaron Harrison said. “I told the girls we would have a target on our back all weekend at Big South since we had previously qualified, and we were coming in as the 1 seed and the rest of the field would be fighting for their bid to Nationals.”
The team had strong wins over Triangle 17 Black (big and right-side dominant), Game Point and OT 17 O Felix during its run.
Lily Hayes, Zara Stewart, Hannah Hankerson and Maggie Dostic all did well in controlling the first contact. Middles Connore Siler-Nixon and Kaylee Peper both had great weekends.
“They were transitioning with great speed and intention all weekend and were able to beat the block and find open seems,” Harrison said. “[Setter] Izzy Mogridge continues to get better every tournament. She is running a great offense right now and provides great leadership on the court.”
“This is truly one of the best teams I have coached as everyone has bought into the ‘team’ and being the hardest working team on the court,” Harrison concluded.
***
OT O 17 Felix, Triangle and CUVC 17 Open snagged the three bids.
Triangle lost only to champion OT Aaron and battled illness to earn its bid. RS Lindley Miller, a 6-4 sophomore playing on the right; was key to the qualifying effort, as were middles Talia Francom and Gabby Nichols, libero Addie Canady and setter BreAnna McMillan.
CUVC had placed fourth at MEQ, which was one spot out of bid position. The North Carolina team adjusted its lineup to improve blocking and better balance the offense and it worked.
“We had over 45 total blocks in 9 matches, and hit nearly .300 on the weekend, a huge improvement over MEQ,” coach John Brannon said.
Setter Ari Lopez did a really good job distributing and taking advantage of matchups and MB Caroline Noonan, who is uncommitted; hit over .400 on the weekend.
“In addition, we were pretty effective from the service line, and our passing, which has been good all year, was over a 2.1 on the weekend,” Brannon observed. “We played great most of the weekend, and just ran out of gas in our rematch against a very good OT Felix team in the semifinals. We had just five hitters all weekend, so to have the success we did offensively was a tribute to the girls’ hard work!”
• In 16 Open, North Carolina Academy 16 Diamond won the Sunday Gold bracket over NKYVC and Winter Park to capture first place. The win over WPVC avenged an earlier loss in the tournament.
Setter Genevieve Harris, one of the elite setters nationally in the 2026 class, led the way for Academy. averaging 12 assists per set. Southpaw Taylor Bruce on the right also was a beat and hit .462. OH Natalie Langston led the team with 77 kills, hitting almost .400 herself. MB Ava Wilkerson was a blocking machine and contributed 44 kills on the offensive end.
***
NKYVC and Winter Park also qualified.
Winter Park’s only loss came to Academy in the Gold bracket.
WPVC won matches 18-16 and 21-19 in the third each of the first two days and also won two deuce sets versus Academy.
“We carried those key moments into Day 3 and rolled through our first two matches, giving us our first opportunity to earn a bid in the semi-final with a rematch versus Academy,” noted coach Matt Jackson. “We fell short in that match in the third set by a score of 15-12 and then were faced with our final opportunity in the third-place match and ended up successful in three sets by a score of 15-9. This victory secured the Open bid for us as a team and also is the first earned Open bid by any WPVC girls’ team in our 13-year history. It was a historic moment for our team and club at Big South and the girls were so thrilled to have cemented themselves in WPVC history.”
Jackson said qualifying was a team effort.
“As their coach, I could not have been more pleased with all of them over the weekend,” he said. “One of our team’s core values is ‘teamness,’ which I believe is one of the things that sets this group apart from the rest of the competition on the playing field.
Setter Elle Mottola, the team’s captain and “fearless leader,” was particularly fantastic, as were pins Amelia Mancino and Isa Umpierre.
• In 15 Open, OT 15 T Randy won it all and qualified along with Excel 15 National Red and AZ Sky 15 Gold.
OT came in seeded first but needed to battle on Day 3 to keep its seed and prevail. The team made the semifinals after tough Gold Pool wins and secured its bid because previously -qualified A5 15 Kelly was locked into a top four position.
“I talked to the girls before our semifinal match about getting back in the right mindset,” coach Randy Thomas said. “Just because we locked in the bid doesn’t mean we are done. We came here to win the tournament and that’s what we are going to do.”
OT lost Game 1 of the semifinals to Sky but battled back behind Candice Holloway and Sophie Puleo. Sam Karjala, Georgia Underwood and Maya Gray did really well blocking and slowing the ball down.
The final against Excel saw OT up 23-19 in the second set with a chance to close out the sweep, but Excel rallied to force a third set and led 13-11 before Puleo went on a serving run that kept OT in the match in a set the team ultimately won, 18-16.
Setter Sophia Dostic had a good setting weekend,” Thomas added. “She did a great job moving the ball around to the right hitters at the right time. Millie Snyder helped close out our championship match with two great kills.”
***
Sky earned its bid by going 7-2, with losses only to the two teams finishing in front of it.
“We played really good volleyball this weekend,” said coach Jen Lenhart. “We worked on being low error and recycling the ball a lot offensively until we had our opportunity to make a big play. Our libero, Aubrey Burns, was an incredible defender and brought calm confidence to her teammates. Cassidy Armstrong, our setter, ran a really solid offense, giving us a lot of one-on-one situations and played incredible defense. Bailey Lambert. our starting middle. played the best she has all season, hitting well above .600 on the tournament and put up a quality block. Lastly, Berkley France, our floor captain, remained steady all weekend. She passed dimes, recycled the ball, and took her shots when she had them. She led the team efficiently. All players from the team contributed at big moments and they continued to fight each point.”
• In 17 Open at PNQ in Spokane, Colorado Juniors 17Kevin took the title. The team, which won Junior Nationals in the 16 National Division a year ago, earned its first Open bid.
“They have worked extremely hard this season with the goal of making sure they play in the Open division in Las Vegas,” noted coach Kevin Marquis.
The team played its best volleyball at the end, with sweeps in its final three matches. Setter Chloe Elarton, middles Erika Sayer and Avery Gibbs and pins Bridget Malone and Anna Blamires were standouts.
***
NORCO 17 Black and, I believe, Madfrog 17’s National Green also qualified.
• Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar and Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar both lost twice but emerged with the Gold Ball in 16 Open and 15 Open, respectively.
This was 16 Rockstar’s first-ever qualifier win and it came over a loaded Vision 16 Gold team, which also qualified.
Setters Reese Stringer and Ellie Chu ran a great offense for Long Beach, which hit .300. Defense by Tiani Shaw and Ahnika Smith also was excellent.
Long Beach had lost to Vision in three on Day 2 but earned the sweep for the title one day later.
• Red Rock Rave in Las Vegas finished up Monday, with TAV 18 Black, WAVE 17 Juliana, SCVC 16 Roxy and AZ Revolution 15 Premier winning the Open divisions.
TAV was a perfect 10-0 (20-0) in taking another 18 Open title.
“The girls are playing well and confident,” said coach Carlos Ramos. “Suli Davis, Favor Anyanwu and Jadyn Livings played at a very high level, consistently. What Suli and Favor do as blockers is unreal and Jadyn’s physicality on offense helps us side out at a high percentage.”
Of the top eight, seven were previously qualified. Tstreet 18 Chandler, with Chloe Pravednikov and Jessie Bates, was the only team to qualify, finishing T-7.
***
Quinn Loper and WAVE won 17 Open without losing a match.
Excel 17 National Red and Club V 17 Ren Reed also qualified.
“It basically came down to beating Club V,” said Excel coach Justin Waters. “We were still in contention after Day 1 and 2 and knew we just had to finish top 3 in the Gold Pool to guarantee a bid. Club V pulled off the upset against Coast so we knew we needed to beat them in two by a decent point differential to guarantee the 3 spot. Halle Jameson and Greer Chambless stepped up big on the outside and Janie Deapen had some huge kills and blocks on the right side. Piper Mickenheim and Sophia Noble had great serve receive and unbelievable defense to keep us in it.”
Club V secured the final bid by beating TX Performance.
***
SCVC overcame two losses to win 16 Open. The team won its final five matches, including a familiar opponent, WAVE, in the championship match.
SCVC was solid in the serving and passing game led by libero Kayltn Herweg, outsides Audrey Flanagan, Sammy Destler, and DS Jordan Shelor.
In the championship final, middles Taylor Boice and Maya Stillwell were efficient, and setter Milly McGee and right side Abby Zimmerman were on point in the sweep.
***
There were only 15 teams in 15 Open. Revolution won despite three losses. It won by set percentage tiebreaker over WAVE 15 Brennan and Tstreet 15 Asics.
The post Tawa’s Club Volleyball Dots: Column this week comes with a Qualifier appeared first on Volleyballmag.com.
