This past weekend, SBVC sent 5 teams (12 Blue, 13 Blue, 14 Blue, 14 Navy, and 16 Blue) to compete in the 3-day AAU West Coast Championships in Las Vegas. 4 of the 5 teams had top 10 finishes, with the 14 Blue team winning the Bronze medal! It was a great weekend of volleyball, here are the recaps for each team:

12 Blue

The 12 Blue team, comprise of 10 players, Makeila Cervantes, Chloe Hoffman, Brooke Hoadley, Devyn Brunet, Eloise McGibben, Avala Elwood, Miabella Bazzani, Sullivan Reichel, Renee La Grange and Brooklyne Miko had a solid performance at the 3-day tournament – their first overnight/multi-day competition as a team.  

On Day 1 they played some great volleyball, winning the first match against Arrowhead 11 (23-25, 25-10, 15-3) with “some solid play at the net by Eloise, Miabella and Chloe” according to Head Coach Tina Brown.  The next game they beat Salt Lake VBC 12’s (25-14, 25-19) with “great serving and passing from Devyn, setting and hitting from Avala, and solid net play from Brooklyne”.  The last game of the day they came up short against a tough team, Vegas Aces 12 Black (14-25, 10-25).

Day 2 the team was in the top pool and were faced with some very tough competition. They lost to SuperNova 12 All Stars, the eventual tourney champs (9-25, 10-25) and AZ Sky 12G, tournament runner up, (2-25, 6-25). “Stepping up in these games were Chloe and Sullivan; Chloe not only set many solid games, but was the leader and bond for the team all weekend long.  Sullivan stepped up on defense taking on the solid attack of the other teams and not letting up”. The last game of the day they played Club Utah 12 Nina (21-25, 16-25) and lost a tight match.  “Brooklyn, one of our middles, and Renee, one of our awesome Liberos, both played well.”

On Day 3 unfortunately the team was struck with a stomach bug, and was without most of their players for the last match vs Shonto 12’s (17-25, 25-23, 13-15).  “Although we lost it was one of the best games we have played all year, never letting up. Brooke had an awesome game, covered the ‘campfire area’ and didn't let any balls drop.  Chloe did a great job of putting the ball where it needed to be for Eloise, Miabella, Avala, Makeila and Brooklyne.  Thanks to our defensive specialists Devyn and Renee they kept the ball off the ground and rallies alive.”

“All in all it was a weekend of growth and fun for our team and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing them put together the pieces that they have worked on all year against some very strong teams!  Great season for the 12 Blue team.” The team finished 9th place overall.

13 Blue
The 13 Blue team went 4-3 and finished in 5th place.  Coach Ed Gover said, “leading the team was Ella Jones, Lily Singhass and Erin Curtis hitting out of the left side. Ava Cole and Natali Flint were instrumental in commanding the offense as the team’s setters. Lead blockers were Riley Green, Emma Zuffelato and Katarina Erickson. Serving and defensive specialist Mary Johnson was the team's ace leader.  Charlotte Caesar, the team's Libero, executed many point saving defensive plays”.

Day 1 the team was in a tough pool, dropping both matches of the day to BBCLV 13 Black (12-25, 10-25, 11-25) and SCVC 13 Tehani (19-25, 19-25, 16-25).  Day 2 the team turned it around going 4-0 with wins over Orangecrest 13s (25-6, 25-12), VOS C-G 13 Black (25-20, 25-16), Aviator 13 Gunners (25-8, 25-7) and Club Union 13s (25-16, 25-22). Day 3 the team lost in the playoffs to the eventually tournament champion Vegas Aces 13 Black (8-25, 10-25).

14 Blue

The 14 Blue won a bronze medal! They finished the tournament with a record of 7-1, and lost in the semifinals to the eventual tournament champions. Coach Dillan Bennet said, “Taylor Wilson led all players with 63 kills and had a great tournament. Elise Guerrand-Hermes played a steady all-around tournament contributing from the service line with 14 aces and 23 kills. Tiffany Medel was a force in the back row with 17 aces and countless defensive touches. Season high performances from Summer Nestlerode and Annabelle Tiller were a part of the many highlights for the team this weekend with both players scoring in double-digits at the net with 17 and 29 kills respectively. This was a great way to end our season this weekend with a bronze medal finish! The girls have had to work hard this year and buy into new philosophies of the game, and it paid off at this event. I'm so excited for the bright future ahead for our community, and these girls are a big part of that. "

Day 1 the team went 3-0 with wins over Dig This VBC 14-2 (25-7, 25-10), Desert Stars-King 14s (25-9, 25-5) and ARVC 14-2 (25-16, 25-9). Day 2 the team went 3-0 with wins over Vegas Ignite 14U (25-16, 25-18),

Flying Tigers (25-23, 25-14) and Ignite 14 Premier Inferno (25-19, 25-14). Day 3 the team beat ARVC 14-2 (25-11, 25-13) in the quarterfinals, before falling in the semifinals to Vegas Aces 14 Black (21-25, 18-25).

14 Navy
The 14 Navy team battled all weekend long in, their too, first multi-day tournament event. Through injuries and sickness, the team held its head high and fought hard in each match. On Day 1 the team came out with a strong win over Dig This 14-3s (25-12, 25-12), before dropping the next 2 matches to Shonto 14s (14-25, 12-25) and Utah Ice 14-Ty (21-25, 9-25). On Day 2 the team had two nice wins over Sin City Stingers (25-10, 25-20) and VOS C-G 14-Red (25-19, 25-20) before dropping their last match of the day to WTMVC 14N2 (18-25, 19-25). On Day 3 the team couldn’t overcome the strong hitting of Orangecrest 14s (23-25, 7-25) and lost to end their tournament. The team finished ranked 23rd overall.

Coach Missy Fuerst said of the experience, “this weekend's tournament was so fun for our team! We played a lot of good volleyball and faced harder competition than we have seen before. I enjoyed watching the girls step up to the challenge. Although we didn't win every game, it was fun to watch the girls play. I was very impressed with the consistency of Ai-Yan Shefflin's game. Her passing, hitting, and serving was very steady throughout the weekend. Setter Frances Carlson did an amazing job handling our offense, while Alyse Gilliam was a powerful force in the front row. Overall, I loved seeing all the improvement our team has made from the beginning of the season until now. I'm so proud of each one of them. Their hard work this season has paid off and they have improved dramatically.

16 Blue
The 16 Blue team entered the tournament seeded very high and proved to be a dominating team the first two days of competition. Day 1 the team went 3-0 with wins over Shonto 16s (25-8, 25-8), Dig This VBC 16-3s (25-4, 25-6), and Boise Ignite VBC 16 Flash (25-13, 25-19). On Day 2 the team continued its dominance going 3-0 again with wins over Utah Ice 16 Bella (25-12, 25-17), Dig This VBC 16-2s (25-15, 25-16), and BBCLV 16 Regional (25-9, 25-7). On Day 3 the competition got much tougher and the team couldn’t respond; they suffered their only loss of the tournament to Madison VBC (16-25, 25-20, 9-15). The team finished 5th place overall.

Coach Kat Niksto said, “the team did a lot of really good things this weekend, playing their best volleyball of the year, going 6-1 overall. Kendall Williams had her best offensive and serving performance of the season, being virtually unstoppable at the net, while Libero Taylor Robertson was consistently passing perfect passes all weekend long. Talia Medal’s all-around game was very reliable and consistent, while Jayne Wood and Georgia Brace both took some good swing from the right and left sides. Our big blockers of the weekend, Ally Mintzer, Kristine Fimlaid and Molly Kirkbride provided a huge lift to our defensive efforts with their solid performances. Overall it was a very strong weekend, we just fell one match short of making the medal rounds…”