14s Crown Champions in Atlanta

Candice Kasischke
Intern, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: candice.kasischke@usav.org

ATLANTA (June 28, 2011) – The 14 Open, National and American Divisions at the 2011 USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships concluded play with medal matches in the respective gold-medal divisions on Tuesday at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

Earning titles on the first day were Cleveland Volleyball Company 14 Black (Oho Valley Region) in the 14 Open Division, Team Piko 14 Ho’omau (Aloha Region) in 14 National Division and Texas Image 14 Mizuno (North Texas) in the 14 American Division.

The USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships continues through July 4. Championships will be conducted for 13 National and American Divisions on June 29, 15 Open, National and American Divisions on June 30, 12 National and American Divisions on July 1, 17 Open, National and American Divisions on July 2, 18 Open, National and American Divisions on July 3 and 16 Open, National and American Divisions on July 4.

The 14 Open Division battle for the gold-medal was between sixth-seeded Cleveland Volleyball Company 14 Black and No. 10 Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar (Southern California). The two squads kept the game close in the first set. CVC gained a 21-18 point advantage, but then the Mizuno 14 Rockstar team struck back by tying the set up 21-21. After a timeout, CVC took control and came back to win the set 25-22.

The second set started out much like the first with both teams battling back and forth with no more than a three-point advantage over the other team. The Long Beach team took a 14-12 advantage, causing CVC to take a timeout. After the game started back, the points bounced back and forth with tied scores from 15-15 through 20-20. The Cleveland team then took control of the match at 22-20. At match point for CVC, 24-21, the team served the ball in the net, giving Long Beach a side-out. Regardless, CVC responded instantly and won the match 25-22.

CVC 14 Black, which lost its opening match of the tournament in pool play, reached the gold-medal match after defeating No. 2 seed OVA 14 Asics team (Florida) 25-19, 27-23 in the semifinal. Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar, which lost two of its first three matches of the tournament, rallied back into the title match and defeated No. 18 seed Nebraska Elite 14 Mayhem Great Plains) 25-16, 25-12 in the semifinal.

Team Piko 14 Ho’omau and Coast 14-1 Luis (Southern California) competed for the title in the 14 National Division. It was a battle between the No. 24 seed and the No. 25 seeded teams, respectively. Coast 14-1 Luis won the first-round pool match against Team Piko in three sets and enter the title match without a loss.

Team Piko came out earning a quick 8-4 advantage and kept up its aggressive play for a five-point run, making the score 13-4 before a side out due to Coast’s block. Coast took a timeout at 16-5 and then came back with a three-point run making the score 16-8. Team Piko’s serving and attacking kept consistent, creating a score of 22-11. Coast swung aggressively, but every time it appeared the ball would hit the floor, a player from Team Piko came in for a dig. Team Piko’s overall solid performance led them to a 25-12 victory in the first set.

In the second set, Team Piko came out with a 6-2 lead. However, Coast bounced back with a fight to make the score 8-7, still in Team Piko’s favor. Coast kept the score close at 10-9 and took its first lead at 12-11. From that turning point, the team continued a winning streak that would carry through to a 25-20 set victory.

Team Piko came out strong in the third set and gained a quick 5-2 advantage. Team Piko then continued with a five-point run, making the score 10-3. From that point it was smooth sailing for Team Piko finishing with a 15-8 score to earn its crown for the 14 National Division.

Tean Piko reached the gold-medal match after defeating No. 10 seed Backswamp 14 Orwig (Ohio Valley) 25-16, 25-17 in the semifinal. Coast 14-1 Luis defeated the top-seed Iowa Rockets 14R team (Iowa) 25-19, 29-27 in the semifinal.

Competing for the 14 American title was top-seed Texas Image 14 Mizuno sixth-seeded Sunshine 14 South Bay (Southern California). In the first set, Texas Image gained a 10-5 lead and Sunshine 14 South Bay put up a good fight battling to an 11-10 deficit. From that point, Texas Image regained control and pulled out a 25-19 victory.

In the second set, Sunshine South Bay came out ready to win, and did not lose control at any point. They shutdown Texas Image 25-10.

The third set was a close battle between the two teams up to 8-5 in Texas Image’s favor. From that point, Texas Image took control and claimed the 14 American title ending with a victory score of 15-10.

Texas Image defeated seventeenth-seeded Woodlands Wave 24 (Lone Star) 25-22, 16-25, 15-13 in the semifinal match to advance to the gold-medal round. Sunshine 14 South Bay defeated second-seeded Pinellas Heat 14 Elite (Florida) 26-24, 25-17 in its semifinal match.

For USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships results, click here. For more information on the tournament, visit usavolleyball.org/events/4873.

All USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships gold-medal matches will be video streamed live at http://usavolleyball.org/live. All USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships medal matches will be streamed and accessed through the same URL.

USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships Results
12 National: Finals on July 1
12 American: Finals July 1
13 National: Finals on June 29
13 American: Finals on June 29
14 Open: Gold – Cleveland Volleyball Company 14 Black (Ohio Valley); Silver – Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar (Southern California); Bronze – OVA 14 Asics (Florida) and Nebraska Elite 14 Mayhem (Great Plains)
14 National: Gold – Team Piko 14 Ho’omau (Aloha); Silver – Coast 14-1 Luis (Southern California); Bronze – Iowa Rockets (Iowa) and Backswamp 14 Orwig (Ohio Valley)
14 American: Gold – Texas Image 14 Mizuno (North Texas); Silver – Sunshine 14 South Bay (Southern California); Bronze – Pinellas Heat 14 Elite (Florida) and Woodlands Wave 14UA (Lone Star)
15 Open: Finals on June 30
15 National: Finals on June 30
15 American: Finals on June 30
16 Open: Finals on July 4
16 National: Finals on July 4
16 American: Finals on July 4
17 Open: Finals on July 2
17 National: Finals on July 2
17 American: Finals on July 2
18 Open: Finals on July 3
18 National: Finals on July 3
18 American: Finals on July 3

Tags: 2011 Girls' Junior National Championships, USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships