15s Titles Earned at 2011 USAV GJNC

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

ATLANTA (June 30, 2011) – The 15 Open, National and American Divisions at the 2011 USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships wrapped-up play with medal matches in the respective gold-medal divisions on Thursday at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

Earning titles on the third day of gold-medal play were Northern Lights 15-1 (North Country) in 15 Open, Blackswamp 15 Oberst (Ohio Valley) in the 15 National Division and AZ Sky 15 Magic (Arizona) in the 15 American Division.

The USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships continues through July 4. Championships will be conducted for 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 15 American Division battle for the gold-medal was between No. 8 seed AZ Sky 15 Magic and No. 14 Iowa Rockets 15R (Iowa). The two squads kept the match within a few points of each other during the first set. The two teams were tied at 18-18, but the Iowa Rockets responded with a 5-0 run making the score 23-18. The point spread was too much for AZ Sky to overcome as the Iowa Rockets won the first set 25-19.

The second set started off as another battle. After the set was tied 14-all, AZ Sky made a steady climb and gained advantage by winning the next three points. Iowa Rockets fought hard to keep up, but AZ Sky got its revenge and won the second set 25-17.

The third set consisted of AZ Sky taking the lead from the start. Iowa Rockets had a lot of energy on the court, but could not deny AZ Sky’s offense. AZ Sky defeated the Iowa Rockets, 15-11.

AZ Sky 15 Magic reached the gold-medal match after defeating No. 12 seed Cincy Classics 15 Red (Ohio Valley) 25-20, 25-27, 15-11 in the semifinal. AZ Sky went undefeated in the tournament, but was forced to a third set in four matches. Iowa Rockets 15R, which lost its opening match of the tournament, defeated No. 15 seed River City Juniors 151 (Great Plains) 25-14, 25-22 in the semifinal to reach the gold-medal match.

No. 13 seed Blackswamp 15 Oberst and No. 7 seed Miami Elite 15 BLUE (Florida) competed for the title in the 15 National Division. Blackswamp gained a quick 10-5 advantage over Miami Elite 15 BLUE. However, Miami Elite fought hard to lessen the gap and had a three-point run to make the deficit 21-19. From there, Blackswamp 15 kept putting on the heat and Miami Elite put forth all its effort to try to catch up. Two time outs were taken between the two teams within the last three possessions of the game, but Blackswamp pulled out the 25-23 first-set victory.

The second set started out very competitively as the teams stayed within two points of each other. At 13-13, Miami Elite took control and won five of the next six points to take an 18-14 adavantage. Blackswamp kept fighting, but Miami Elite kept advancing and had a four-point run to bring them to only one point away from winning, 24-17. Blackswamp fought until the end by saving four set points before Miami Elite sealed the set at 25-21.

In the third set, Blackswamp came in ready to regain control. The team gained a five-point advantage early on with a 9-4 score. Even though Miami Elite put up a tough fight, the team could not keep up with the consistency of Blackswamp, which resulted in a 15-10 victory.

Blackswamp 15 Oberst, which won the title despite two losses in the opening round pool, defeated the six-seed Ultimate G15 Gold (Great Lakes) 25-23, 17-25, 15-13 in the semifinal. Miami Elite 15 BLUE, which won nine matches heading into the title match after an opening pool loss, reached the gold-medal match after defeating No. 24 seed ASICS MAVS 15 Molten (Heart of America) 25-19, 22-25, 16-14 in the semifinal.

The 15 Open Division battle for the gold-medal was between the top-seed Northern Lights 15-1 and No. 7 seed TAV 15 VB Rags Black (North Texas). The two squads battled out the first set and both gained control of the match in spurts. Northern Lights had a six-point run to give it an 18-14 advantage. However, TAV forced a side-out and struck back with its own six-point run to take the lead at 20-18. The two teams faced-off to the end, but Northern Lights pulled out the 25-23 victory.

Northern Lights came out ready to play in the second set. The team used a four-point run to gain a point-spread that TAV would not be able to make-up. From 11-5, Northern Lights kept putting the pressure on TAV. As the set progressed, TAV responded the best they could by forcing side-outs, but the team could not string points together to come back. Northern Lights won eight out of the last nine points and took the match win with a 25-14 score.

Northern Lights 15-1 reached the gold-medal match after defeating No. 24 seed City Beach 15 Black (Northern California) 25-14, 25-13 in the semifinal, which avenged a first-round pool loss. TAV 15 VB Rags Black earned its way to the title match by defeating No. 22 seed Woodlands Wave 15 UA (Lone Star) 25-23, 25-20 in the semifinal.

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 except 13 Club 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: Gold - Borinquen Coquir 13-1F (Puerto Rico); Silver - ASICS MAVS 13 Blue (Heart of America); Bronze - Madfrog 13s NAT STEF (North Texas) and Nebraska Elite 13 Thunder (Great Plains)
13 American: Gold - Club West 13- National (Southern California); Silver - Xtreme 13 Black (Lone Star); Bronze – Seal Beach 13-Tony (Southern California) and Premier 13 Gold (Great Plains)
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: Gold - Northern Lights 15-1 (North Country); Silver - TAV 15 VB Rags Black (North Texas); Bronze – City Beach 15 Black (Northern California) and Woodlands Wave 15UA (Lone Star) 15 National: Gold – Blackswamp 15 Oberst (Ohio Valley); Silver - Miami Elite Blue 15 (Florida); Bronze- Ultimate G15 Gold (Great Lakes) and ASICS MAVS 15 Molten (Heart of America)
15 American: Gold – AZ Sky 15 Magic (Arizona); Silver – Iowa Rockets 15R (Iowa); Bronze - Cincy Classics 15 Red (Ohio Valley) and River City Juniors 151 (Great Plains)
16 Open: Final 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, Junior Nationals, Juniors, USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships