Santa Barbara, Six Pack and Sports Shack Gather 18 Gold

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

ATLANTA (July 3, 2011) – The 18 Open, 18 National and 18 American Divisions at the 2011 USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships concluded play with medal matches in their respective gold-medal divisions on Sunday at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

Earning titles on the sixth day of gold-medal play were Sports Shack 18-Asics (Southern California) in the 18 Open Division, Six Pack 18 (Iowa) in the 18 National Division and Santa Barbara 18Smack (Southern California) in the 18 American Division.

The USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships concludes with the gold-medal matches in the 16 Open, National and American Divisions on July 4.

The 18 American Division battle for the gold medal was between two undefeated teams, No. 5 seed Santa Barbara 18Smack and No. 3-seed Alamo 18 Kaepa (Lone Star). Santa Barbara never trailed in the first set, using a 4-0 scoring run to break a 5-all tie. Alamo couldn’t mount an attack to gain control of the set as Santa Barbara took a five-point run to take a 15-8 lead. Alamo kept fighting, but Santa Barbara’s momentum propelled its way to a 25-16 victory.

The second set started out much like the first with three tied scores up to 5-all. The two teams battled to an 11-8 score in Santa Barbara’s favor, but Santa Barbara pulled away with a six-point run to increase the lead to 17-8. Santa Barbara kept control of the set and took a 20-10 lead. At this point, Alamo served an ace and struck back scoring four consecutive points, minimizing the gap to 20-15. Santa Barbara’s lead was too far to catch up to and the set finished at 21-25.

Santa Barbara 18Smack reached the gold-medal match after defeating No. 9 seed Jamba 18 Tom (Southern California) 25-16, 21-25, 19-17 in the semifinal. Jamba was undefeated prior to the semifinal match and was the only team to take a set of Santa Barbara the entire tournament. Alamo 18 Kaepa reached the gold-medal match after defeating No. 29 seed Fond Du Lac Fusion 18 (Badger) 25-16, 22-25, 15-13 in the semifinal.

No. 12 seed Six Pack 18 and No. 8 seed Surf City 18 Craig (Southern California) competed for the title in the 18 National Division. In the first set, Six Pack was in the lead the entire set. Six Pack took a four-point run to gain a 9-3 advantage. Despite Surf City’s efforts to fight back, Six Pack’s thunderous hits kept increasing its lead. Six Pack took the first set 25-18. The second set was a battle between the two teams with 10 ties within the set. Surf City recovered from its first set loss and played inspired and confident. The two teams kept it close, but Six Pack pulled ahead at 21-19. Surf City responded instantly and scored the last six points to take a 25-21 victory.

The third set seesawed back-and-forth to 5-all. Six Pack broke away with a 4-0 run to gain a 9-5 advantage. The point spread was too much for Surf City to catch up as Six Pack sealed the third set with a 15-10 victory.

Six Pack 18 suffered its only loss of the tournament to Sky High 18 Red (Great Lakes) in the first round pool play. Six Pack 18 made its way to the gold-medal match by defeating No. 23 seed Imi Ike 18s (Aloha), 23-25, 25-17, 15-5 in the semifinal. Imi Ike 18s was undefeated prior to the semifinal. Surf City 18 Craig, which went undefeated in its journey to the gold-medal match with just one set loss along the way, defeated No. 7 seed ECJ 18 Elite 25-16, 25-11 in the semifinal. The 18 Open Division battle for the gold medal was between No. 6 seed Sports Shack 18-Asics and top-seed Synergy 18 Orange (Keystone). In the first set, the lead seesawed between the two teams at the beginning. Synergy took a 5-4 lead and carried it through to gain the biggest lead of the match, a four-point lead at 19-15. Sports Shack kept putting the heat on with its fiery offense, but Synergy kept responding with consistent all-around play. Synergy finished out the set with a 25-18 victory.

In the second set, Sports Shack rebounded to take an 11-8 lead. Sports Shacks’ serving outweighed Synergy’s defense, carrying the team to a 16-11 lead. Synergy’s court communication began to fall apart and Sports Shack’s strategy of placing the ball in the deep corners of the court kept Synergy chasing after them. As soon as Synergy adjusted, Sports Shack began drilling its attacks barely behind the three-meter line. Sports Shack won the second set 25-15. The third set started neck-and-neck until Sport Shack scored five unanswered points to take a 10-4 advantage. Synergy’s offense fought back, cutting the deficit to 12-9. The two teams battled it out, but Sports Shack came out on top with a 15-11 victory.

Sports Shack 18-ASICS reached the gold-medal match after defeating No. 4 seed Vision 18 Gold (Northern California) 25-14, 25-21 in the semifinal. Sports Shack lost back-to-back in its second and third matches to Wave18Krystal (Southern California) and Sky High Black (Great Lakes), but regrouped to win its final eight matches. Synergy 18 Orange, which lost to SWC 18 KELLI (Southern California) and City Beach 18 Black (Northern California) in its first and third first-round pool play matches, rallied to the gold-medal match after defeating the undefeated No. 5 seed Coast 18-1 (Southern California) 25-17, 25-21 in the semifinal.

For USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships results, click here. For more information on the tournament, visit http://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.

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USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships Results

12 National: Gold- Borinquen Coqui 12-1F; Silver- ASICS MAVS 12 Blue; Bronze- Wave 12 Casey (Southern California) and MadFrog 12s Lewellen (North Texas)
12 American: Gold - Starlings-Monrovia 12 (Southern California); Silver – Victory 12 Elite (North Texas); Bronze – Alamo 12 Kaepa (Lone Star) and Laguna Beach 12 Gaido (Southern California)
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: Finals on July 4
16 National: Finals on July 4
16 American: Finals on July 4
17 Open: Gold- Austin Junior Volleyball 17 Mizuno (Lonestar); Silver- A5 Mizuno 171 Heidi (Southern); Bronze- Club Red 17 Mizuno (Arizona) and Invasion 17-Black (Heart of America)
17 National: Gold- Orange County 17Blue (Southern California); Silver- Northern Lights 17-2 (Northern); Bronze- Alliance 17 Mizuno (Southern) and Iowa Rockets 17R (Iowa)
17 American: Gold- Instinct 17 Tigers N (North Texas); Silver- NorthShore Wood (Ohio Valley); Bronze- Alamo 17 Kaepa (Lone Star) and Nebraska Elite 17 Edge (Great Plains)
18 Open: Gold- Sports Shack 18-ASICS (Southern California); Silver- Synergy 18 Orange (Keystone); Bronze- Coast 18-1 (Southern California) and Vision 18 Gold (Northern California)
18 National: Gold- Six Pack 18 (Iowa); Silver- Surf City 18 Craig (Southern California); Bronze- Imi Ike 18s (Aloha) and ECJ 18 Elite (Ohio Valley)
18 American: Gold- Santa Barbara 18Smack (Southern California); Silver- Alamo 18 Kaepa (Lone Star); Bronze- Jamba 18 Tom (Southern California) and Fond Du Lac Fusion 18 (Badger)

Tags: 2011 Girls' Junior National Championships, junior, Junior Nationals, Juniors, USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships