Five of Seven Champions Crowned at USAV High Performance Championships

Becky Murdy
Assistant, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: becky.murdy@usav.org

TUCSON, Ariz. (July 29, 2011) – Court No. 1 showcased volleyball at its best today as five of the seven division champions were crowned under the Tucson Convention Center lights.

Gold-medal matches were played in the Boys’ Regional Division, Boys’ National Division, Boys’ International Youth Division, Girls’ Youth International Division and Women’s Junior National Division on Friday.

The Badger region started the championship matches off with a bang claiming the first two gold medals in both the Boys’ Regional and Boys’ National Divisions. In the 2010 edition of the tournament the Badger Region too claimed two titles.

In the Boys’ Regional Division the Badger Boys’ took the gold medal after defeating Northern California (NCVA) Select Boys, 25-18, 19-25, 25-18, 25-23. The Badger Boys’ charted a 5-3 record on the tournament. The bronze medal went to the USA Boys’ Select Continental White team who downed the USA Boys’ Select Continental Red team 25-16, 28-26, 25-18.

The Badger region captured the gold medal in the Boy’s National Division by defeating the Ohio Valley Boys’ National Team, 25-17, 25-11, 25-14. The Badger team exited the tournament with a perfect 9-0 record dropping only seven of its 27 sets. In the bronze-medal match the USA Boys’ Select A1 White team outplayed the USA Boys’ Select A1 Blue team, 21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-18.

The Girls’ Youth International Division final was next with a match-up between the host region, Arizona and USA Girls’ Youth A2 Blue. USA came out on top, 25-16, 25-17, 25-21 to earn the gold while Arizona earned the silver. The USA GYA2 Blue team charted an unblemished 8-0 record for the tournament dropping just four sets in their eight games.

It was a country showdown during the Women’s Junior International Division with the U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team defeating the Shandong team from China, 25-14, 25-17, 25-18. The U.S. Girls’ Junior National Team ended the tournament with the gold medal after going 8-0 without dropping a single set. They were the only team in the tournament with a perfect set and match record. 

The U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team will head to Turkey to compete in the 2011 FIVB World Championships slated for Aug. 12-21. USA is currently ranked second behind Brazil in the FIVB Youth and Junior World rankings.

It was a USAV HP showdown in the Boys’ International Division gold-medal match Friday night as the USAV HP Boys’ Youth A2 Red battled the USAV HP Boys’ Youth A2 White team for the gold medal. It was a marathon of a match with the second set going 36-34 and the battle reaching five sets. The Red team fought back from a two-set deficit to take the gold medal over the White team, 25-21, 36-24, 25-20, 26-24, 15-11. The White team came in as the top seed with a 6-1 record while the Red team entered the title match with a 5-2 record.

The USAV HP Boys’ Youth A2 Blue team came back from a deep two-set deficit to seized the bronze medal from Team Florida’s Boys’ International Youth team, 21-25, 14-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-11.

The Girls’ National Select and National Youth Divisions will crown their champions on Saturday. Live streaming of the 8 a.m. Girls’ National Youth match can be viewed at www.network1sports.com with the Aloha Region competing against Team Florida. The Girls’ National Select title match will be played on court 13 with Southern California (SCVA) Red battling Iowa Select Navy.

Arizona Select will play Iowa Select White in the Girls’ International Select Division bronze-medal match while Lakeshore Youth and Badger Youth will play for the Girls’ National Youth Division bronze medal on Saturday. 

A total of 98 teams are competing in the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships’ in seven different divisions on 15 courts at the Tucson Convention Center. The USA Volleyball High Performance Championships, which featured a tournament-record number of teams, combines the best teams from USAV High Performance Pipeline teams, USAV Region High Performance Teams and international squads in the marquee event.

For live streaming of court one visit, www.network1sports.com.

For court schedules, results and bracket results, click here.