COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 30, 2024) – The 2024 USA Volleyball Boys Junior National Championship concluded Saturday in Dallas, Texas, after four days of intense competition.
IMUA Volleyball Club (Southern California Region) in Monterey County, Calif., was the only club to win two titles, as they took gold in 17 Club and 16 Club. In all, nine different regions won a title, including Southern California (4), Northern California (3), Puget Sound (2), Arizona (2), Aloha, Bayou, Columbia Empire, Moku O Keawe and Lone Star. Teams from Puerto Rico (2) and Canada also won titles.
18 Open
Core 18 Elite (Northern California) won its last five matches to finish 8-3 and win the 18 Open division. Two of those matches went five sets, including the final, which Core won 25-20, 23-25, 15-13 over AJV Boys 18 adidas (Lone Star).
“We’re thrilled. [It’s such] a great accomplishment for us,” said Core head coach Prima Glorioso. “We worked really hard to get to this point, and I’m just really proud of the boys and the way they competed. We didn’t give up. We were down in that third set, and it started in our first day of pool. We went 1-2, and we had to win out day two to make it to gold, and we accomplished that, beating the overall No. 1 seed, which was AJV. A lot of grit, a lot of determination through the whole process.”
Glorioso talked about how the team turned it around in the third set of the final.
“Our energy started to feel a little frantic after we lost that second set, so in between games we just talked to them about earning every point and just focusing on one point at a time instead of winning the overall match,” she said. “So, just being in the moment, we told them to take a deep breath in, deep breath out, center themselves. I think they did a really good job with that.
AJV also finished 8-3 in earning the silver. Third place went to BAVC 18 Boys Wendy (Northern California) and Tam Colorado 18 Black (Rocky Mountain).
Dehryn Brown of Core was the MVP.
18 USA
All-tournament selection Alden Jacobs’ earlier prediction of “gold hair, gold medal” proved true Saturday, as Apex NW U18 Ascent (Puget Sound) lost just one set en route to the 18 USA title. In the final, Apex defeated Ku’ikahi 18 Red RoShamBo (Aloha), 25-14, 25-21.
Third place went to Quicksets 18 Zesty (Aloha) and SNVF Boys U18 Blue (Puget Sound). Apex’s Theo Quiggle was MVP.
18 American
Twenty-one teams competed in 18 American, with Chaos Boys 18-1 National (Columbia Empire) out of Portland going undefeated for the title.
The road for Chaos wasn’t always easy. They just slipped by NLVC 18 Boys (Sun Country) in the semifinal, 21-25, 26-24, 15-12 before meeting BVA 18-1 Gersain (Southern California) in the gold-medal match. Led by MVP Lopaki Laban, Chaos won 25-19, 25-22.
Third place went to NLVC and Surge Boys 18 Black (Keystone).
18 Club
In the competitive 18 Club division, Aspire 18-1 Gladiators (Northern California) took down previously undefeated IMUA UVC 18UA in the final, 25-20, 25-19, for gold.
It was the second meeting between the two teams in the tournament, with IMUA winning in two sets a day earlier. Third went to 808AC 17 Blue (Aloha) and MVC 18 Red (Arizona).
Aspire’s Logan McKinney was MVP.
17 Open
In a rematch of pool play action, GVA Boys 171u Dark Blue (Puerto Rico) defeated A4 Volley Boys 17-Aaron (Southern California) in a thrilling final, 24-26, 26-24, 16-14. In pool play, the result had been different, with A4 winning the match in two close sets. Both teams finished 9-1.
“It was a great tournament by the kids,” said GVA head coach Orlando Irizarry. “We had our rematch in the final. We lost the first day against A4, so the kids were pumped up for the finals, and it was a great experience for them. [In the final] I just tried to keep them calm.”
Core Sac 17 Elite (Northern California) and HVA 17 Performance Red (Lone Star) were third. GVA’s Adrian Rodriguez was MVP.
17 USA
Molten 17-1 (Arizona) went 12-0 and just lost one set en route to the 17 USA title. In the final, Molten defeated LBVC 17 Gerald (Southern California), 25-23, 25-23. It was LBVC’s first loss of the tournament.
Aloha 17 Smack (Northern California) and Forza1 Boys 17 One (Southern California) were third. Luke Raymond of Molten was the MVP.
17 Club
IMUA UVC 17UA (Southern California) turned the tables over SG Elite 17 Select (Southern California) in the 17 Club final with a 20-25, 25-21, 15-12 victory.
Two days earlier in pool play, SG Elite had bested IMUA in a three-set victory. Coming into the final, that match also had the only set loss for SG Elite in the tournament.
Premier Boys 17 Black (North Texas) and West Edge 17T (Southern California) were third. IMUA’s Matthew Legaspi was MVP.
16 Open
Canada Southwest 16-1 (Canada) is taking the 16 Open title north of the border after a 25-19, 25-18 win over previously undefeated SouthCoast Volleyball 16-1 (Puerto Rico) in an international final.
“I’m just super proud of these guys,” said CAN SW head coach Adam Schriemer. “One of our goals coming into this tournament was to just get better every game, and I thought they showed that every day. I thought in this championship game it’s just about competing and being tougher together, and they did that. They worked really hard in training over this last month and were very deserving of this.”
He talked about the performance of his team in the second set.
“We came [from] behind in in the first, and they were just super motivated and didn’t want to leave anything up to chance,” he said. “I thought they had a really tough mindset in that second set and were able to play really clean volleyball. I think we only had 15 unforced errors in two sets, which is very clean, especially at this age.”
Two Aloha Region teams, Ku’ikahi 16 Red RoShamBo and Pure Aloha B16U, were third. Jarom Smith of Canada Southwest was MVP
16 USA
Rage 16 TOA (Northern California) and Beach Cities 16 Black (Southern California) met in a battle of undefeated teams in the 16 USA final, with Rage taking a tense 23-25, 25-17, 15-12 win. Rage’s only set loss in the tournament was in the final. Beach Cities, meanwhile, had three matches that went the distance before the final.
Blue Royals Boys Nat 16 (Puget Sound) and Over the Top 16-1 (Southern California) were third. Gabriel Faalii of Rage was MVP.
16 American
There were no undefeated teams in 16 American, and AFVBC 16 Apex (Southern California) defeated ProPlay 16 Jared (Southern California), 25-12, 25-17. AFVBC finished 10-2, with previous losses to both ProPlay and Aloha 16 Smack (Northern California) in pool play. But the team finished with five straight wins to take the title.
ProPlay had a tougher road to the final, finishing 8-5, but a key win over Aloha in the semis (29-27 in the second set) sent them to the gold-medal match. Aloha was third, along with NPJ Portland 16B National (Columbia Empire). Dylan Vong of AFVBC was MVP.
16 Club
IMUA UVC 16UA (Southern California) won its second title of the championship in the 16 Club division.
At 10-1, IMUA faced off against undefeated Malibu 16-1 (Southern California) in the final. Malibu (11-1) had won its matchup with IMUA earlier in the tournament in three sets, but IMUA came back in the final for a 25-18, 25-20 gold-medal win.
808AC 16 Blue (Aloha) and LBVC 16Chris (Southern California) were third, and IMUA’s Cohen Jimeno was MVP.
15 Open
HVA 15 Performance Red (Lone Star) defeated Excel 15N Red (North Texas) in 15 Open, 21-25, 25-22, 15-7, for the gold medal.
The final was HVA’s fifth three-set match of the tournament. In the semifinal earlier in the day, HVA defeated AJV Boys 15 adidas in three to reach the final. AJV finished third along with BAVC 15 Boys Andre (Northern California). Toby Davis of HVA was MVP.
15 USA
The state of Hawaii and the Aloha Region captured a title as 808AC 15 Blue won 15 USA after a thrilling 25-21, 24-26, 17-15 win over OVC B15 (Badger Region).
Like HVA in 15 Open, 808 fought hard throughout the tournament with seven three-set matches. They squeaked by 15U Eastside Boys (North Texas) in the semis, 25-23, 15-25, 16-14, to reach the final.
Eastside and High Flyers 15 Red (Great Plains) were third. Noah Yamashiroya of 808 was MVP.
15 Club
MVC 15 Black (Arizona) was 11-0 in winning 15 Club. They made it to the final by defeating Academy Boys 15 HP A&B (Northern California) in the semis, 25-17, 24-26, 16-14, and then defeated AFVBC 15 Apex (Southern California), 25-14, 26-24, for gold.
Academy and Aloha 15 Smack (Northern California) were third. Cuen Griffin of MVC was MVP.
14 Open
Puget Sound Region captured a second title when SNVF Boys 14-1 defeated Over the Top 14-1 (Southern California), 25-20, 25-13, in the 14 Open final. Earlier in the tournament, Over the Top had defeated SNVF 26-24, 25-16. SNVF won its final seven matches in straight sets.
Excel 14N Red (North Texas) and Miami United 14 N Camilo (Florida) were third.
14 USA
Bayou Boys 14u gave the Bayou Region a title by dominating the 14 USA division. Bayou went 12-0 and lost just one set early in the tournament. The boys defeated AJV Boys 14 adidas (Lone Star), 25-15, 25-18, in the final.
AJV lost only the final match and hadn’t lost a set until until meeting Bayou in the final. Third place went to 808AC 14 Blue (Aloha) and SD Beach 14 Gonzo (Southern California).
14 Club
Pilipa’a 14s Black of the Moku O Keawe Region also went undefeated to win the 14 Club title. They lost just two sets: in the opening match against Excel 13 N Red (North Texas) and later to Beach Cities 14 Black (Southern California).
Pilipa’a beat SG Elite Boys 14 Elite (Southern California), 25-22, 26-24, for gold. Academy Boys 14 HP H&R (Northern California) and Ku’Ikahi 14 Red RoShamBo (Aloha) were third.
13 Club
SG Elite Boys 13 Elite (Southern California) defeated Club V 13 MP Black (IM) for the 13 Club title in a tight 26-24, 24-26, 15-12 match. Academy Boys 13 HP L&L (Northern California) and NLVC 13 Boys (Sun Country) were third.
12 Club
TOVC Garcia 12M out of Puerto Rico went 8-0 to win 13 Club. TOVC did not lose a set in the tournament and defeated Beach Cities 12 Black (Southern California) in the final, 25-9, 25-15. Third went to Excel 12 Red (North Texas) and Keaukaha Jr 12-1 (Moku O Keawe).