DETROIT, Mich. (June 30, 2018) – A well-timed loss led to a big win for Mizuno Long Beach as it won the 12 National Division at the USAV Girls Junior National Championships.
Mizuno Long Beach 12 Mizuno (Southern California Region) won the 12 National title by defeating Asics MAVS 12-1 (Heart of America Region), 27-25, 25-19 on Saturday at the Cobo Center.
The 2018 Girls Junior National Championships (GJNC) will continue through July 4.
OT 12 N. Pedro (Florida Region) won the 12 American Division.
Long Beach Head Coach Tiffany Rodriguez said losing was part of the plan going into the tournament.
“The plan was to lose a match and get that out of the way so that we never felt any pressure,” Rodriguez said. “We lost the right match and then decided we were ready to never feel like that again for the rest of the tournament.”
Long Beach lost its third pool play match on its first day of competition to Mets 12 Femenino 12-1 out of Puerto Rico, 25-20, 15-25, 15-13.
“Losing on the first day is always a good option versus losing later in the tournament,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve been where I’ve won every match and then lost the one match that matters and it’s crushing.”
Rodriguez called ball-control the hallmark of her team and credited beach volleyball for much of her team’s success.
“This whole team plays beach and they’re very talented on the beach,” she said. “I think that helps them a lot. Plus, they all play together on the beach and indoors so there is a lot of great chemistry.”
In the 12 National semifinals, Long Beach beat Madfrogs 12’s N Blue (North Texas), 25-15, 25-15. MAVS beat out Skyline 12 Royal (North Texas), 19-25, 26-24, 15-5.
Sport Court is the official athletic flooring for all USA Volleyball national championship events.
12 AMERICAN
OT 12 N. Pedro (Florida) won the title with a 25-13, 14-25, 15-12 victory over Flyers 12-Rox Bill (North Texas). In the semifinals, OT beat Seal Beach 12-Black (Southern California), 25-18, 25-19. Flyers out-battled Top Select 12 Elite (Florida), 24-26, 25-11, 15-13.
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
June 28: 14s
June 29: 15s
June 30: 12s
July 1: 11s
July 2: 13s
July 3: 17s
July 4: 16s