Last Day of GJNC Puts 16s in the Spotlight

The 16s battled it out for supremacy July 5 on the final day of the 2021 USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship in Las Vegas, Nev.

16 Open
TAV 16 Black (Carrolton, Texas/North Texas) dominated the 16 Open division, losing just one set en route to the gold medal. In the final, TAV defeated Drive Nation 16-Red (Dallas, Texas/North Texas)

“We’ve built so much as a team. We’ve come together like we never thought we would,” TAV outside hitter Kyndal Stowers said. “It all paid off. They’re my family.”

16 National
Arizona Revolution 16 Premier (Phoenix, Ariz./Arizona) also went undefeated through the tournament to win 16 National. In the final, the squad defeated Metro 16 Travel (Washington, D.C./Chesapeake), 25-12, 25-21.

16 American
Austin Juniors 16 adidas (Austin, Texas/Lone Star) went 11-0 and beat Surfside 16 MB Legends (Manhattan Beach, Calif./SCVA) in three sets (24-25, 25-22, 15-3) to win 16 American.

AJV bookmarked the tournament with three-set battles, as they opened the division narrowly defeating Invasion 16-Black (Independence, Mo./Heart of America) in the first round.

“It’s been amazing,” said AJV outside hitter Kayla Lopez. “We play so well together. We have so much trust that we’ve built up through the entire season. It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve worked so hard.”

16 USA
A5 16-Marc (Roswell, Ga./Southern) and Iowa Rockets 16R (Iowa City/Iowa) left it all on the court in a tense 16 USA final. A5 eventually emerged victorious, 29-31 25-23, 15-10.

16 Patriot
Coast 16-2 (San Diego, Calif./SCVA) won all 12 of their match and won 16 Patriot with a hard-fought 24-26, 25-16, 15-11 win over Rancho Valley 16 Premier (San Bernardino, Calif./SCVA).