Seven Champions Crowned in 17s at 2023 GJNC

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 8, 2023) – Seven clubs claimed championship titles on Thursday in the 17 division at USA Volleyball’s 2023 Girls Junior National Championship 14-17 in Chicago, Ill.

The GJNC is the United States’ premier junior girls club tournament and attracts college scouts from across the country. Thursday marked the final day competition in the McCormick Place Convention Center, as team battled it out for medal finishes.

It is the first year that the 14-17 age divisions have been given a separate tournament and their numbers are greater than ever with 1,368 teams registered. There are now seven competitive divisions for each age group in the 14-17 divisions.

Results

17 Open

SCVC 17Roxy (Southern California) dropped the second match of pool play to CoJrs17Kevin (Rocky Mountain) on Monday, but didn’t lose a match again the rest of the tournament. The club was pushed to three sets four more times during the gold bracket, including the last three consecutive matches. In the gold medal match vs. DYNASTY 17 Black (Heart of America), SCVC took a 28-26 win in the first set but then lost the second set 23-25. The team rallied to take care of business in the third with a 15-7 match victory that secured the gold medal and tournament championship.

“Well obviously it was amazing, we’re coming home with a gold medal so you can’t go wrong,” SCVC head coach Melissa Boice sai. “It’s night 10, day 11 for me; I’ve been here this whole time. This group has all the guts and glory and we ended up on top. It’s been an amazing experience. What a ride.”

1st Alliance 17 Gold (Great Lakes) and H Skyline 17 Royal (Lone Star) were third.

17 National

Six Pack 17 (Iowa) went undefeated, losing just two sets in the team’s final two matches in the gold medal bracket en route to taking the championship in 17 National. In the final match, Six Pack defeated HPSTL 17 Royal (Gateway) 2-1 (25-21, 19-25, 15-9) to claim victory.

MKE Sting 17 Gold (Badger) and Northern Lights 17-1 (North Country) finished third.

17 USA

In the 17 USA division, Actyve 17-Black (Southern California) claimed the top spot on the podium after having more than half of their matches go to three sets in the tournament. Despite the extra action, Actyve 17-Black mirrored their counterparts in the National division by staying undefeated the entire way. In the final match, the team took on Skyline 17 Black (North Texas) and was tested early with a 22-25 score in the first set. Actyve would storm back in the next two sets to win 2-1 (22-25, 25-20, 15-9), claiming victory in the 17 USA division.

AZ REV 17 Premier and AZ Sky 17G made it a clean sweep for bronze by the Arizona Region.

17 Liberty

Mizuno Club North 17Ang (Heart of America) went a perfect 10-0 on the week as the club claimed a championship victory in the 17 Liberty division over Ama Xtreme 17 Queens (Sun Country). North needed only two sets in the gold medal match, claiming victory 2-0 (25-12, 25-22)

Third place finishers were Missouri Jrs 17-Black (Heart of America) and San Clemente 17-Riley (Southern California).

17 American

After losing pool matches to end Monday and begin Tuesday, ATHENA VB 17-1 Gold (Columbia Empire) was able to right the ship and win every match of bracket play. ATHENA defeated ARIZONA STORM 17 THUNDER (Arizona) in two (25-20, 25-17) to take gold.

Club Ignit select 17 Blue (Iowa) finished third, as did Rocky Elite 17 National (Rocky Mountain).

17 Freedom

NORCO 17 Black (Rocky Mountain) joined the ranks of undefeated champions Thursday with a 27-25, 25-22 win over HJV 17 PREMIER (Lone Star) in the 17 Freedom division. NORCO went 11-0 and lost just one set in the tournament.

“I thought we worked really well as a team the whole time,” said NORCO athlete Karli Krueger. “It was just super energetic and fun, it was a good tournament.”

“It means so much,” said Krueger’s teammate, Claire Wagstaff. “It’s been a rough season, but I think that the end of this season, this tournament specifically we’ve done great. We’ve really come together as a team.”

17 Patriot

17 Patriot was witness to yet another undefeated champion. Sky High-Adidas 17 Black (Great Lakes) went 11-0 and went 22-2 for the tournament in set victories.

In the final, Sky High faced Club Cactus 17-Mizuno (Arizona). Sky High was able to finish off the gold medal match with a 25-21, 25-20 score in two sets to claim the Patriot division championship.

Houston Skyline 17 BCS Royal (Lone Star) and SynergyForce 17 Patrick (Northern California) placed third.

Note: Full all-tournament teams will be posted at a later date.