Blaine Labs 55 blocked Western States Laguna in the Men’s 55-and-Over Division gold-medal match
COLUMBUS, Ohio (May 29, 2019) – USA Volleyball crowned the final 11 winners of the 2019 USA Volleyball Open National Championships on Wednesday at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Approximately 4,000 athletes are competing in the event, which has been held every year since 1928 minus two years during World War II. The Opens, which features over 1,600 matches on 45 courts, will crown 26 total championships. Aside from the Open Divisions, other skill divisions are AA, A, BB and B Divisions. The age divisions start at 40-and-over for men’s and women’s divisions, and go up to 78-and-over for men and 60-and-over for women.
Sport Court is the Official Athletic Flooring of USA Volleyball, National Teams and indoor Junior National Championship events.
Men’s BB
Orlando Strong-1 (Florida Region) rallied to defeat V&C/Palestra/ZENIV (Brazil) 20-25, 25-23, 15-11 in the Men’s BB Division title match.
Orlando Strong-1 reached the gold-medal match by handling Boomers BB (Iroquois Region) 25-20, 25-23 in the quarterfinals and Dimes (Gateway) 25-16, 25-15 in the semifinals. Orlando Strong-1 ended the tournament with a 7-2 record with one of its losses to V&C/Palestra/ZENIV in the first round.
V&C/Palestra/ZENIV, which was 8-1 overall and its only loss in the finals, advanced to the championship by topping CU Slam Diego (Keystone Region) 24-26, 25-23, 15-11 in the quarterfinals followed by a 25-14, 25-14 victory over HOMEBOYZ (Lone Star Region) in the semifinals.
HOMEBOYZ swept Dimes 25-23, 25-14 to win bronze.
Women’s BB
Regatas G WBB (Peru) topped KSA Events: Tequila (Florida Region) 25-20, 25-14 in the Women’s BB Division gold-medal match.
Regatas G WBB earned its spot in the finals by defeating IOS Squad (Great Lakes Region) 17-25, 25-9, 15-10 in the quarterfinals and Gold Diggers (New England) 25-19, 21-25, 15-8 in the semifinals. Regatas G WBB ended the tournament with a 9-1 record, its only loss being a setback to Premier Athletics (Gateway Region).
KSA Events: Tequila! brushed aside Trend SetterZ (Great Lakes Region) 25-9, 25-18 in the quarterfinals and Premier Athletics STL 25-16, 25-23 in the semifinals to its berth in the finals. KSA Events: Tequila! was undefeated until its gold-medal loss.
Premier Athletics STL swept Gold Diggers 25-19, 25-19 in the bronze-medal match.
Men’s B
Team Hollywood (Iowa) edged White Walkers (New England Region) 25-17, 22-25, 15-12 to claim the Men’s B Division gold medal.
Team Hollywood earned its ticket to the finals by sweeping Regatas G MB (Peru) 25-20, 25-20 in the quarterfinals and Wisconsin Great Lakes (Badger Region) 21-25, 25-18, 15-10 in the semifinals. Team Hollywood won all nine of its matches and losing just three total sets.
White Walkers rallied past Elevate B (Iroquois) 22-25, 25-19, 15-7 in the quarterfinals and swept MaineStream (New England Region) 25-22, 25-23 in the semifinals to earn its spot the championship match. White Walkers ended the tournament with a 7-2 record.
MaineStream picked up the bronze by stopping Wisconsin Great Lakes 25-23, 25-21 in the third-place match.
Women’s B
Super Smash Sisters (New England Region) gathered the Women’s B Division gold medal after taking down Ice Cold Killas (Iowa Region) 25-22, 25-18 in the title match. Super Smash Sisters avenged a first-round loss to Ice Cold Killas with the championship match victory.
Super Smash Sisters, which won eight of its 10 matches in the tournament, beat Lady Chickens (Great Lakes) 25-17, 25-21 in the quarterfinals and Woman Up (Badger Region) 19-25, 25-20, 15-6 in the semifinals.
Ice Cold Killas handled Boom! (New England Region) 26-24, 26-24 in the quarterfinals and Awkward High Fives (New England Region) 25-23, 25-20 in the semifinals to access the championship match. Ice Cold Killas lost only once in eight matches, that coming in the finals.
Awkward High Fives came away with the bronze by defeating Woman Up 25-14, 25-20 in the third-place match.
Women’s 40-and-Over
Fog Canada Masters 40 (Canada) downed Brazil SM (Brazil) 25-20, 25-19 in the Women’s 40-and-Over Division gold-medal match.
Fog Canada Masters 40 earned its spot in the finals after defeating Old Skool (Rocky Mountain Region) 25-11, 25-16 in the quarterfinals and Desert Divas (Southern California Region) 25-21, 25-18 in the semifinals.
Fog Canada Masters 40 went undefeated in eight matches, while Brazil SM went 8-2.
Men’s 45-and-Over
Hoosier Team Prunapple (Hoosier) won the Men’s 45-and-Over championship, but it needed an extra set to do so. Team Prunapple won its semifinal match over Balboa Bay 45 (Southern California) 29-31, 25-17, 15-9 to reach the finals. However, Balboa Bay 45 forced a rematch following a 25-12, 25-15 victory over RJ #Volleyball/VTNC (Brazil) in the consolation finals.
Balboa Bay 45 won the rematch with Team Prunapple 25-19, 12-25, 15-10 in the championship match forcing a Golden Set for the title. Team Prunapple came out on top 25-22 for the gold medal.
Both Team Prunapple and Balboa Bay 45 finished the tournament with one loss. Lloy Ball, a four-time Olympian and gold medalist setter at the 2008 Olympic Games, won his second title of the 2019 Open National Championships as his Beam Pineapple squad won the the 40-and-Over age division on Sunday.
Women’s 50-and-Over
Volei Brasil (Brazil) turned back 50 Shades of Gray (Pioneer Region) 25-11, 25-15 in the Women’s 50-and-Over championship match.
Volei Brasil gained its championship ticket by downing Regatas G W50+ (Peru) 25-23, 25=17 in the quarterfinals and Roof Sportswear 50s (Southern California) 25-20, 25-20 in the semifinals. Volei Brazil was 8-0 in the tournament and lost just one set.
50 Shades of Gray, 6-3 in the tournament with two of the losses to Volei Brasil, eased past Regatas G W50+ (Peru) 25-20, 25-21 in the quarterfinals and Roof Sportswear 50s (Southern California Region) 25-14, 25-17 in the semifinals.
Men’s 55-and-Over
Blaine Labs 55 (Heart of America) collected a 25-16 victory over Western States Laguna (Southern California) in a golden set winner-take-all to win the Men’s 55-and-Over Division.
Western States Laguna had forced the deciding set with a 15-25, 27-25, 15-13 victory in the championship match after coming up through the consolation bracket by beating Nitro 55s (Southern California) 25-18, 25-11 in the final.
Earlier in the day Blaine Lab 55 had defeated Western States Laguna 25-19, 25-21 in the semifinals. Blaine Labs 55 finished the tournament with an 8-1 record.
Women’s 60-and-Over
Brasil Mix-60 (Brazil) edged Volei Brasil (Brazil) 25-22, 16-25, 15-11 in an all-Brazil Women’s 60-and-Over Division gold-medal match.
Brasil Mix-60 reached the championship match after defeating Roof Sportswear 60s 27-25, 25-18 in the semifinals. And Volleyfrogs 60 (Lakeshore) 25-14, 25-8 in the quarterfinals.
Volei Brasil lost to Roof Sportswear 60s (Southern California Region) 25-23, 15-23, 15-13 in the quarterfinals. However, the silver medalists came back to defeat the Volleyfrogs 60 25-14, 25-18 in the consolation semifinals and then Roof Sportswear 25-20, 25-18 in the consolation finals to gain entry into the gold-medal match.
Men’s 65-and-Over
Kings Mountain Fog 65 (Northern California Region) blanked Sao Paulo Master 65+ (Brazil) 25-17, 28-26 to win the Men’s 65-and-Over Division.
Kings Mountain Fog reached the title match by defeating Papakoa 65 (Great Lakes Region) 25-13, 25-19 in the semifinals and Sao Paulo Master 65+ 25-16, 25-20 in the semifinals. Kings Mountain Fog went undefeated in eight tournament matches including three wins over the silver medalists.
After losing to Kings Mountain Fog in the semis, Sao Paulo Master 65+ bounced back to beat E’s Club 65 (Southern California Region) 25-20, 26-24 in the consolation finals to have a rematch with Kings Mountain Fog in the finals. Sao Paulo Masters 65+ went 6-3 in the tournament.
Men’s 74-and-Over
Sun of a Beach (Southern California Region) collected the Men’s 74-and-Over Division title with a 25-23, 25-20 win over V&C/Brasil M74 (Brazil) in the title match. Sun of a Beach defeated Rustys 74 (Columbia Empire Region) 25-22, 25-22 in the semifinals to avenge its only loss of the tournament.
V&C/Brasil M74+ needed to win three matches on Wednesday just to reach the title match after losing to Sun of a Beach in the second round of the gold bracket to end Tuesday’s action. V&C/Brasil M74+ defeated Outback Steakhouse 74+ (Puget Sound) 25-21, 21-25, 15-11 in the consolation semifinals and earned its ticket to the finals by defeating Rustys 74 25-22, 25-13 in the consolation finals.
90th USA Volleyball Open National Championships Podium Finishes:
Men’s Open: Gold – Academy United (Northern California); Silver – Rukkus (Southern California); Bronze – Team LVC (Iroquois)
Men’s AA: Gold – Rusty Nuts (Ohio Valley); Silver – Team Freedom AA (Garden Empire); Bronze – Thumpers (Florida)
Men’s A: Gold – Degenerates (Great Lakes); Silver – Team Bear Claw (Iowa); Bronze – Overkill (Great Lakes)
Men’s BB: Gold – Orlando Strong 1 (Florida); Silver – V&C/Palestra/ZENIV (Brazil); Bronze – HOMEBOYZ (Lone Star)
Men’s B: Gold – Team Hollywood (Iowa); Silver – White Walkers (New England); Bronze – Mainestream (New England)
Men’s 40-and-Over: Gold – Beam Pineapple (Hoosier), Silver – Hustle & Flow 4.0 (Garden Empire); Bronze – Burgess 40 (Northern California)
Men’s 45-and-Over: Gold – Hoosier Team Prunapple (Hoosier); Silver – Balboa Bay 45 (Southern California); Bronze – RJ #Volleyball/VTNC (Brazil)
Men’s 50-and-Over: Gold – Balboa Bay 50s (Southern California); Silver – Blaine Labs (Heart of America); Bronze – Colorado Masters (Rocky Mountain)
Men’s 55-and-Over: Gold – Blaine Labs 55 (Heart of America); Silver – Western States Laguna (Southern California); Bronze – Nitro 55s (Southern California)
Men’s 60-and-Over: Gold – Federal Resources (Heart of America); Silver – Kings Mountain Fog 60 (Northern California); Bronze – E’s Club 60 (Southern California)
Men’s 65-and-Over: Gold – Kings Mountain Fog 65 (Northern California; Silver – Sao Paulo Masters 65+ (Brazil) Bronze – E’s Club 65 (Southern California)
Men’s 70-and-Over: Gold – Quiksilver Legends 70 (Southern California); Silver – V&C/Brasil M70 (Brazil); Bronze – Harrisburg Divers 70 (Keystone)
Men’s 74-and-Over: Gold – Sun of a Beach (Southern California); Silver – V&C/Brasil M74+ (Brazil); Bronze – Rustys 74 (Columbia Empire)
Men’s 78-and-Over: Gold – Outback Steakhouse 78+ (Puget Sound); Silver – Rusty 78 (Columbia Empire); Bronze – MAC MAGIC 78 (Chesapeake)
Women’s Open: Gold – Volleyball United (Northern California); Silver – Arizona Storm (Arizona); Bronze – Iowa Storm (Iowa)
Women’s AA: Gold – Lady Sorin (Hoosier); Silver – Shots (Southern California); Bronze – NARPS (Ohio Valley)
Women’s A: Gold – Team Bearclaw (Iowa); Silver – Team Freedom A-Red (Garden Empire); Bronze – Sandbox VBC (Ohio Valley)
Women’s BB: Gold – Regatas G WBB (Peru); Silver – KSA Events: Tequila! (Florida); Bronze – Premier Athletics STL (Gateway)
Women’s B: Gold – Super Smash Sistas (New England); Silver – Ice Cold Killas (Iowa); Bronze – Awkward High Fives (New England)
Women’s 40-and-Over: Gold – Fog Canada Masters 40 (Canada); Silver – Brasil SM (Brazil); Bronze – Desert Divas (Southern California)
Women’s 45-and-Over: Gold – No Dinx 45+ (Moku O Keawe); Silver – San Diego Beaches (Southern California); Bronze – Duck Boat Divas (New England)
Women’s 50-and-Over: Gold – Volei Brasil (Brazil); Silver – 50 Shades of Gray (Pioneer); Bronze – Roof Sportswear 50 (Southern California)
Women’s 55-and-Over: San Diego 55 (Southern California); Silver – Brasil Mix-55 (Brazil); Bronze – Lokahi 55 (Keystone)
Women’s 60-and-Over: Gold – Brasil Mix-60 (Brazil); Silver – Volei Brasil (Brazil); Bronze – Roof Sportswear 60s (Southern California)
Sitting Volleyball: Gold – Sit Happens (Keystone); Silver – Team Florida All-Stars (Florida); Bronze – Team Evergreen (Evergreen)
Special Olympics: Gold – HC GA Gladiators; Silver – Wisconsin Bad-Pack; Bronze – Chattanooga Chill