ORLANDO, Florida (June 1, 2016) – The 2016 USA Volleyball Open National Championships concluded Wednesday evening, headlined by Women’s B and Men’s B victories by RVC – Lemons (Old Dominion) and Team Hollywood (Iowa), respectively.
The Lemons defeated Sets in the City (New England) 25-21, 21-25, 15-9, finishing the tournament 10-0.
“We sort of put this team together last minute, but it was a really fun tournament and a really fun match,” Lemons outside Gorana Bacic said. “(Sets in the City) is an awesome team and they were really fun to play.”
The teams paced each other point-for-point through the first two sets – neither team led by more than three until late in each set. However, strong attacking put Sets in the City late in the second set, keeping the New England team’s championship dreams alive.
Bancic and teammate Laura Marcuson led the Lemons’ offense, consistently tooling the ball off Sets in the City’s block, or strategically placing roll shots. A kill by Chelsea Jones clinched the win.
“We really had to work at finding holes and tweak our block to adjust to their height and speed,” Marcuson said.
The Lemons defeated Pancakes (Great Plains) 25-22, 25-21 in the semifinals and Shinkara Big Bang (Rocky Mountain) 25-13, 25-22 in the quarterfinals. Sets in the City came through the lower bracket, also topping Pancakes in the semifinals 26-24, 27-25 after defeating Don’t Put Me Down 4 Cardio 25-17, 25-14. The Pancakes won the bronze medal.
In the Men’s B final, Hollywood defeated Conquest Monkeys (New England) 27-25, 31-29. The Monkeys were on the verge of forcing a third set, leading 24-22, but Hollywood’s block and attack thwarted the comeback attempt.
Hollywood defeated Conquest Monkeys earlier in the day, 25-21, 25-15, also topping HOMBOYZ (Lone Star) 28-26, 25-19 on the way to a 10-0 record.
Conquest Monkeys topped Marysville Goodyear (Lakeshore) 22-25, 25-20, 15-13 in the semifinals, finishing 9-2. Goodyear won the bronze medal.
In its 87th year, the U.S. Open National Championships were played in Florida for the first time. Co-hosted with the Florida Region, the event featured 578 teams with 75 foreign teams playing on 55 courts. Pool play began Friday and concluded Wednesday evening. Six courts were livestreamed throughout the tournaments, with live commentators for the men’s and women’s PVL matches.
Highlights from the six-day tournament included:
- Hoosier Team Pineapple toppled Great Lakes Lightning in a thrilling rematch of 2015’s Men’s PVL final
- Florida Wave swept Iowa Ice in the Women’s PVL final, earning the team’s first championship after silver medals in 2014 and 2013
- The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team won three of five exhibition matches against Russia, a team they may see in the semifinals or finals at the Paralympic Games in September
Men’s 40+
- Gold Medal: Hustle and Flow (Garden Empire)
- Silver Medal: Fog Canada Men (Canada)
- Bronze Medal: Milwaukee’s Best (Badger)
Women’s 45+
- Gold Medal: Corinthians Brasil – 45 (Brazil)
- Silver Medal: Rio de Janeiro Brasil (Brazil)
- Bronze Medal: Shots (Southern California)
Men’s 50+
- Gold Medal: Santos/Rumo (Brazil)
- Silver Medal: Blaine Labs (Heart of America)
- Bronze Medal: Fog Canada 50 (Canada)
Women’s 55+
- Gold Medal: Brasil Mix – 55 (Brazil)
- Silver Medal: Fog Canada Masters 55’s (Canada)
- Bronze Medal: Care of All Ages (Badger)
Men’s 60+
- Gold Medal: Federal Resources Blaine Labs (Heart of America)
- Silver Medal: Kings Mountain Fog (Northern California)
- Bronze Medal: Fog Canada 60s (Canada)
Women’s 65+
- Gold Medal: VIVIVOLEI (Brazil)
- Silver Medal: Rhythm (Garden Empire)
- Bronze Medal: Legacy 65 (Southern California)
Men’s 70+
- Gold Medal: Quicksilver Legends (Southern California)
- Silver Medal: Sun of a Beach (Southern California)
- Bronze Medal: Outback Steakhouse 70 (Puget Sound)
Men’s 76+
- Gold Medal: MAC MAGIC76 (Chesapeake)
- Silver Medal: Rustys 76 (Columbia Empire)
- Bronze Medal: Highlanders76B (Rocky Mountain)