Tawa’s Girls Club Dots: Stormy weather in Florida; 3 more qualify in Boston

This is “Dots,” VolleyballMag’s weekly look at 10 things in club volleyball, past or present, that interest me and hopefully will interest you. Look for Dots every Tuesday through Junior Nationals this summer.

• Another 18s qualifier happened this past weekend. Three more teams locked themselves into the Open division for 18s Junior Nationals in Baltimore at the end of April.

The three that got it done were Dallas Skyline 18 Royal, Pohaku 18.1 and Circle City 18 Purple. They finished 1-3-5 in the Open Division at the Boston Volleyball Festival. Previous qualifiers 1st Alliance 18 Gold and Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite placed second and tied for third, respectively.

Skyline went undefeated over the three-day event. That same team went 5-3 at Triple Crown, with four of its wins in three sets. On any given weekend…Volleyball can be like that. That’s why a team, or a player for that matter, should not determine self-worth in the sport based on a single snapshot. There’s always next weekend. And the weekend after that.

The play of OHs Brianna Watson and Lauren Perry carried the day for Skyline in Boston. Libero McKenna Brand also was excellent.

“She amazes me each and every tournament,” said coach Robert Brown. “She took it up a notch to help us secure our bid.”

• Pohaku went 7-2 to qualify. The Kansas City club lost only once, to a club from Long Island, before falling to Skyline in a Gold Pool. Key to qualifying was a 3-1 record in three-set matches, which had been a bane for this team in previous tournaments.

Coach Conan Salanoa said that Boston was “do or die” for his club, which was committed to Open or nothing for Junior Nationals. Boston was its last legitimate chance to get to the dance, as it will go to PNQ in two weeks with a depleted roster.

There were times on Day 1 when it felt like die was much more likely than do. The team was 1-1 after two matches, with that hiccup (15-13 in the third) to CALI, which stands for Club Ace Long Island. Pohaku needed a win over Legacy 18-1 Adidas to stay in contention and got it in straight sets, behind RS Nela Misipeka, who was on fire.

The win actually put Pohaku in the first position in a three-way 2-1 tie, but it came at a price. The team lost Misipeka (ankle) and one of its liberos, Riley Ourth (finger) to injury.

Pohaku took care of business on the second day, looked down a spot in the Gold Pools with two wins out of the gate, then outlasted previously-qualified MN Select 18-1 to get into the pool that Salanoa felt was the better path to a bid.

The Kansas City club won its first two matches in Gold to lock up a bid. Both were hard-fought and went the distance, but Pohaku had the grit and determination to clinch its bid, 15-13 in the third over Alamo 18 Premier, on a kill from Ava Spachek.

The team was exhausted when it took on Skyline to get to the final but was able to build a 24-19 Game 1 lead. Skyline rallied to win that set and Pohaku never recovered.

“But we still left happy with an Open bid,” Salanoa said.

Jada Ingram, who moved recently to the outside from the middle, led the team in kills on the weekend. Ingram was part of those great Dynasty teams that fell apart this year with some of its start leaving early for college and others of its underclass standouts playing on Dynasty’s 17 Black team.

Claire Jones brought great consistency and energy at the libero position. Mak Miller, a junior MB and the only uncommitted player on the team, hit .438 over the weekend. Spachek came up big on Days 2 and 3 after the ankle injury to Misipeka. MB Aleki Alexander led the team in blocks. And setter Ava Martin continued to show she is one of the best setters in the nation.

“She does so much for this team that goes unnoticed.,” Salanoa said.

• We can’t tell you much about how Circle City qualified, because we did not receive a report before posting.

We can tell you about Rockwood Thunder, which recorded its third top three finish at an Open qualifier this season.

Rockwood played its last two qualifiers (and Triple Crown, where it tied for 19th), with its two starting middles out with injuries. The team has been surviving thanks to terrific work from Jacey Young (Southeast Missouri State), in her first year playing at the Open level; and by having standout pins Claire Morrissey (Missouri) and Maya Witherspoon (2025 Vanderbilt) doing some work in the middle in addition to time on the outside.

“Their versatility is what has made this unique offensive system work,” said coach Steven Meuth. “Down the two hitters the team is running a 5-2 instead of a 6-2 with setters Alyssa Nelson (Villanova) and Sammy Bergjans (Mercer). These undersized setters are finding a way to be effective in the front row and continue to run a diversified offense.”

• If you’re not counting, there are now 30 teams qualified to play 18 Open in Baltimore. That leaves just six more qualifiers, and 18 spots.

Looking at final results from the Triple Crown NIT, which are the elite qualifying-playing teams that still are in need of a bid?

Tri-State Elite 18 Blue – The Maria Drapp-led team is a JVA club that doesn’t often play qualifiers, but will compete at MEQ this year.

Team Pineapple 18 Black —  Pineapple, led by star OH Morgan Gaerte, is another JVA club, but played Windy City and also will play MEQ, which is just two hours from its Fort Wayne homebase.

Miami Hype 18 Emilio — Led by RS Sarah Schnell and MB Jackie Taylor, Miami Hype will use NEQ and Music City as its opportunities to qualify.

NPJ 18 Forefront – This talented group comprised of many of the best talents throughout Oregon (and beyond) and led by setter Alexis Haury, is 0-2 trying to qualify and will have one last shot at PNQ.

Houston Juniors 18 Elite – Led by OH Dominique Phills (Iowa), HJV played Open at Lone Star and won USA at Southeast. The team is in Open this weekend at NEQ, albeit with a short bench.

Momentous VB 18-Dan – One of the surprise 17s teams last year, Momentous has been slowed by injury in 2024 but will try for its bid at Sierra in Sacramento.

NKYVC 18-1 Tsunami – Last year’s Elite 17 Division champion at Triple Crown will be looking for its bid at MEQ with a roster done with basketball.

Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar – Led by Charlie Fuerbringer and Isabel Clark, Mizuno is expected to try to punch its ticket at Sierra and PNQ.

Other teams to watch include Vegas Aces, San Gabriel Elite, AZ Sky, SAS, OT Tampa, Tstreet, Sky High, Top Select, Elevation and Alamo. That’s 18 teams right there, but we know there will be surprises. Who will they be?

• The second 2024 qualifier “for the rest of us” (non-18s) took place this past weekend down in Orlando. It’s the Sunshine Classic and there was some sunshine for the event, but also fog and rain and a few thunderstorms for the Saturday through Monday event.

In the age groups we cover, that meant 16s and 17s. For the 16s, this was the first National Qualifier of the year. For the 17s, it was the second, following Northern Lights in January.

Houston Skyline, Idaho Crush and Milwaukee Sting got it done in Minneapolis, but none was playing in Orlando. With full fields in each, teams needed to be at the top of their game to earn bids in Florida. No back door trickle downs for you!

AZ Storm mugs for camera after qualifying in 16 Open at Sunshine

• Starting with the 16s, the fortunate three were Mintonette m. 61, GP 16 Rox and AZ Storm 16 Thunder.

Mintonette, the runners up at Triple Crown, went 10-0 and dropped just two sets, to HJV 16 Elite and defending national champion Dallas Skyline 16 Royal. Max Miller’s team swept the final decisively over GP.

Miller said that his team started slowly on Day 1 but was helped by the efficient scoring of OH Sara Snowbarger, who was good all three days.

The win over HJV came despite one of Mintonette’s setters, Mallory Matheny, leaving with an injury. She returned in subsequent matches.

The win over Dallas Skyline, the fifth time the teams have met over the past two years, was of the come-from-behind variety late in the third.

Mintonette’s dominant win for the title came over a passionate but shorthanded Game Point club.

Game Point also qualified in 16 Open in its hometown qualifier

Coach Sindee Snow could not be more thrilled with how her GP club, from Orlando, performed at Sunshine.

“Unbelievable play by the team the whole weekend,” she exclaimed. “It was definitely a group effort. Very, very proud of the team.”

The team lost only to Mintonette and Triple Brown champion Legacy 16-1 Adidas. The latter was 15-13 in the third.

OH Cate Palmi led the way all weekend, as did big-banging pin Jordin Southall, Southall, unfortunately, got hurt against Winter Park in Gold Pool play and was unavailable for the finals.

Others who shined included MB London Adkins, setter Maddie Weir, libero Aylani Correa and pin hitter Jeness Orcutt.

***

Storm was 8-0 when it went up against GP in the semifinals with a bid on the line. One of those eight wins, against A5 16-1 Gabe, came in three and included a Game 1 win, 26-24, that finished with Storm on a six-point run.

“They just made play after to play to win that set,” said coach Jami Rolfes. “It was incredible to watch!”

Storm won the first set over Game Point in the semis but lost the next two and had to regroup quickly, with another bid at stake in the third-place match versus Dallas Skyline.

Remember, Skyline was the 15 Open Junior National champion last summer. Storm won, 25-15, 25-14!

It was an impressive showing, as setter Lily Rolfes took advantage of the team’s strength in the middle and fed Hayden Conner and Brooke Harwood all match (and all weekend for that matter). Harwood was so potent this weekend, especially off of one foot! She was a key reason the team got its bid in its first qualifier.

Kalli Lipo and Mattea Saunders came up big defensively, especially against Skyline, to secure the bid. Sara Bowcutt, Madisyn Crnjac and Addison Wieman all had solid performances on the pin.

• AZ Storm Elite 17 Thunder, AZ Sky 17 Gold and Dallas Skyline 17 Royal were the three 17 Open qualifiers at Sunshine.

Storm, the defending 16 Open National Champion, was dominant, going 10-0, with only one dropped set in its first match on Day 1. Coach Aaron Payne wrote that Storm’s T-5 at Triple Crown, including being swept out of contention by eventual champion Milwaukee Sting 17 Gold, was invaluable because it highlighted the need to spread the offense more and not just rely on superstar outsides Teraya Sigler and Devyn Wiest. It also caused the staff to recognize the need to be faster to adapt and adjust in matches.

“In Orlando, the work showed up in both aspects,” Payne noted.

Storming through every match, the squad made it to the semifinals, where Kaia Pixler dished to middles Kenna Cogill and Makenna Rumple with great effectiveness. The sweep put Storm in the final versus Sky team from its region it had faced often and even defeated on Day 2 here. Here was Payne’s message to the team before the final:

“We are about to face the best Sky team we have seen all year.”

“Sky played tough, made us work, but at that point I feel like we had really found our flow and we just played point by point until we came out on top,” Payne added..

Skyline, with Taylor Cook setting the likes of Bella Ocampo and Zoe Gillen-Malveaux, lost only to Sky and then defeated Dallas-area rival TAV 17 Black for the final bid.

Sky lost three times, twice to Storm and on Day 1 to Skyline, a loss the team avenged with that semifinal win. This is a roster comprised mostly of currently uncommitted athletes. They went three sets a lot and played in a handful of deuce sets as well.

“We had to fight every day to be successful,” said head coach Beau Lawler. “The team came together and supported each other and picked each other up to overcome these pressure-filled moments. They never gave up and always believed in themselves and each other. I couldn’t be more proud of that part of their performance.”

In the big win versus Dallas Skyline with a bid on the line, AZ Sky, which has a pretty famous assistant coach in Kayla Banwarth; utilized the successful game plan adjustments it made the first time around. With better defense on the right, excellent service pressure, MB Aubrey Bellus unstoppable in the middle and OH Raegan Richardson terminating with big swings in critical moments, AZ Sky did just enough to prevail, 25-23, 25-23.

Bellus was too much for opponents, in front of and behind the setter, most of the weekend. Her being available and a threat opened up Richardson and OH Georgi Stein to have a lot of success. Stein gets a star for excelling in all phases despite being under the weather.

Sky scored often out of system and teams noticed.

“Happy to see that, given how much we train it,” Lawler said.

Libero Lily Laflesch also had an impactful weekend for AZ Sky. She passed half the court and shut down OHs when they swung angle.

“Lily was the heart and soul of our defense,” Lawler said.

“We’re a team of mostly uncommitted athletes, so for them to go do what they did this weekend with such confidence, cohesion, and grit against rosters full of committed athletes makes me really excited to see what the rest of the season has in store,” Lawler concluded.

• If you’re a setter born on February 28 you keep good company. Lauren Carlini and Jenna Gray, two of the best setters ever in Juniors volleyball (and beyond) share a birthday!

Both Carlini, who played for Sports Performance; and Gray, who played for MAVS and Invasion; won national championships playing club. Both were national HS players of the year at some point in their prep careers. Both have done stints with USA Volleyball. Gray was a national championship setter at Stanford THREE TIMES! Carlini is on the national team and might be the Olympic team setter in Paris.

All that to say that if you’re a setter born on February 28 and you are not one of the nation’s best at your craft, you may soon be. You have a (birth)date with destiny.

Sade Ilawole is expected to fill several utility roles as a Hoosier in Indiana

• I have no idea if Sade Ilawole was born on February 28, but it would make sense given the level of her talent.

The volleyball community rejoiced this week when Ilawole, a setter for Sierra Canyon HS and Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar, committed to play for Indiana.

This is a big deal, because Ilawole stands no more than 5-2 or 5-3 and wasn’t getting a ton of opportunities despite playing and thriving at a high level for several years. She set Sierra Canyon in all six rotations to a Southern Section Div. I title as a junior in 2022, but that height, it’s what one notices first and the thing that likely caused many college coaches to dismiss her before critically evaluating just how good she is.

“So many coaches championed for her and we are all thrilled to know she found a home,” said Sierra Canyon coach Stef Wigfall. “She deserves this chance to play at the next level.”

Kudos to the Hoosiers for investing in her. It will pay off.

• Speaking of setters, I mentioned seeing A5 15-Kelly setter Marissa (“MJ”) Jones at Triple Crown. I am convinced that the ultra-athletic, 6-1 freshman will one day be setting the US National Team.

The first thing you notice is how effortlessly she moves on the court. She glides horizontally and flies vertically. Jones averaged 7.5 assists and almost two kills per set as a varsity starter at Woodward Academy this past fall and expect those numbers to go way, way up in ensuing years. Her setting is pinpoint precise, she is smarter than smart, with hopes to be a doctor one day; and her first-degree black belt helps keep her centered and balanced during challenging times.

Keep an eye on Jones. She might be the next MJ!

Marissa Jones might be the next MJ and a future Olympian/Matt Smith photo

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