Space Needle Boys Compete in Anaheim

The Space Needle Volleyball Foundation U18 Fuze team recently competed in Anaheim, California a the 2011 SCVA Junior Boys Invitational, hosted by the Southern California Volleyball Association. The team finished 35th overall, historically their best finish at this event to date. Congratulations to the Head Coach, Mark West and the team! Thank you to Kathleen Logan for providing this information. Below are some photos from the event.


Kai Couburn - SNVBF U18 Fuze


Matt West - SNVBF U18 Fuze

Space Needle Boys Take Second in PSR Men's Tourney

The Space Needle Volleyball Foundation U18 Fuze boys team placed second in the most recent PSR adult men's tournament held at The Evergreen State College. With limited competitive opportunities available in the PSR for junior boys teams, Fuze has been able to gain some valuable competitive experience locally by entering adult events throughout the region. They have been more than competitive and held their own against the adult-level teams over the past couple of months. This is the second runner-up finish for Space Needle in PSR adult men's competition so far this season, both finals losses coming at the hands of Turbo-Booya. Space Needle is led by Matt West (Sr./Setter/Shorewood HS), one of the country's top prospects. West has signed to compete for the Pepperdine University men's volleyball program, and recently helped lead the USA Men's Junior National Team to a gold medal finish at the 2010 NORCECA Continental Championships.

Other top contributors for Fuze include Tom Logan (Sr./Opposite/Bishop Blanchet), Max Elkin (Sr./Outside Hitter/Hazen HS), and Seann Smallwood (Sr./Middle Blocker/Hazen HS). SNVBF U18 Fuze is coached by Mark West (Matt's father) and will again be in action January 22nd in the next PSR adult men's tournament scheduled to be played at Shoreline Community College.


Seann Smallwood hammers home a set from
Matt West in recent tournament action.

PSR Junior Girls' Power League Starts This Weekend

The 2011 Junior Girls' Power League starts this weekend with the "seeding" day. All participating teams will have the opportunity to compete there way to the top of their respective division. Play begins on Saturday with the combined U18/U17 and U14/U13 divisions. The U16/U15 division will compete on Sunday.

For a complete schedule and list of playing sites, please visit the Puget Sound Region website:

www.pugetsoundvb.org

You will find all Power League information under the "Juniors" tab.

Good luck to all participating teams!

Rachel Roeder Named Gatorade State Player of the Year

Washington Volleyball Academy's Rachel Roeder recently earned recognition as Washington State's best female volleyball athlete for the 2010 high school season. Congratulations go out to Rachel!

Courtesy of the Seattle Times:

GATORADE STATE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - WASHINGTON
Washington -- Rachel Roeder of Issaquah High School

The 6-foot-1 senior outside hitter recorded 469 kills, 252 digs, 67 service aces and 28 blocks this past season while posting a kill percentage of .449, leading the Eagles (26-3) to the Class 4A state final. The KingCo Class 4A Most Valuable Player and a member of the Seattle Times Star-Times Team, Roeder recorded 30 kills in a state-semifinal victory over Olympia High. She is Issaquah’s career leader with 1,127 kills, second with 263 service aces and third with 1,068 digs.

Roeder has maintained a B average in the classroom. She has volunteered locally at an area homeless shelter and food bank, as a youth coach and as an assistant with the Issaquah High Sports Medicine program.

“Playing against Rachel Roeder the last three years, especially this last year, she really came into her own,” said Mike Mills, head coach of rival Woodinville High. “When we played her, we had to set our offense and defense around where she would be. She’s the one player we had to do that with this season.”

Roeder will attend Western Washington University this fall, where she will play volleyball.

Roeder joins recent Gatorade Washington Volleyball Players of the Year Alexis Olgard (2009-10, Mead), Kylin Munoz (2008-09, Monroe) and Brittany Quick (2007-08, Hanford) among the state’s list of former award winners.

Open Club Opportunities for Junior Athletes

As club tryouts come to a close over the next few days, the Puget Sound Region is compiling a list of clubs that still have opportunities available for junior players in the girls' division still in search of a team for the upcoming 2011 junior club season.

If you are an athlete looking for an opportunity in the junior girls' division, please follow this link to a list of clubs with open opportunities (contact information is also listed).

PSR Represented Well at 2010 WIAA State Championships!

As the Washington State high school volleyball season comes to a close this weekend, the PSR would like to congratulate all of our member athletes that recently competed at the state championship events in Kennewick, WA (4A, 3A, 2A) and Yakima, WA (1A, 2B, 1B).

The following is a list of western Washington schools that recently finished among the top-eight in the state within their respective classifications, and returned home with a trophy:

4A
Jackson HS (State Champion)
Issaquah HS (State Runner-Up)
Olympia HS (Third)
Woodinville HS (Fourth)
Snohomish HS (Fifth)
Graham-Kapowsin HS (Seventh)
Kentwood (Eighth)

3A
Seattle Prep (State Champion)
Eastside Catholic (State Runner-Up)
Camas HS (Fifth)
Mt. Si HS (Sixth)
Kennedy (Seventh)
Bishop Blanchet (Eighth)

2A
Burlington-Edison HS (Fourth)
Lynden HS (Fifth)
Fife HS (Seventh)
White River HS (Eighth)

1A
King's (State Runner-Up)
Cedar Park Christian (Third)
Castle Rock HS (Fourth)
Lynden Christian (Sixth)

2B
La Conner HS (State Runner-Up)
Bear Creek (Fourth)
Darrington HS (Sixth)

1B
Christian Faith (State Runner-Up)
King's Way Christian (Seventh)

2011 PSR Junior Girls Tournament Schedule

The 2011 tournament schedule for the junior girls club division of the Puget Sound Region has recently been posted. Please visit the PSR website to view the complete schedule and for detailed information regarding dates, times, locations, and event registration.

U12-U14 Junior Girls Tryouts Start this Week!

Tryouts for junior girls division teams for the U12-U14 age groups begin this week. All athletes and a parent/guardian participating in any tryouts are required to sign the "Tryout Attendance" form which should be available from the director of the club at the tryout registration. It is a USA Volleyball requirement that all athletes and parent/guardian sign this form.

If you are looking for tryout information for clubs in your area, click here for a link to the Puget Sound Region schedule of member clubs and their tryout dates.

Good luck!

Fall Meeting Set for Girls' Junior Club Directors

The fall meeting for club directors hosting girls teams during the 2010-2011 club season is set for October 24th, 2010 from 1:00-3:00pm at Tacoma Community College.

Details for the meeting are as follows:

Fall Junior Girls Club Director Meeting
Sunday - October 24th, 2010
1:00-3:00pm
Tacoma Community College
Building 21 (Classroom)

Get directions here.

PSR Juniors at Seaside "Pacific Open"

Seaside, Oregon "Pacific Open" beach tournament.

Matt West Selected to USA Volleyball Men's Junior National Team

Matt West (Space Needle Volleyball Foundation/Shorewood HS) was recently selected to USA Volleyball's 12-player Men's Junior National Team. Matt is one of two setters chosen to the squad that will represent the USA at the NORCECA Men’s Junior (under-21) Continental Championship on Aug. 16-21 in Gatineau, Quebec.

Congratulations Matt and good luck!

PSR HP Girls' Youth Team Selected

The Puget Sound Region recently selected the High Performance Girls' Youth Team for 2010 that will be competing this weekend (July 17-18) against a select group of Canadian girls' junior teams at Columbia Jr. High School in Fife, WA. The following is the list of team members recently selected at the conclusion of the PSR High Performance Camp (including their junior club):

Sadie	Beckenhauer	UPVBC
Toni	Brown-Bell	OPVBC
Kiana	Calles	SIVA
Alyssa	Deardorff	High Velocity
Katy	DeGroot	KJ
Linden	Firethorne	Northshore Jrs.
Rachel	Gill	PSVBA
Emily	Harris	KJ
Justine	Kelly-DeMello	WVBA
Shelby	Kyllo	SIVA
Peircen	Lundquist	Mill Creek
Justice	Magraw	Sudden Impact
Nicole	Pittelkau	Olympia
Jessica	Riddle	SIVA
Whitney	Riffle	Narrows
Karlee	Sampson	Capital Ice
Courtney	Schwan	KJ
Dannie	Stroud	Above the Net
Paige	Walker	Olympia

The following is the tournament schedule for the weekend:

Canada 1	Alym	ALL CAN vs PSR MATCHES WILL BE 5 GAMES GUARANTEED
Canada 2	Titus	ALL CAN vs CAN MATCHES WILL BE 3 GAMES GUARANTEED
Canada 3	Mark
Canada 4	Earl
PSR Red
PSR Blue
Saturday, July 17th
9:00 AM		CAN 1 vs PSR Red
11:00 AM		CAN 3 vs PSR Red
1:00 PM		CAN 1 vs CAN 3
2:15 PM		CAN 2 vs PSR Blue
4:15 PM		CAN 4 vs PSR Blue
6:15 PM		CAN 2 vs CAN 4
Sunday, July 18th
8:00 AM		CAN 1 vs PSR Blue
10:00 AM		CAN 3 vs PSR Blue
12:00 PM		CAN 1 vs CAN 4
1:15 PM		CAN 2 vs CAN 3
2:30 PM		CAN 4 vs PSR Red
4:30 PM		CAN 2 vs PSR Red

Girls' Junior National Championship Results

Reno, Nevada recently hosted the USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships. A total of 19 girls teams represented the Puget Sound Region among three divisions, across all age groups . Power Surge 13 Black finished tied for 5th place in the 13 American division for the only top-10 finish for a PSR team. Olympia 14 RoShamBo finished 11th in the 14 American division to cap a great 2010 club season. Below is a complete list of the girls results for PSR teams.

U18
KJVBC 18 Baden (Open) - 26th
UPVBC 18 (Open) - 30th
SIVBC 18 Tsunami (National) - 38th
ITVC 18 Asics (American) - 42nd

U17
ITVC 17 Asics (Open) - 29th
Lake Tapps 17 Orange (National) - 23rd
KJVBC 17 Baden (American) - 31st

U16
WVBA 16-Shannon (Open) - 31st
Above the Net 16's (National) - 43rd
UPVBC 16 (National) - 43rd

U15
WVBA 15-Mizuno (Open) - 27th
Narrows Purple 15 (National) - 39th
PSVBA 15 National (American) - 43rd

U14
WVBA 14-Mizuno (National) - 35th
UPVBC 14 (National) - 38th
Olympia 14 RoShamBo (American) - 11th

U13
PSVBA 13 National (National) - 26th
Power Surge 13 Black (American) - 5th

U12
UPVBC 12 (National) - 46th

Congratulations to all teams on earning their bid to the national championships and for representing the Puget Sound Region so well!

Matt West Trains With USA Men's National Team

Matt West (Space Needle Volleyball Foundation) was recently invited to train with the USA Volleyball men's national and A2 teams at the USA Volleyball training facility in Anaheim, CA.

Matt and his fellow club teammates are currently competing in the Boys' Junior National Championships in Austin, TX.

Congratulations to Matt and to the Space Needle Volleyball Foundation!

PSR Juniors Heading to Nationals!

A total of 20 juniors teams representing the Puget Sound Region of USA Volleyball will be competing at the Junior National Championships in the coming weeks. The Girls' Junior National Championships will take place in Reno, Nevada, while the boys will be competing in Austin, Texas. The following is a list of the 19 girls teams and 1 boys team currently making final preparations to make a run at a national title in their respective age groups and divisions:

Girls' Junior National Championships -

U18
KJVBC 18 Baden (Open)
UPVBC 18 (Open)
SIVBC 18 Tsunami (National)
ITVC 18 Asics (American)

U17
ITVC 17 Asics (Open)
Lake Tapps 17 Orange (National)
KJVBC 17 Baden (American)

U16
WVBA 16-Shannon (Open)
Above the Net 16's (National)
UPVBC 16 (National)

U15
WVBA 15-Mizuno (Open)
Narrows Purple 15 (National)
PSVBA 15 National (American)

U14
WVBA 14-Mizuno (National)
UPVBC 14 (National)
Olympia 14 RoShamBo (American)

U13
PSVBA 13 National (National)
Power Surge 13 Black (American)

U12
UPVBC 12 (National)


Boys' Junior National Championships -

Space Needle Volleyball Foundation

Best wishes to all teams for safe travels and great success!

ECC Boys Tournament Results

Courtesy of Kathleen Logan

Working under WVBA’s sponsorship and inspiration, Cascade Volleyball Club co-hosted the fourth annual ECC Boys' Tournament. Five teams competed in a two-day event held Memorial Day weekend on the beautiful campus of the University of Washington.

New to boy’s ECC this year was Spokane Fusion. Coach Roland Madany has been building their grassroots program with a variety of out-of-the-box creative strategies. Coach Madany has been working for the past few years with younger guys, training with and against junior girls in Spokane, and as the players matured moving into mixed generational events. They pulled together a travel team from a mix of their U15 and U18 teams to attend this tournament. Although they found the competition stiff, Spokane showed an impressive ability to stay in the moment, adjust, and push their opponents further and further each set.

The Cascade team faced a season of constant challenges and absorbed several punches that would have finished other teams. They worked multiple fund raising strategies from January to May to keep financially afloat. They procured the facilities, equipment and provided the backbone for every Puget Sound Region junior boys' event this season. In April Cascade U18 was finally able to cement a roster of 6 and ensure the continuation of boys’ ECC 2010. A coaching change just two weeks ago was the last curve ball; however, veteran ace Cascade Boys’ Director Gene Lim stepped into his old role of coach and ace closer. New setter, new coach, two practices? Go Cascade! Playing the sport they loved, facing good competition, and upping their game was exactly the finale to their season that they hoped and work so hard for.

Apex Ninjas of BC play fast, powerful and epic matches living up to their ninja warrior billing. The match against Space Needle in the loser’s bracket to determine who would earn the right to return for the championship match-up was the most exciting of the tournament. Time and time again fans uttered “I can’t believe he got that!”, “Did you see how high he gets?”, or “OMG!”. They pushed Space Needle to three before falling 25-19, 22-25 15-13

As the banner carriers of Puget Sound boys’ volleyball to the larger stage, Space Needle used this small but challenging field to tune up for their run at Nationals. Fighting up from the loser’s bracket, after losing to Focus Xplosion, they regrouped and were able to fend off Apex.

Focus, from Canada, was the first team to welcome the Cascade boys’ volleyball team when we traveled to BC, and the first team to accept our invitation to come to play here in Seattle. They have always embraced the motto of "Play Hard and Have Fun". The core of their team has played together since 5^th grade and now all will be moving on to play at the university level in Canada. Xplosion decided to top it off together with one last trip to the ECC party. Two players even elected to miss graduation ceremonies in favor of the tournament. This was their fourth year at ECC was their final chance to come away with the title. They did not drop a set until the championship round and came away with the win and the coveted sweatshirts which were sorely needed given their taste in fashion! Congrats guys and good luck as you pursue your futures and the next level of volleyball.

For complete results, visit the official tournament web page.

Tournament Champions: Focus Xplosion

All Tournament Team:
Matthew West, Space Needle Volleyball Foundation (MVP)
Max Elkin, Space Needle Volleyball Foundation
Philip Ngo, Focus Xplosion
Stuart Richey, Focus Xplosion
Tom Logan, Cascade
Brandon Ngai, Apex Ninjas
Jackson Pappin, Cascade
Dustin Szeto, Apex Ninjas
Stephen Ng, Apex Ninjas

2010 ECC Boys All-Tournament Team

Once again, thanks to WVBA for their support of boys' volleyball and their sponsorship of this event. Many thanks to the Cascade parents for their manpower hours planning and working this event. Also, a special thanks goes to the boys' ECC committee of Verna Reynolds, Linda Coburn, Kathleen Logan and BJ Weitl.

PSR Juniors Teams to Compete at ECC

The annual "Emerald City Classic", hosted by the Washington Volleyball Academy, is scheduled to take place this Memorial Day weekend on the campus of the University of Washington. Both "Open" and "Club" girls divisions will be played in three age classifications: U18, U16, and U14. There will also be a special boys event taking place on Saturday consisting of teams from Washington State and Canada.

The girls' event consists of pool play on both Saturday and Sunday, followed by bracket play leading to the championship rounds on Monday. The venue will feature 25 total courts throughout multiple Husky athletics and recreation facilities.

For a complete list of pools and additional information, please visit the official Emerald City Classic website.

Good luck to all teams!

PSR and Alki Volleyball Association to Offer Junior Beach Tournaments

The Puget Sound Region and the Alki Volleyball Association will offer junior boys and girls beach volleyball tournaments this summer.

Please visit the official Alki Volleyball Association website for a list of events.

Additionally, the AVA will once again offer a Youth Scholarship to a junior player between the ages of 12-18. The criteria for selection consideration includes participation and sportsmanship. Details may be found at AVA News.

Pacific NW Summer Volleyball Camp Opportunities

Here is a list (alphabetically) of web links to some of the collegiate summer volleyball camp opportunities around the Pacific Northwest:

Central Washington University

Eastern Washington University

Evergreen State College

Gonzaga University

Northwest University

Oregon State University

Pacific Lutheran University

Saint Martin's University

Seattle Pacific University

Seattle University

Shoreline Community College

University of Idaho

University of Oregon

University of Puget Sound

University of Washington

Washington State University

Western Washington University

Junior Club Director's Meeting Canceled for 5/15/10

Due to the freeway construction on I-5, the junior club director's meeting for Saturday, May 15th has been canceled. This meeting will be rescheduled at a later date.