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.

2010 Regional Champions Determined!

Congratulations to all the Puget Sound Region regional champions for 2010:

U12 Capital Ice 12's
U13 PSVBA 13 National
U14 UPVBC 14
U15 WVBA 15 Mizuno
U16 WVBA 16 Shannon
U17 Lake Tapps 17 Orange
U18 KJVBC 18 Baden