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Writer's pictureMatthew Houlihan

2019 Junior Nationals Recap

The 2018-19 season finished with a whole lot of fireworks this past week as 15 Bay to Bay teams descended upon the Ken Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. On the whole, twelve Bay to Bay teams finished in the top-15 of their respective divisions. Including 7 podium finishes: 2 Gold medals, 1 Silver, and 4 Bronze. Checkout each teams recap below!

 

Bay to Bay 12-1: The 12-1's brought home the 12-under National Championship after defeating Torrimar of Puerto Rico 25-20, 25-14 in the finals. The 12-1's went a perfect 8-0 on the tournament and didn't drop a set! This is the first time a team from California has ever captured the boys 12-under National Championship, and marks the 4th year in a row that Bay to Bay has medaled in the 12-under division. Read the USA Volleyball press release.

Bay to Bay 12-1's celebrate their National Championship

Bay to Bay 12-2: For the fourth year in a row, Bay to Bay sent two 12-under teams to compete in the 12-under division at Boys Junior National Championships (BJNC). These young guns went 1-5 on the weekend, but played some tremendous volleyball as 4 of their 6 matches went to three sets. Highlights included almost upsetting Torrimar on day 1, losing 14-16 in the third set.

Bay to Bay 12-2's and 18-1's at the SCVA West Coast Classic

Bay to Bay 13-1: After three days in Dallas, the 13-1's finished with a record of 7-1 losing in the semi-finals to Torrimar of Puerto Rico. This Bronze medal finish was a fantastic capstone for the 13-1's season who proved themselves to be one of the top 13's teams in the nation with a 9th place finish in the 14-Open division of the West Coast Classic and a 1st place finish in the 14-under division of NCVA Region Championships. Bright futures ahead in this age group!


Bay to Bay 13-2: It was no surprise at all within the club that the 13-2's had a stellar showing at BJNC. After winning the 13-under division in Northern California the 13-2's Coach Josh and Dalton helped navigate the boys to an 11th place finish in Dallas. On day 2 of the tournament, the 13-2's upset the #5 overall seed 949 and had two match points against OCVC which would have clinched a berth in the GOLD division. The boys ended up losing in three sets to OCVC 16-18. This forced the 13-2's, OCVC, and 949 into a 3-way tie for the berth into Gold. The 13-2's avenged their 3 set loss to OCVC in a 1 game playoff 25-21 but then fell just short in another 1 game playoff against 949 by a score of 23-25. Amazing showing players, coaches, and parents!

Bay to Bay 13-2's celebrate winning the 13's division at the NCVA Qualifier

Bay to Bay 14-1: Throughout the past three years, this group of players has consistently finished near the top of the division. Three years ago they took Bronze in the 12-under division (as 11 year olds), then Silver in the 12's division in 2017, and Silver in the 13's division in 2018. This year, Coach Frank and Allie's 14-1's solidified themselves as the top 14's team in the country going a perfect 11-0 after defeating Balboa Bay 19-25, 25-22, 15-8. Congrats team! Click to watch video of their National Championship match.


Bay to Bay 14-1's celebrate their National Championship win

Bay to Bay 14-2: The 14-2's finished in 13th place, going 6-4 at BJNC and made it all the way into the day 3 power pool, narrowly missing a berth in the Gold bracket after losing a three set match with MKE Sting 25-22, 17-25, 13-15. We are extremely proud of this team and all they accomplished this season. They solidified their place as one of the top 14's teams in the region and showed loads of promise for the future.

Bay to Bay brought home 2 gold, 1 silver, and 4 bronze medals from Dallas, TX

Bay to Bay 14-Club: Coach Kevin and Attila's team also finished in 13th place in the Club division, demonstrating the tremendous depth of our Bay to Bay teams in the younger age groups. In their day 3 power pool, the 14-Club came out hot and defeated the number 1 seed in straight sets. They also pushed MB Surf to 3-sets before falling 6-15. These boys are in a great position as they make the move to the higher net next season.


Bay to Bay 15-1: At the 2018 BJNC, this team lost a heart breaker in the quarter finals to Balboa Bay 17-19 in the third set. In 2019, the boys met a familiar foe in the Quarters: Balboa Bay and the rematch did not disappoint as Bay to Bay won a three set battle 16-14 in the third set. Throughout the tournament the boys played at an extremely high level during tense and pressure filled situations. Credit coach Chad, Russell, and Mason for keeping the boys dialed in over the course of 4 days. Theo Snoey and Ryan Duross were named to the All-Tournament team.


The 15-1's celebrate a jump serve ace from Theo Snoey

Bay to Bay 15-2: The 15-2's caught fire at Junior Nationals bringing home the Silver medal in the 15 Club division, eventually falling to Balboa Bay in the finals. Coach Todd, Wyatt, and Aleks helped navigate the team to a 9-2 finish on the tournament (their only two losses were to Balboa Bay on day 2 and in the finals). Justin Han, Vishnu Kannan, and Albert Chang made the All Tournament team.


Bay to Bay 15-2's snap a photo after advancing to the semi finals

Bay to Bay 15-Club: Coach Jarrod and John's team showed a tremendous amount of resiliency at BJNC, starting off the tournament with a few tough three set losses in their first six matches. The boys rebounded with four straight victories to win their flight and end with a record of 4-6 in a loaded 15-Club division!


Bay to Bay 15-Club score a big point on day 3 of BJNC

Bay to Bay 16-1: The 16-1's continued to prove themselves a force to be reckoned with on the national level, finishing in 11th place in the silver division. The 16-1's lost their one match playoff to get into gold by a score of 25-21, 18-25, 16-18 in the third set. Coach Steve, Javi, and Ryan said they were extremely proud of the grit their team showed throughout the tournament.


Bay to Bay 16-1 gather for a team photo on day 3 of BJNC

Bay to Bay 16-2: Behind the leadership of Coach Chris and Jordan Chu the 16-2's battled their way into the gold bracket of the 16-Club division winning 10 matches in a row before falling to the eventual champions Vanguard. Highlights included defeating HPSTL in the one match gold playoff in front of a packed crowd and a hard fought victory against a strong Outrigger team in the quarterfinals. Casey VanWandelen and Owen Brune were selected to the All-Tournament team.


Bay to Bay 16-2's brought home the bronze medal in the 16-Club division

Bay to Bay 17-1: The 17-1's finished the season with a bronze medal around their necks after going 8-3 on the tournament. Coach Beau, Hillary, and Bryan's squad navigated through an early tournament loss to Southport to battle their way into the Gold bracket where they defeated Slainte from San Francisco in the quarterfinals to clinch a medal. They boys lost in the semis to eventual champions Corozal from Puerto Rico. Luca Tolaio and Tyler Hudson were selected to the All-Tournament team.

Michael Vicente (left), Mason Ward (center), Riland Wagner (right) prepare for the serve

Bay to Bay 18-2: The 18-2's finished out BJNC with a record of 6-6 losing their 1 set playoff to stay in gold against SMBC. Coach Josh and Sam lauded the players for their enthusiasm and ability to rebound quickly after facing a tough defeat. We are very proud of these boys and the run they had within Bay to Bay proving themselves to be a Gold bracket team throughout the entire fall as well as bringing home a bronze medal in the 17-Club division at the 2018 BJNC.

18-2's celebrate a big point on day 2 of BJNC

Bay to Bay 18-1: The 18-1's finished out their Bay to Bay careers with an 11th place finish at the 2019 BJNC. The boys battled out of their 6-team pool defeating the #5 overall seed Coast and survived the power pool of 3 by defeating Carolina Union only to be knocked out of Gold contention in the 1-match playoff against eventual Bronze medal winners Team Rockstar. In the silver bracket, the boys avenged an earlier loss to Adversity to earn a 2018 National Championship rematch against Ultimate from Chicago. The boys lost the rematch in 3-sets 26-24, 19-25, 12-15. This squad will go down in Bay to Bay history as the first team to bring home a National Championship after their thrilling run to Gold in Phoenix, AZ last Summer.

18-1's celebrate a block against Carolina Union on day 3

We are extremely grateful for all of the hard work and determination put forth by our players, coaches, and parents to make the 2018-19 season so successful! The dedication to the process of improvement leads to tournament results like these: we can't wait to get back to work soon.


Summer Camps & Clinics: Want to carry the momentum from your summer season training directly into the August tryouts? Join us for our skill specific summer camps and clinics starting July 15th. You can check out our full assortment of options here.


August 10th Tryouts: Be sure to save the date for our August 10th tryouts and open gyms! We will be forming between 15-17 competitive teams for the 2019-20 season. Open gym dates are posted on the tryout page here.

14-Open National Championship point

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