The surprise of the weekend was AZ Rev 15 Premier taking home the championship in 15 Open. It also gave AZ Rev the Open bid it coveted. Previously-qualified teams in Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar, NorCal 15-1 Black and NE Elite 16 Matrix all finished in the top four. The two remaining bids went out to Coast 15-1 and ID Crush 15 Bower. Here’s how their weekends played out at Far Western in Reno.

AZ REV 15 PREMIER (FIRST, 8-1)

Day 1: d 208 VBC 15 Elite 25-16, 25-18; d United 15 Arete 25-17, 25-18; d Absolute Black 15-1 25-18, 25-21
Day 2: l NE Elite 15 Matrix 25-22, 8-25, 15-11; d Rage Westside 15 Jen 25-17, 25-19; d Vision 15 Gold 25-16, 23-25, 15-12
Day 3: d NorCal 15-1 Black 20-25, 26-24, 15-12; d ID Crush 15 Bower 25-17, 26-28, 15-7; d Miz Long Beach 15 Rockstar 22-25, 25-23, 15-13

Seeded No. 16 to begin with, AZ Rev was not viewed as a bid favorite let alone a club that could come to Reno and win it all. There was the big upset on Day 1, as AZ Rev swept past top-seeded and previously-qualified Absolute Black 15-1. But then there was the loss to previously-qualified NE Elite 15 Matrix to open Day 2.

At that moment it was difficult gauging where AZ Rev stood. Was the victory over Absolute the anomaly and the loss to NE Elite closer to the norm? Or was the loss to NE Elite the anomaly and the win against Absolute closer to the norm?

It took five more matches before we fully had our answer. And once we did there was no denying where AZ Rev stood. On top of the 15 Open division after fending off Long Beach in three in the championship match.

“Every single one of them wanted it so bad,” AZ Rev coach Nicole Peterson said. “They played with their hearts. That’s all we can ask. You don’t have to be perfect. They were wanting to play and wanting to win.”

How close it was to being a different tale. AZ Rev went to three sets five times, including in its final four contests. The one to kick off that streak was the most important one of the weekend. It was AZ Rev’s final Day 2 pool contest against Vision 15 Gold. The teams were tied at 1-1 with a bid awaiting the winner.

NE Elite, NorCal 15-1 Black and Long Beach had already positioned themselves to be in the six-team gold pools. That meant the other three joining them would clinch bids before even playing a match on Day 3. AZ Rev grinded to a victory in that one to complete its task.

“We had a National bid from our region,” Peterson said. “While we did have that our goal has always been to get the Open bid.”

The final day was one of those magical days that only a few teams get to experience during qualifying season. AZ Rev simply wasn’t going to be denied, fighting and clawing its way to the title. It beat NorCal, ID Crush and Long Beach all in three. The victories over NorCal and Long Beach were decided by two points in the third set.

“We focus a lot on serve and pass,” Peterson said. “We executed our serving assignments as well as passing. It kept the offense in rhythm and kept the other teams on their toes. Those were the big things we executed well this weekend.”

Setter/right side Tristen Raymond played well enough she could have easily been named the tournament MVP. Her setting was consistent throughout and she helped carry the offensive load across the front row. Bailey Reed shared in the setting duties. Lexi Mallonee and Marielle Ramos were reliable on the pins with right side Payton Whalen getting in on the action as well. Libby Monson, Rory Tower and Jordyn Quinn all spent time in the middle while libero Ava Lambert helped hold it down defensively.

“Every point matters,” Peterson said. “Anyone can beat us. When we’re not giving it our all we’ll lose. We can’t take any plays off. That was the lesson learned in Vegas. Every point matters and that was the game changer for this tournament.”

***

MIZUNO LONG BEACH 15 ROCKSTAR (SECOND, 7-2)

Day 1: d SF Elite 15 25-8, 25-10; d Delta Valley 15 Blue 25-8, 25-12; d Rage Westside 15 Jen 25-16, 24-26, 17-15
Day 2: d Club V 15 Ren Adam 27-25, 25-19; d SA Juniors 15 Adidas 28-26, 25-17; l ID Crush 15 Bower 25-21, 20-25, 15-9
Day 3: d NE Elite 15 Matrix 25-20, 25-9; d Coast 15-1 29-31, 33-31, 17-15; l AZ Rev 15 Premier 22-25, 25-23, 15-13

After a second-place showing in Reno, Long Beach has now triple-qualified. The performance at Far Western followed a runner-up finish at Salt Lake City and a third-place effort at PNQ. That’s a lot of winning as Beach has positioned itself to compete for qualifier titles like few have this season. The next step come Junior Nationals is going to be learning to finish once in that position.

“It’s a great group of girls,” Long Beach coach Carlos Briceno said. “We just need to get over that hump.”

Reno was not without its challenges. Cruising through its first two matches, Beach was pushed to the brink by Rage Westside 15 Jen before prevailing in three to close out Day 1. Beach was then upset by ID Crush to end Day 2.

Day 3 opened with a convincing victory over NE Elite before the match of the tournament broke out between Beach and Coast. Beach barely escaped the thriller, winning in three, 29-31, 33-31, 17-15, to reach the final. There, Beach fell in a close one to AZ Rev.

Beach has rolled out a consistent lineup throughout the season and nothing changed in that regard in Reno. Setters Isabella Jones and Ayva Ostovar were running a 6-2 like normal. Their targets were the same in outsides Simone Roslon and Kiana Greer, middles Kalyssa Blackshear and Emma Rowell, and a trio of right sides Beach can utilize in Layli Ostovar, Preslie Saunders and Sunni Skipps. Sydney Raszewski and Kayla Ostovar formed the libero duo.

“We are getting better,” Briceno said. “It’s just decision making. I think we practice really hard. I don’t have a single complaint about how hard we practice.”

***

NORCAL 15-1 BLACK (THIRD, 8-1)

Day 1: d SA Juniors 15 Adidas 25-20, 27-25; d OMNI 15 Luis 17-25, 25-20, 15-11; d VVA 15-1 22-25, 25-18, 15-11
Day 2: d Rage 15 Greg 23-25, 25-18, 15-11; d Absolute Black 15-1 17-25, 25-21, 16-14; d Coast 15-1 25-13, 19-25, 15-9
Day 3: l AZ Rev 15 Premier 20-25, 26-24, 15-13; d ID Crush 15 Bower 25-21, 25-15; d NE Elite 15 Matrix 25-20, 25-15

The final qualifier of the season wasn’t about getting a bid or not for NorCal. That had already been accomplished in March at PNQ, where it finished runner up to Absolute Black 15-1. If Far Western was about maximizing its time in Reno, Nor Cal hit its goal. It played a lot of volleyball!

Nor Cal – which finished third overall after beating NE Elite in the third-place match – went to three sets in six of its nine matches. The six three-setters came consecutively, starting on Day 1 and carrying through the beginning of Day 3. Remarkably, NorCal came out ahead in five of them, including in four straight outings in which it lost the opening set. One of those was against Absolute, 17-25, 25-21, 16-14, on Day 2 as NorCal delivered some payback.

The only setback for Nor Cal came to eventual champion AZ Rev in the first gold pool contest on Day 3. NorCal actually won the opening frame but fell in a tight affair, 20-25, 26-24, 15-13. In the end, Nor Cal double-qualified.

The regular lineup for NorCal featured Lucy Chertock and Abigail Krause on the outside, Ellie Hunt at right side and Sophia Vella and Charlotte Kelly in the middle. Melissa Jin and Sophia Allison were setting and Alison Cook was suiting up at libero.

***

NE ELITE 15 MATRIX (FOURTH, 5-4)

Day 1: d SynergyForce 15 Rheann 25-19, 25-17; l ID Crush 15 Bower 25-23, 27-25; d NCVC 15-1 Blue 25-13, 31-29
Day 2: d AZ Rev 15 Premier 25-22, 8-25, 15-11; l Vision 15 Gold 26-24, 25-18; d Rage Westside 15 Jen 28-26, 25-11
Day 3: l Miz Long Beach 15 Rockstar 25-20, 25-9; d Coast 15-1 25-22, 15-25, 15-12; l NorCal 15-1 Black 25-20, 25-15

It was a choppy weekend for NE Elite, which entered already having qualified at Show Me in April. While NE Elite can now say it double-qualified it never found a rhythm in Reno. Still, NE Elite was the only club to defeat eventual champion AZ Rev. That came at the start of Day 2 pool play. NE Elite also closed Day 1 with a victory over NCVC 15-1 Blue. That was the only time NE Elite won consecutive matches. The rest of the time it was win one, lose one.

That back-and-forth result was part of its Day 2 pool that ultimately had important bid implications. After topping AZ Rev, NE Elite was upended by Vision 15 Gold. That set up a showdown against Rage Westside 15 Jen. Everyone in the pool was tied at 1-1, so the winner of that match would advance. For NE Elite, that meant helping create trickle down to sixth place, as Long Beach and NorCal were already assured of reaching the gold pools. NE Elite defeating Rage gave both Coast and ID Crush their bids and set up a clash for the final bid between AZ Rev and Vision to close out the pool.

Setter Peyton Meyer had a strong tournament and made our top setters list for the weekend. Ashlyn Paymal made our top right sides list. NE Elite also rotated a trio of middle blockers in Klya Johnson, Ava Stone and Kiera Link. Isabel Junior held down the libero spot as she did in Show Me.

***

COAST 15-1 (T-FIFTH, 6-3)

Day 1: d NCVC 15-1 Blue 25-8, 25-16; d Rage 15 Greg 25-23, 22-25, 15-13; d Vision 15 Gold 25-20, 25-17; d ID Crush 15 Bower 20-25, 25-19, 18-16
Day 2: d Absolute Black 15-1 25-16, 15-25, 15-8; d Rage 15 Greg 25-18, 25-17; l NorCal 15-1 Black 25-13, 19-25, 15-9
Day 3: l Miz Long Beach 15 Rockstar 29-31, 33-31, 17-15; l NE Elite 15 Matrix 25-22, 15-25, 15-12

Coast did what it needed to, which was to win at the right times. It led to the SCVA club clinching its Open bid before playing its final match on Day 2. It took overcoming a bit of bad luck.

After going 4-0 on Day 1 – Coast won two crossover matches – Coast caught a tough break. With AZ Rev upsetting top-seeded Absolute, Coast was now in a pool with two qualified teams in Absolute and NorCal for Day 2.

“Looking at the field it was a tough field,” Coast coach Luis Cuatok said. “Especially on Day 2, we had two qualified teams in our pool. We won all our matches on Day 1 and got stuck in a pool with two qualified teams. Fortunately, the kids battled enough to pull it out.”

Coast opened against Absolute and wound up winning in three. That proved to be the decisive victory of the weekend. When Coast followed that up by downing Rage 15 Greg, it assured itself a spot in the gold pools. Once NE Elite beat Rage Westside, Coast knew it had its bid before facing off with NorCal in the 1 v 2 meeting to end Day 2 pool play.

“We are excited,” Cuatok sad. “The kids played really hard. They played really well. We had to change our lineup because of injuries. They battled through all of that. We found a nice lineup that worked for us.”

Coast decided to settle on a 5-1 after injuries earlier this season forced its hand. It had Jocelyn Salas setting all the way around. The strength of the attack is on the outside with Ava Poinsett and Julia Marinesi. Jenny Li and Savannah Simpson – who is the only player at 6-0 or taller – held it down in the middle while Zoe Pabarcus was on the right. Libero Brooklyn Bowman and DS Paulina Ballie helped anchor the back court.

“We had a nice rhythm,” Cuatok said. “There are less moving parts going from a 6-2 to a 5-1. Our setter is not the tallest kid and our other opposite is not the tallest kid. They did a better job of lining up the block and getting touches and slowing down some of the attacks. Our defense picked it up. We need to make up points somewhere so we served tougher and defended better to help make up for our lack of size.”

***

ID Crush’s Kate Hayhurst (3) and Ava Brickner (2) go up for the block.

ID CRUSH 15 BOWER (T-FIFTH, 5-3)

Day 1: d SynergyForce 15 Reann 25-23, 25-13; d NE Elite 15 Matrix 25-23, 27-25; l Coast 15-1 20-25, 25-19, 18-16
Day 2: d SA Juniors 15 Adidas 25-16, 25-19; d Club V 15 Ren Adam 25-15, 26-28, 16-14; d Miz Long Beach 15 Rockstar 25-21, 20-25, 15-9
Day 3: l AZ Rev 15 Premier 25-17, 26-28, 15-7; l NorCal 15-1 Black 25-21, 25-15

In three previous qualifying attempts ID Crush fell short of reaching the gold pools and giving itself a shot at an Open bid. In its last opportunity to earn one at Far Western, ID Crush finally broke through. Reaching the gold pools was all it took in Reno. By virtue of making the top six, ID Crush secured its bid by the end of Day 2 because of the trickle down in effect.

Tossing aside ID Crush’s final match – which was a loss to NorCal in straight sets – it was an impressive weekend. Though ID Crush lost its final outing on Day 1, it was a close one to Coast in three. ID Crush had its best performance of the qualifying season on Day 2, when it went 3-0. It featured beating Long Beach in three sets to win its pool. The final day started off with a three-set loss to eventual champion AZ Rev.

At this age group, teams can make big strides during the season and that is clearly the case with ID Crush. It started off back in February finishing 53rd at Triple Crown and then grinded through qualifying season before playing its best volleyball to date when it really needed it the most.

Setter Tenesyn Frye has a great option on the outside in Maija Howse, as well as right side Kate Hayhurst and middles Brooklyn Hardy and Ava Brickner. Outside Bellamie Beus is also part of the attack. ID Crush has a strong back row with standout libero Elizabeth Bower and DS Kenna McClure.