At-large gold medalist.

Alamo 15 Premier provided a fairytale ending to 15 Open at the USAV Girls Junior National Championships that nobody saw coming in Indianapolis. MVP Megan Fitch went up on the left side and for the final time in 2022 delivered a kill that set off a frenzied celebration. It was not last year’s 14 Open champ going back-to-back, as it was not meant to be for top-seeded and national No. 1 Arizona Storm 15 Thunder.

Instead, Alamo wrote a script that only comes from the wildest imagination.

“It feels like a dream,” Alamo 15 coach Debra Gonzalez said. “Everyone wants to be in gold. Everyone wants to come in first. There’s always a little doubt if we could do it or not do it. Everybody coming in wants the same thing. Everybody is fighting for everything. The girls did it. I’m so proud of them.”

Long before arriving in Indy, Alamo had already accomplished a mini-miracle. Not in receiving the lone at-large bid into 15 Open. But rather building such a sound case that there was no real debate as to which club it should have been awarded to. Alamo was that much of a clear-cut choice.

A month later, the decision was further backed up at every stage of the four-day tournament. Alamo – seeded No. 28 to begin with – opened Day 1 going 3-0. It broke pool on Day 2 in second place at 4-1. On Day 3, Alamo made it through the second round of pool play then topped Mich Elite 15 Mizuno in challenge play. Then there was Day 4, Alamo defeating 1st Alliance 15 Gold in the quarterfinals, Drive Nation 15 Red in the semis and ending Storm’s reign and undefeated run in the final, 25-18, 25-22.

“They came in so excited to be here,” Gonzalez said. “They’ve never been in the Open division. They came in with a lot of energy and perseverance. They didn’t know how far they would get but they were going to give it their best shot.”

That Alamo was even in contention on the final day was already a headline in the making even if the Lone Star club hadn’t won another contest. Earning a medal by outlasting 1st Alliance – the original No. 3 seed – in three games was unthinkable only days earlier.

If any opponent could relate it was Alamo’s semifinal partner in Drive Nation, which started as the No. 18 overall seed and barely survived the first round of pool play before eventually upsetting Hou Skyline 15 Royal in the quarterfinals and earning at least a bronze.

Between Alamo and Drive Nation, one was going to make the final and that in itself was enough of a head-scratcher to figure out. When Alamo prevailed in three games to reach the championship match that’s when reality figured to set in for sure.

Storm came into the gold medal match without a loss, including sweeping OT 15 Randy in the quarters and TAV 15 Black in the semifinals. However, Alamo could do no wrong, jumping on Storm and never letting up.

“It’s amazing,” Gonzalez said. “We played them in Utah and lost. This was unbelievable. Everything was working. Everything we told them to do just worked.”

To Alamo, there was no guarantee of receiving the lone at-large bid. The girls and coaches were sweating the process, unsure of if they would be selected or not. It led to tense times until it became official.

“I was kind of leery,” Gonzalez said. “We knew there was a chance we would get it but anything can happen because it’s not in our control.”

***

Getting to some closing thoughts on 15 Open. It was just the fourth loss of the season in its own age group for Arizona Storm. The first came to Dynasty 15 Black in February at Triple Crown. Another came to Aspire 15 Premier in Arizona regional play. Then Storm fell to Seal Beach 15 Black at the JVA West Coast Cup in Long Beach over Memorial Day weekend. And then of course to Alamo in the 15 Open final. It’s a tough ending to a terrific season. A loss like this one should sting, but not overshadow the fact that Storm remains one of the best teams in the country.

As for TAV, there was no question the North Texas club was good enough to not only contend but possibly win it all. TAV was surprised on Day 1, falling to Absolute Black 15 in its last outing but still managed to win its pool the next day after knocking off Alamo to earn the head-to-head tiebreaker.

TAV reached the top eight by stopping AAU 15 Open champion Legacy 15-1 Adidas in the challenge round. TAV opened up the final day by ending the run of surprise quarterfinalist Coast 15-1 to reach the semis. TAV and Storm played each other in the 14 Open final last summer but met a round earlier this go around as TAV tied for the bronze.

Drive Nation came on at the right moments. Drive Nation finished the first round of pool at 2-3 and advanced with some tiebreaker luck. Northern Lights 15-1 and HPSTL 15 Royal were 2-3 as well. Northern Lights beat both head-to-head and took third in the pool. Since Drive Nation defeated HPSTL head-to-head, Drive Nation took fourth despite having a lower set percentage than HPSTL.

Drive Nation took advantage. A victory over Dynast in its three-pool on Day 3 allowed Drive Nation to reach the challenge round. There, Drive Nation swept GP 15 Rox. Drawing Hou Skyline in the quarterfinals was a tall task, as Drive Nation was a heavy underdog. But Drive Nation pulled off the shocker in three to earn its bronze medal.

***

In 15 National, Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite defeated FC Elite 15 Navy in three, 17-25, 25-21, 15-8, for gold. Aspire 15 Premier and Club V 15 Ren Adam tied for the bronze medals. Rockwood Thunder lost once all tournament, going down to Flyers 15 Ed in its second match of pool on Day 1.

In 15 USA, Adrenaline 15 Doug swept Jax Skyline 15 Royal, 25-17, 25-17, in the championship match to secure gold. A5 Mizuno 15 Victor and Forza1 North 15 UA tied for third and earned the bronzes. Adrenaline finished 10-1, with its only setback coming to TAV 15 Blue to end Day 1 play.

In 15 Liberty, A5 Mizuno 15 Pat downed SA Force 15 Darkside in straight sets, 25-17, 25-15, in the final. It was a rematch from Day 3, when SA Force outlasted A5 in three games in their three-team pool. MVA 15 Julio and SCVC 15 Roxy were awarded bronze medals after tying for third.

In 15 American, Mintonette Sports m.51 capped a perfect 11-0 showing by edging AVA TX 15 Adidas in three, 25-23, 18-25, 15-11, in the championship contest. BVA 15 Mizuno and Upward Stars 15 Tinsley took home the bronze medals.

In 15 Freedom, Texas Fury 15 Legacy swept Jupiter Elite 15 Elite, 25-17, 25-20, for the gold medal. NPJ Seattle 15 National and Valley Venom 15-1 tied for third and grabbed the bronzes.

In 15 Patriot, Co Jrs 15 Jen outlasted Wave 15 Jaye in three, 16-25, 25-20, 15-10, for the gold medal in that division. The bronzes went to Clev Prime 15 and SG Elite 15 Excel.