WVBA Mizuno 15 posted the highest finish of all Academy teams at JOs this year by finishing in 5th place overall. After beating Laguna Beach 15 Daze 25-19 in the first set of the quarterfinals, Mizuno 15s dropped the second set by just two points, 23-25. This forced a deciding set to 15. Laguna Beach prevailed in extra innings 14-16 to keep our Academy 15s off the medal stand. Mizuno 15s did not come away empty handed as two of their players were recognized as All-Americans as two of the top 12 players in the tournament. Outside hitters Cami Silverman and Jazmyne Dodd had their seasons capped off with this distinguished honor. Congratulations to all of the players and coaches of Mizuno 15 for a great season finale!

WVBA Mizuno 18 had a tough first two days dropping their first two matches 14-16 and 15-17 in the 3rd set and then needing to upset the overall #1 seed in the tournament to advance into the top half. WVBA 18s dropped a heartbreaker 27-29 in the first set, then rebounded in the second set to win 25-22. The third set was just as thrilling as the Academy 18s pushed the #1 seeded A5 18-1 team to the last few swings only to drop the 3rd set 12-15 to drop into the lower half. A5 went on to eventually win the gold medal. The Academy 18s turned things around in day 3 and cruised to an overall 29th place finish.

WVBA Mizuno 17 finished 26th in the 17 Open division. This was a disappointing finish for the Academy 17s as they entered the tournament with high hopes for a national championship run. Mizuno 17 played well in all but three of their matches, but struggled closing out the 4th and 5th sets to come away with wins against the other top 17s teams in the Open Division field. Hopefully the players will come away with a taste for more next year and return to the Open Division for another run.

WVBA Mizuno 14 had a difficult start in their first two days before getting on track in the third. They were unable to stay in the top half after their slow start, but did recover well enough to finish 31st. In the process they lost four of their matches in deciding games with a mere 10 points over four matches deciding the winners. They gained valuable experience competing in the national championship and will be more experienced next year as they attempt to medal at the 2009 Junior Olympic Championship.

JVDA Championship
WVBA sent two teams to represent our club at the inaugural JVDA Championship in Louisville, KY. This was the first ever year-end event for the new organization. They were put to the test when lightning hit the convention center in Day 2 and knocked out the power to most of the U18 courts for two days. They were able to scramble and complete things on time.

The tournament featured one of the top high school teams from Japan. They were quite an attraction drawing crowds just to watch their warm-up which featured some precise choreography and even some hand-stands! This team from Japan finished tied for 3rd in the 18 Open division.

WVBA Mizuno 16 played in the 16 Open division. The 16 Open Division played 3 out of 5 match format throughout the tournament. Mizuno 16 struggled in their first pool dropping into the lower half. Their tournament started slowly with losses in straight sets against MAVA 16 Elite and Milwaukee Sting 16 Gold on day 1, then lost a tough 5-set match to Celtic Force 16 Green in their first match of day two. After that rough start they ran off a string of three straight wins before dropping their flight 1 first round match to Ft. Wayne Kaepa Blue on the final day to finish 21st overall.

WVBA Mizuno 14-Red played in the 14 Club Division where they found plenty of quality competition. Their first day was the most difficult with losses to Asics Munciana Cubbies, Coast 14 Mizuno Said, and Sky High 14 LSC. They were able to come back strong in the second and third day posting five straight victories before dropping their final two matches against Sky High 14 LSC and Lions 14 Red to finish 31st overall.

The quality of competition at the JVDA Championship was arguably as strong as any of the other three national end-of-year tournaments including Junior Olympics, AAU Nationals, and the Volleyball Festival.

There was a 30-minute CBS College Sports Channel special starring Karch Kiraly filmed during the JVDA Championship and it will likely air multiple times beginning in early August.

For more information about the JVDA, visit their website at JVDA.ORG.

Tryouts for the 2009 season will be held in mid and late November. The schedule will be announced in late October on this website. Have a great summer and a great fall school season.