As the 2016 inaugural season of the Boys Volleyball program at The Island Volleyball Academy (ACAD) starts to wind down, the action is as hot as ever. Over the weekend of May 28 – 30, 2016, the boys headed south to Richmond, VA to compete in the 22nd Annual Boys East Coast Championships (BECC). The BECC is an important tournament for two reasons:

It’s the first major “bid” tournament since the end of February, which means it’s also the best competition the boys have faced after a long layover, and
This tournament is used in determining rankings for the 2016 Boys Junior National Championships – as well as the last chance of the season for teams to earn a bid for Nationals.

The competition is always intense at this tournament and the ACAD boys came ready to play.

14's

ACAD’s newest team, the 14 White, was assembled following Academy’s middle school clinic last month. In just a short amount of time, the boys prepared for this tournament and held their own against teams that had been together all season.

On the first day, the 14 White team faced well-established clubs MVC (Milwaukee, WI), RVC (Richmond, VA), and Pace (Rochester, NY) and fell to 0-3. The second day of the tournament though, the boys picked up wins over Plainview Volleyball Club in three sets (16-25,25-19,15-12) and a second RVC team in two straight sets (25-22,25-18).

Their play qualified them for the Bronze bracket, where the boys fell to the Victor Volleyball Club (upstate NY) in two very close sets (23-25,24-26). The 14 White team put out an impressive effort for which the boys can use to spring in to the next step in their volleyball careers.

Coming off a 3rd Place finish and a bid to Junior Nationals at their last tournament in Harrisburg, PA, the ACAD 14 Red team came to the East Coast Championships looking to build on their impressive season. The 14 Red bolstered their roster with newcomers Matthew Tsororos and Michael Domozych and their presence was immediately felt. The boys came out of the gate flying with wins over Coastal VBC and Plainview VBC, finishing the first day of pool play 2-1 after a losing a close match to BRYC (24-26,23-25). The second day of pool play brought a great deal of challenges as the boys went 1-1, defeating Coastal Navy (a “top 5” team) in three sets (25-18,19-25,15-6), and losing to the #1 seeded team, Pace, in three sets (14-25,25-23,16-18).

After a loss to Eden in the challenge bracket, the 14 Red team qualified for the Silver bracket. In the Silver bracket finals, the boys defeated MVC (Milwaukee, WI) in three sets to win the Silver (22-25,25-17,15-12)! With their win, the boys placed 9th out of 24 teams. Congrats to 14 Red for winning the Silver!

15 Red

The ACAD 15 Red team was also coming off a 3rd place finish overall and a bid to Junior Nationals at their last tournament in Harrisburg, PA. The boys came flying in to the BECC tournament by sweeping their first day of pool play, going 3-0 and defeating Eden, RVC, and LIVBC’s 15 National team in straight sets each. There was no slowing down this team on the second day of pool play either as they swept this pool too, defeating LIVBC 15 Regional, LVC, and and Plainview VBC all in straight sets.

Through the first two days of this tournament, the ACAD 15 Red had yet to surrender a single set to their opponents. Their strong play earned them a spot in the Gold bracket. Their opponent in the first round of the Gold bracket was Pace (Rochester, NY). The boys dropped the match to Pace in three sets (19-25, 25-19, 15-8). Pace would go on to win the Gold bracket. Overall, the boys finished 3rd out of 16 teams.

16s

The ACAD 16 White team came into a very competitive pool bracket on the first day of the tournament. After dropping matches to the Baja and BRYC volleyball clubs, the boys defeated Coastal Gold in a very close three-set match (25-20,22-25,15-11).

On the second day of the tournament, the 16 White team won their pool by going 2-1 on the day. Their first match of the day featured a straight-set victory over fellow Long Islanders, LIVE (25-19,25-17). They followed that up with another straight-set victory over the TVP volleyball club (25-21,25-12), before dropping a match to Lockport.

The boys earned a spot in the Bronze bracket, where they defeated Coastal Gold in three sets (27-25,21-25,15-5) before falling to the ACAD 16 Red.

The ACAD 16 Red team also started the tournament in one of the most competitive pools in the tournament. The boys defeated the Annapolis Volleyball Club in straight sets (25-13,25-22) before dropping matches to the Pace and A5 volleyball clubs.

The boys came back strong on the second day of pool play as they swept their pool (all in straight sets) with victories over Coastal White and fellow Long Island clubs, Sportime and LIVBC 16 Regional.

The 16 Red took a 4-2 record in to the Bronze Bracket on the third day of the tournament where they defeated the Annapolis Volleyball Club and ACAD 16 White team in straight sets before falling to Coastal Navy in the Bronze bracket finals in three sets (25-18,23-25,13-15).

17 Red

The 17 age group is traditionally one of the toughest and largest age groups in USA Volleyball. The ACAD 17 Red team had a great season and a great tournament at the BECC.

The boys opened the tournament with a straight-set victory over Lockport Volleyball Club (25-17,25-19), before dropping matches to Richmond and Ocean Bay. The boys rebounded on the second day of pool play by sweeping their pool with victories over Warren Sixpack (25-22,25-21,25-18) and RVC (27-29,25-18,25-22).

After the first two days of pool play the 17 Red were 3-2 and qualified for the Bronze Bracket. The ACAD 17 Red continued their winning ways in the Bronze by picking up a first round victory over Maryland Volleyball Program (MVP) in three sets (18-25,25-19,15-9).

In the second round they faced a fellow Long Island club, LIVBC 17 Regional, who they defeated in three sets (25-19,19-25,17-15). To cap off their tournament, the boys won the Bronze Bracket by defeating yet another fellow Long Island club, Sportime 17-1, in two straight sets (25-21,25-18). Congrats to 17 Red for winning the Bronze!

18 Red

Playing in their last ever Boys East Coast Championships, the ACAD 18 Red team was loose and focused heading in to the tournament. They swept the first day of pool play going 3-0 against TVP, Hampton Roads Juniors, and Southtowns volleyball clubs.

On the second day of pool play, the boys rolled to victories over Jacksonville Juniors (25-18,21-25,17-15)and Carolina Union Volleyball Club (25-15,25-16) before dropping a match to the Eden Mizuno 18-1.

After the first two days of pool play, the boys were 5-1 and qualified for the Gold bracket. In the opening round of the Gold bracket, they defeated NVVA (Northern Virginia) in two straight sets (28-26,25-15). From there they advanced to the semi-finals where they faced a second Virginia-based team, Coastal 18 Navy.

The boys picked up a victory over Coastal in straight sets (27-25,25-21) before advancing to the Gold finals. In the finals, the ACAD 18 Red team faced a team from Baja, Mexico. The boys played them very close, but ultimately fell in two sets (23-25,21-25). The ACAD 18 Red finished the tournament 2nd out of 31 teams.

NEWS & NOTES

With the completion of the 2016 Boys East Coast Championships, the main part of the inaugural season of the boys volleyball program at The Island Volleyball Academy has concluded. Academy would like to thank all of the players and coaches for their hard work and effort, as well as the parents for their support. This season has truly been a season to remember.

ACAD Summer Programs – Academy is proud to offer summer camp opportunities to sharpen volleyball skills as well as to prepare for the upcoming school season. Click here to learn more and register.

2016 Junior Nationals – Academy is pleased to announce that the 14, 15, 16, and 18 Boys Gold teams will be traveling to Dallas, Texas to compete in the 2016 Junior National Championships. For all the details on the tournament, please visit our tournament page.

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