Wednesday, Jul. 08, 2009

Area volleyball teams play well in USA Junior Olympic Championships

Clinton Crush takes third in age group

Several area club volleyball teams descended on South Florida last week for the 2009 USA Junior Olympic Championships and brought home much more than a nice tan.

Competing at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Fla., three high-school aged teams from Southwest Illinois Volleyball Club in Belleville and one from Clinton County Crush had impressive showings in their respective divisions.

All four finished among the top 35 teams in the country, with the Clinton County Crush 15-under team taking third in the American Division and the Southwest Illinois 16-under team finishing fifth in the National Division.

"The metro-east area of St. Louis is a hotbed for volleyball, and everybody knows it," said Southwest Illinois director Jeff Juenger. "It shows based on the results of teams playing at nationals each summer. When teams play us, they know who we are and respect who we are, and that's what you try to accomplish when you have a club is to gain national respect.

"Each year, we get more and more respect, especially when we qualify open teams. They know they have to play well to beat us."

Southwest Illinois 18-under finished 21st in the country in the Open division. The Open division is the highest level at nationals, followed by National and American, and only 28 teams earn spots.

SWI 18 went 3-5 in the event but played most teams point for point, losing only one game by more than nine points. SWI 18 lost in three tight games (25-17, 25-21, 25-21) to Wave 18Brenn Spalding (S.C.), which ended up losing in the title match to NCVC Moxie of North Carolina.

Team members, who will be freshmen in college this fall, are: Ali Berens (O'Fallon, Eastern Illinois University), Andrea Bolt (Freeburg, St. Louis U.), Cortney Crocker (Mater Dei, Lipscomb), Morgan Dall (Mater Dei, Indiana State), Allison Landwehr (Parkway South, Iowa State), Carly Marcum (Althoff, SLU), Brittany Monken (Central, Parkland), Laura Thole (Mater Dei, Southern Illinois-Carbondale) and Lauren Sazama (Oakville).

"The 18 open is the best of the best," Juenger said. "With the 18s, any time you're playing open, it's a matter of one point here or one point there of finishing in the top 10 or the bottom 10. The margin of error in open is so small, finishing 10th or 21st is a matter of one- or two-point swings where or there.

"These kids have worked hard for three years and to finish where they did is a great accomplishment for them."

Southwest Illinois 17-under took 31st place in the National Division, going 4-5. Team members, who will be seniors in the fall, are: Tabatha Albers (Mater Dei), Sarah Fox (Gibault), Emma Goldschmidt (O'Fallon), Abby Hanger (Belleville West), Taylor McCrary (Cor Jesu), Stephanie Mueller (Columbia), Lexi Ruhl (Belleville East), Colleen Yarber (Freeburg) and Carly Thomas (Althoff).

Thomas did not play in the tournament. She is currently playing for the U.S. Girls' Youth National Team at the FIVB Girls' Youth World Championship in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

Southwest Illinois 16-under took fifth in the National Division, going 8-1. The team won their first eight matches before losing to Wave 16Katie Spalding (S.C.) 25-14, 25-21 in the quarterfinals of the Gold playoffs.

Team members, who will be juniors in the fall, are: Ali Mueller (Mater Dei), Jordan Timmermann (Incarnate Word), Kaley Boeckmann (Mater Dei), Alex Rohlfing (Waterloo), Chelsea Hummert (Freeburg), Hillary Keltner (Althoff), Missy Muckensturm (Althoff), Taylor Boyer (Belleville East) and Maddie Hogan (Freeburg).

Hummert was named to the 16-under All-Tournament team.

Clinton County Crush 15-under took third in the American Division, going 9-1. The Crush won their first nine matches before losing to TAV 15 Molten 26-24, 25-14 in the semifinals.

It was a stirring run for the Crush, which is in its second year in existence.

"Every team that's down there is filled with great players," said Clinton County Crush director Chad Rakers. "Every match that you play, you have to assume it's going to be one of those 25-23 nailbiters. When you go down there, you have to be a team that can handle the pressure and can handle the tight-game situations. Those are the teams that advance and advance and advance. Our girls did a good job of that."

CC Crush 15 team members, who will be sophomores at either Mater Dei or Central in the fall, are: Brooke Schulte, Alyssa Hitpas, Abbey Winter, Jaime Haake, Taylor Wilken, Sam Bedard, Kayla Eversgerd, Meredith Timmons and Taylor Schumacher.

Schulte, a middle hitter, and Bedard, a setter, were named to the 16-member All-Tournament team.

"That's not a surprise to me at all," said Rakers, who is an assistant coach at Mater Dei. "It's just two outstanding players. When Sam is on, she can put the ball up anywhere for anybody. She makes a lot of smart decisions on the court. With Brooke, there's not really much you need to say. You see her one time and you get how good she is."