Digs – Summer 2014 Issue
CHRVA Juniors Accomplishments
Several proud coaches and club directors submitted stories on the major accomplishments of
their teams and some individual players from the 2014 season. They are printed below and
presented in no particular order. CHRVA is proud of every player and team in our Juniors’
Programs!
CHRVA Junior Girl Makes USAV Women’s National Team
Metro 18s, 6’ 5” middle blocker, Rhamat Alhassan, was one of 12 athletes named to the USA
Volleyball Women’s Junior National Team roster, which will compete at the NORCECA Women’s
U-20 Continental Championship July 6-14 in Guatemala. The WJNT, comprised of athletes born
in 1996 or 1997, will train in Minneapolis from June 29 through July 4 before leaving for
Guatemala on July 5.
The 12-player roster was decided through a second tryout of the U.S. Women’s Junior National
Training Team held May 29-June 1 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO.
Junior Girl Qualifies for Indoor Nationals and USVA Junior Beach Championships
Chandler Rouse of Vienna Elite U17 Edge is now doubly qualified for USAV championships.
Playing for Vienna Elite every year since the club was formed in 2010, Chandler is the setter for
the first ever Vienna Elite team to get a USAV National level bid, winning the 2014 CHRVA 17
Open regional tournament and heading to Minneapolis later this month. The Vienna Elite U17
Edge team have had the most successful season in the club’s history, leading the CHRVA 17
seeding index all season, ending the season with a 92% set win percentage; and they placed
fifth at this year’s Capitol Hill Classic in 17 Open and third at the East Coast Championships
Beast of the East 17 division.
At the second CHRVA sponsored USAV Jr Beach Tour tournament, the Chesapeake Region
Beach Bonanza with her partner Samantha Harris, Chandler won second place in the 18 under
division in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, securing an open bid for the USAV Jr Beach
Championships in Milwaukee in July. Chandler has participated in numerous USAV HP camps in
both indoor and beach volleyball and she competes regularly in local junior and coed grass
doubles tournaments throughout the region, with numerous wins at Fairfax VBC, Mid-Atlantic
Volleyball and King of Grass events over the past two summers. Last summer, she traveled to
the Motherlode tournament in Aspen, Colorado where she and Giovanni Borgiotti won second
place team in women’s B division. In the fall, Chandler plays for James Madison High School, the
district champions in 2013.
Open Bid Secured By Metro American 18-1 Travel Team
After narrowly missing an Open bid with a 5th place finish at the Colorado Crossroads National
Qualifier in March, Metro American VBC 18-1 Travel team secured their place in the Junior
National Championships in Minneapolis, MN, by winning an Open bid at the Big South
Qualifier in Atlanta, GA, on April 6.
Metro 18-1 began day one with convincing wins versus NC Elite 18, Nansemond VBC, and 1st
Alliance. Day two brought victories over Skyline 18, Maverick 18, H Skyline 18, and a close
loss to WI Jrs. On day three, one win was needed in the gold bracket to secure a bid. Metro
fought through a close three game match with 1st Alliance 18s to secure the open bid, then ended
the tournament with a win versus Madfrog 18s.
MVSA 13S Wahoo! Earns Bid to the Open Division of GJNC
Wahoo! has enjoyed a terrific season together and the team members are looking forward to
their trip to Minneapolis. The 13’s team realized they had a skilled group after sweeping their
matches in the Capitol Hill Classic at the DC Convention Center early in the season. Then
sweeping the CHRVA Regional Championships for a bid to Nationals helped prepare the team
for the challenges of the Northeast Qualifier where the team took second to earn their place in
the Open Division of the GJNC. The team finished their regular season by winning the 14’s
MVSA Capital Festival and placing 3rd in the East Coast Championships’ 14’s Beast of the East.
There have been a number of individual player awards and recognitions along the way but most
important, the team has established some enduring friendships while learning to cope with
injuries and adversities that accompany a season in team sports. An added month to the season
to prepare and compete at the GJNC has given Wahoo! the opportunity to continue to
appreciate those friendships!
The MVSA 13S Wahoo! players are:
 Sydney Allen
 Rachael Bennett
 Nicole Dao
 Clarisse Diaz
 Isabella Fleeger
 Celia Larson
 Jenaisya Moore
 Samantha Perkins
 Molly Weaver
 Ariel Zhang
Twelve-Year-Old Girl Makes CHRVA HP Doubles Beach Team
Jessica Twilley, who captained the Frederick Volleyball Club’s 13’s team this season, tried out
for the HP doubles beach team and made it. She attended tryouts in Rehoboth Beach, DE, and
then in Dulles, VA. She was one of six young ladies in the U15's category that made the regional
team. Jess goes to school at Oakdale middle school and she is actually only 12 years old. Her
coach was quoted as saying, “She is an excellent role model for the other players along with
being an amazing young athlete.”
Four AVC Members Make the USA High Performance Boys Team
The Annapolis Volleyball Club is thrilled that four of its Boys 17U National team have made it to
USA High Performance teams. Members who have made the A2 and A3 teams, will have the
opportunity to train under the direction of High Performance coaches. Members who have
made the A1 and Continental teams, will have a chance to compete in the USA High
Performance Championships.
The USA High Performance Championships is an international tournament hosted by USA
Volleyball annually and features international teams from a myriad of countries plus Region
High Performance teams from all over the United States. In the last two years, teams have
come from Canada, Chile, China, Dominican Republic, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, and Puerto
Rico. The USA HP Championships is frequented by many college coaches across the country,
both on staff in the A1 Program, Continental Team Programs, and Region HP Programs, and by
unaffiliated coaches attending to actively recruit at the tournament.
Players include:
 Alex Lower - National A3
 Robert Schwob - National A1
 William Schwob - Boys Continental
 Jaylen Jasper - National A1
 Brad Pruissen - National A3
Setter for No Panic Matrix 14s Selected for USAV HP Indoor Girls Youth National Program
Kelsey Donald, setter for No Panic Matrix 14s, was selected to the USAV HP Indoor Girls Youth
National A3 Training Program and will be attending training at UNLV in Las Vegas July 28 –
August 1.
Girls 17s Team Wins Big South Qualifier
The Delaware Juniors 17 ACE team won the 17 American Division at the Big South Qualifier,
April 4-6, 2014. By winning the Qualifier the team received an automatic bid to USA Volleyball
Nationals, June 28 - July 2, 2014, being held in Minneapolis, MN. The team finished first out of
64 teams defeating teams from Texas, Florida, Georgia, and Ohio. This is the team's second
consecutive trip to USA Volleyball Nationals.
Team Members include:
 Kelsey Mayhew
 Hailey Baker
 Jackie Rind
 Sarah Wiley
 Emily Panchak
 Brittany Ford
 Taylor Regan
 Olivia DiMaio
 Lydia Christman

Lauren Mortimer
Boys 16s Team Wins Boys Volleyball East Coast Championship
This past Memorial Day weekend, the NVVA Boys 16s team won the Boys Volleyball East Coast
Championship held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. The same team won the East
Coast Championship last year in the 15s division which is quite a feat. They will be traveling to
the USAV Nationals Championship in Houston in July where they placed in the top 10 last year.
The team consists of mainly Loudoun students:
 Briarwood HS – Lucas and Nicholas Rodrigues, Bobby Wilden and Derek Tangorra
 Stone Bridge HS – Jacob Brantley and Christopher Unger
 Broad Run HS – Dalton Bundee
 Dominion HS – Suraj Ilavala
 Woodbridge HS – Issa Hazou
USAV Junior Beach Tour Clinic and Mini-Tournament
CHRVA juniors participated in a clinic and mini-tournament on Saturday, June 1 in Dulles,
Virginia. CHRVA co-sponsored this clinic with the Volleyball Academy of Virginia, one of its
outdoor partners. Special thanks to USA Olympic volleyball player and current UCLA sand
volleyball coach Stein Metzger for being the head coach! Also thanks to Jacob, Marisa,
Samantha and Cam for helping as assistant coaches.
Left to right: Irv Rodriquez (CHRVA Beach Program Manager), Samantha Harris, Cam Rodriquez,
Stein Metzger, and Jacob and Marisa Brantley.