ORLANDO, Florida — Championships were won Wednesday in the 12s, 13s, 16s, and 18s divisions at the AAU Boys Junior National Volleyball Championships, and among the winners was Bay to Bay in 16s and its now celebrated youngest player.
18s Open — Balboa Bay defeated Outrigger 25-15, 25-17
18s Premier — Sports Performance defeated Mamba 25-20, 23-25, 15-6
18s Elite — AVC defeated Velocity 25-14, 25-17
18s Club — Quicksets defeated PW 118 25-16, 25-16
16s Open — Triangle defeated Coast 27-25, 25-15
16s Premier — Bay to Bay defeated Pure Aloha 26-24, 13-25, 15-12
16s Elite — Bay to Bay defeated MKE Sting 25-20, 25-15
16s Club — OCV defeated Evolution 19-25, 25-22, 15-8
13s Open — Serve and Spike defeated SC Legends 25-20, 25-16
13s Club — Bay to Bay defeated Winter Park 25-22, 25-22
12s Open — Borinquen defeated Bay to Bay 24-26, 26-24, 15-13
12s Club — Bay to Bay defeated Borinquen 24-26, 25-20, 15-11
All-Americans teams are listed the end of this story
History was made in the 16s Open when Triangle of North Carolina swept Coast. Thomas Demps led both in attacks and serving. This is the first Open title for a team from North Carolina and can’t hurt the push in that state to get boys volleyball sanctioned as a high school sport.
In 18s Open Balboa Bay swept Outrigger, led by outside Riggs Guy (UCSB commit), Sterling Foley (USC commit), Caleb Sapp (UCLA commit), and Trent Taliaferro (UCLA commit).
Bay to Bay won four titles, including in 16s Premier where head coach Greg Gallegos, assistant Natalie Gallegos, and their baby, Gregg Jr., all worked the sidelines. Read more about the coaches and Gregg Jr., now the youngest champion, here.
“It’s pretty special to win your last tournament of your club career, while playing with such a hardworking talented group of guys.”
— Sterling Foley, 18s Open Balboa Bay
“Strong leadership from Coach Andy Read had the boys playing their best at the end of the year. Also, this group had some depth at every position.”
— Travis Turner, Balboa Bay director and Orange Coast College head coach
“Triangle winning the 16s Open is an incredible achievement. It underscores the rising talent in our region and is a testament to Triangle’s athletes and coaches dedication to excellence. This win is not just a victory on the court; it’s a powerful message about the potential and provise of boys volleyball in North Carolina.”
— Sarah Conklin, North Carolina boys volleyball rep
“We weren’t playing for just ourselves, but for our club, region and state. Nobody from North Carolina has ever won a title this big before.”
— Thomas Demps, Triangle 16s Open MVP
“I am beyond proud of our team and everyone stepped up and did their role. We worked so hard to get where we are at and the hard work is not going to stop. We will be right back in the gym and grinding to take home gold for next year. I love this team and I’m excited for things to come.”
— Sean Fleming, Coast 16s Open
“It was a surreal championship day. We had six of nine teams make the gold bracket and five of six made it to the championship match. It was amazing to see the culmination of a season of hard work pay off for so many of our athletes, coaches, and parents.”
— Matt Houlihan, Bay to Bay director
18s Open
Trent Taliaferro, Balboa Bay (MVP)
Sean Kelly, MB Surf
Jackson Cryst, Pinnacle
Marek Turner, Team Rockstar
Evan Porter, Outrigger
Aidan Berkemeier, Cincinnati Attack
Sterling Foley, Balboa Bay
Jake Pazanti, Pinnacle
Elijah Smith, Outrigger
Keagin Christenson, AZ Fear
Zachary Chapin, Team Rockstar
Riggs Guy, Balboa Bay
Parker Tomkinson, Wave
Kainoa Wade, Outrigger
18s Elite
Seth Dillon, AVC (MVP)
Laydon Biro, Velocity
Tyrus Cloat, SPVB
Nathan Tilly, 630
Ethan Ricketts, SPVB
Trent Navo, AVC
Jackson VanWormer, A2
Gavin Gonzalez, SPVB
Jack Robertson, 630
Rafael Bartilad, Velocity
Daniel Lugo, Tropics
Giovanni Valencia, AVC
Sean Nolting, Velocity
Spencer Lee, Forza
18s Club
Keahi Kaneakua, Quicksets
Joseph Nelson, PW 118
Alexander Schuster, Academy
Jacob Seay, PW 118
Oskar Ovalle, Slainte Platinum
Adam Nichols, CUVC
Cody Pili-Rumusod, Quickset
Eduardo Bobonis Perez, Torri
Joey Stablein, SPVB
Caleb Eschenberg, PW 118
Jack Pfizenmaier, CUVC
Julian Quartero-Echalas, Quicksets
Connor Dmochowski, SPVB
Tristan CAminar, SPVB
18s Premier
Casey Maas, SPVB (MVP)
Caleb Williams, TUVA
Kielan Gasu, Club V MP
Logan Cypert, Mamba
Andrew Laatsch, MVC
Connor Usher, Stars
Tyler Vasquez, SPVB
Luke heberlein, MKE Sting
Jack Anderson, SPVB
Cael Bertrandt, Mamba
Kevin Tomita, Red Rock
Lucas Helle, Stars
Kilika Tafa, Club V MP
Ezekiel Jalan, Mamba
16s Open
Thomas Demps, Triangle (MVP)
Colby Graham, MB Surf
Trevor Whittemore, C2 Attack
Greyson Covay, SPVB
Wade Coppedge, Triangle
Charlie Von Der Ahe, Balboa Bay
Ben Brown, SPVB
Zac Crandell, Winter Park
Giles Beamer, Coast
Nolan Jones, Triangle
Hunter Hamilton, Coast
Lucas Riva, Winter Park
Colin Cho, Team Rockstar
Sean Fleming, Coast
16s Elite
Cole Morgan, Bay to Bay (MVP)
Carter Theis, MKE Sting
Tymir Phillips, Tool City
Kellen Conway, SVC
JJ Hamilton, MKE Sting
Jackson Behling, MKE Sting
Paul Pamichev, Bay to Bay
George Hannaum, TU
Anthony Quintana, Aspire
Carl Hogan, DNA
Cole Ng, Bay to Bay
Coston Colamarino, TU
Gavin Bybee, DNA
16s Club
Jordan Puro, OVC
Tommy Spalding, Evolution
Fisher Jackson, Epic
Jack Van Hoof, OVC
Brady Theule, FAV
JD Matlock, Pulse
Christoph Schroeder, Slainte
Jaidon Rivas, Pulse
Romario Ortega, Epic
Aidan Dunn, NOC
Ben Klumpyan, OVC
Max Vaccaro, Evolution
Luke Malles, MOD
13s Open
Kelo Uiti, Serve and Spike (MVP)
Ian Mallari, SC Legends
Sam Bazargard, 949
Tuialofa Scanlan, Serve and Spike
Ryan Kwon, SC Legends
Enrique Rodriquez, Torrimar
Donovan Kilisi, Serve and Spike
Micah Schmitt, SC Legends
Jerome Gonzalez, Torrimar
13s Club
Ajun Dabade, Bay to Bay
Zak Michraf, Bay to Bay
Benjamin Wirth, Winter Park
Marcelo Samuel, HVA
Griffin Vandeusen, Winter Park
Jayden Yu, MVVC
Nathaniel Steeg, Bay to Bay
Kaiden Sullivan, HVA
Leo Marinopoulos, MVVC
Nathan Dorton, Winter Park
12s Open
Lucas Quinones, Borinquen
Nicolae Sarmasag, Bay to Bay
Kian Laulusa, SCVC
Vilga Paopoa, Bay to Bay
Ryan Fantauzzi, Borinquen
Nick Cohen, HPSTL
Cayden Appling, SCVC
Kaiyi Tang, Bay to Bay
Miguel Rodriguez, Borinquen
Zachary Scheve, HPSTL
12s Club
Koa Tuyay, Bay to Bay
Alejandro Rivera Vega, Boriquen
Aiden Ordonez, HVA
Aarush Tadepalli, Bay to Bay
Michael Garcia Amparo, Borinquen
Phillip Goedeker, HPSTL
Luis Ramos, Borinquen
Tom Minar, Bay to Bay
Ashten Werner, HPSTL
Ronan Bilow, HVA
All-Americans are nominated by participating coaches in the championship bracket.
VolleyballMag contributor Kevin Pratte is the boys varsity coach at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, California and Grant elementary physical education teacher. Pratte, who lives in San Diego, played at the University of Pacific. He was a graduate assistant at Nebraska, an assistant at Pacific, and has coached at the junior college level. He also is a college recruiting coordinator, Rotary member, president of the www.kevinprattefoundation.com, host of the KP HERE Podcast and editor of the boys volleyball website middlehitter.com.
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