MVSA Growing our 12s
January 2012Montgomery County, and the greater Washington D.C. area in general, are experiencing a sustained increase in the number of young women (and young men) interested in the sport of volleyball. The recent rise of new volleyball clubs in the Chesapeake Region (and the number of teams per club) is clear evidence that this is happening on a regional basis. In 2011, we saw this growth on a more local level in both the MVSA fall recreational league and in tryouts for the MVSA Junior Olympic Club program.
This fall the MVSA recreational league had the largest number of teams in our history - we had over 200 athletes on 22 teams. Those teams were organized into three leagues based on age and experience. The six teams in our 4th-6th grade league was the highest total to date and played a significant role in attracting 57 girls to the 12 and under club tryouts.
In an attempt to support the greater demand for club volleyball, MVSA expanded our 12s program to four teams and offered positions to a total of 38 athletes. That expansion could only have taken place with a commitment to additional practice time and a larger coaching staff. We were fortunate that several of the athletes had parents with significant playing and coaching experience. This year we have two experienced coaches for each of our four 12s teams. We also have a technical director for our 12s program to ensure we focus on the fundamentals and basic systems in a consistent manner.
In addition to the rise in the number of athletes we also saw a rise in the level of talent. The 12 and under tryouts were extremely competitive and the selection process was very difficult. We had more than a dozen players with at least one full year of club volleyball experience. The majority of the athletes had played in one or more recreational leagues – either with MVSA or in Gaithersburg or Frederick. Two of our youngest players, 4th graders and less than 5’ tall, were consistently serving overhand bullets that were out of bounds long!
MVSA continues to be one of the strongest clubs in the region and our future looks bright with this latest influx of talented athletes and a dedicated coaching staff!
Congratulations our MVSA Athletes!
December 19, 2011
Washington Post All-Met Players for 2011
1st Team - Ashley Dumont, Jackie Nelligan
Honorable Mention - Megan Hewitt, Autumn Jenkins
All-Gazette Montgomery County Players for 2011
1st team - Jackie Nelligan, Autumn Jenkins
2nd team - Ashley Dumont, Megan Hewitt, Annika Schwartz, MacKenzie Cockerill
Honorable Mention - Karishma Patel, Lenka Malec, Caitlin Cooney, Kelly Donnellan, Brigid Morris, Carly Marella, Emily Jiang, Ellie Goodwin, Rachel Eng, Andrea Falcon, Rachel Cox-Rosen, Jan Gruber, Morgan McAlpin, Nika Lilly, and Rachel Townsend.
All Monocacy Valley Players for 2011
2nd Team - Katie Stouffer and Paige Larsen
Honorable Mention - Grace Stephens
Holiday Charity Project
December 11, 2011
Emily Samara of the MVSA Blizzard is spearheading a charity project: the Art for Humanity Shoe Donation.
All types of good used shoes are very much needed - dress, casual, athletic, children's, adults', heels, sandals, etc.
Men's shoes are the most needed, especially work boots.
Up to size 11 for men, up to size 9 for women.
You may bring your donations to the Blizzard practices:
Tuesdays 8pm-10pm Southlake Elementary School
Thursdays 8pm-10pm James Daly Elementary School
Please email Emily Samara (samfammd@aol.com), if you need to arrange for pickup at your practices. Or call 301-792-3403.
Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Happy holidays!
MVSA Boys Program Update
October 7, 2011
Our first season of MVSA boys recreational volleyball is well underway. 26 boys are currently playing and we keep adding more players each week. The boys are practicing for two hours each Tuesday and playing matches every Saturday at 3:00.
The format for the league has evolved based on the varying experience levels of the participants. We split the league into two juniors teams and two experienced teams. The experienced level includes boys who are older and/or have significant playing experience. The juniors level players are typically younger and may not have played much prior to their MVSA experience. Our goal is for every boy to learn new skills, develop a love of volleyball and become better team players. The boys are currently playing each other but we have plans for them to play MVSA girls teams with comparable skills.
We have appreciated the parents flexibility in getting our new program started. Our hope is that over time we can develop a boys program that is as robust as the MVSA girls program. Please help us spread the word and remember that we are working to accommodate all of those interested in playing!
[Fall 2011]
Congratulations our MVSA Athletes!
Hlavinka Collects First Career Player of the Week Award
York, Pa. – Senior middle blocker Gena Hlavinka (Gaithersburg, Md./T.S. Wootton) earned her first career Capital Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week honor for the week ending October 30.
Caitlin Cooney and Collete Kellan
All Tournament Player award, from the MCST, (Maryland Christian State Tournament) , Saturday Oct ,29th.
Lexi Thomas, Washington Christian Academy(Sr, OH, Rockville, MD)
Lexi was voted 1st Team, All League and Player of the Year for the Maryland Independent School Athletic League (M.I.S.A.L.) for 2011 last Saturday night as the Wildcats of WCA finished undefeated for their conference (12-0) and 18-5 for the season.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Meagan Donohoe, Johns Hopkins (Fr, OH, Olney, Md. / Our Lady of Good Counsel)
Meagan hit .638 on the week with 25 kills in three wins to push the Blue Jay record to 19-4 and remain a perfect 8-0 in the conference. She set a new school record for hitting percentage in a three-set match vs. Dickinson last week, hitting .923 (12-for-13).
Paige Sekerak:
Defensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career after being named as the Rookie of the Week earlier this season. Paige averaged over five digs per set in a pair of Tiger victories this week. In the match against UNC Wilmington, she had 10 digs, a kill and an assist. On Saturday against Georgia State, Paige led a Tiger backline that recorded 90 digs. It was the first time since 2009 that the Tigers had 90 digs in a match. She contributed a season-high 28 digs and added four assists and a kill as the Tigers' earned the four-set win.
On the season, Sekerak has recorded 392 digs, averaging 4.40 digs per set. She also leads the team with 26 service aces and has 68 assists.
CAA VOLLEYBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Paige Sekerak, Fr., DS, Towson
Sekerak led Towson with 62 digs (4.43 per set) in helping Towson to a 3-1 record at the West Virginia Mountaineer Invitational. The freshman posted 20 digs (5.00 per set) in her first match against New Hamphshire. Sekerak also posted 25 digs, six assists and three service aces in a four-set victory over West Virginia.
Caitlin Cooney and Ellie Goodwin awarded all tournament players at the Fragile X Tournament held on September 3rd at St. Johns College High School.
Brittany EauClaire for being selected MVP. Emily Jiang, Jackie Nelligan, and Lizzie Walsh for making the all tourney team at the Magruder Invitational held on Saturday, September 10th.
Carly Marella for being selected MVP. Autumn Jenkins, Lexi Thomas, Annika Schwartz and Nika Lilley for making the all tourney team at the inaugural Springbrook "Battle at the Brook" tournament that took place on Saturday, September 10th.
Autumn Jenkins, Lianna Meiburger and Kayla Abernethy won the 18U Juniors Mayor's Cup beach tournament this past Saturday September 17th at Rehoboth
[July 2011]
CHRVA High Performance Teams
Congratulations to the MVSA players who were selected to play for the CHRVA High Performance teams. The teams will travel to Tucson, AZ mid-July to compete in the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships.
Youth Team
Andrea Calles
Jackie Nelligan
Shannon Skellchock
Select Team
Kaitlyn Hillard
Annika Schwartz
Jessica Wang
Sylvie Rosenwald
[Spring 2011]
MVSA 14 Airbenders Win Bid to Nationals
Congratulations to the Airbenders for finishing 2nd at Regionals and earning the American bid for USAV Junior Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia
