zia volleyball

The Arizona Region of USA Volleyball hosted Arizona’s first Junior Beach Regional Championships at Victory Lanes Sports Park in Glendale on Wednesday, July 14th crowning 8 different Region Champions.

The girl’s 18’s division was won by Glendale’s Kortney Campbell and Zia’s Morgan Hummel, who beat Zia’s Jenny Martineau and Nicki Wanninger in the double elimination bracket. Martineau and Wanninger forced the extra stanza with the night’s most thrilling match, beating the previously unbeaten Glendale duo 21-19, 19-21, 16-14 before Campbell- Hummel came back. Zia’s Cat Bousquet and Abbey Diehl took third.

The Phoenix duo of Katie Meyers and Emma Ridley captured the girl’s 16’s title with two straight wins over the previously unbeaten Phoenix team of Julie Mack and Lillian Soderman in the double elimination 8 team bracket. Zia’s Aubrey Bowerman and Kelli McDonald took third.

Shereiss Peters teamed with Michelle Anderson to capture the girl’s 14’s championship, besting Zia’s Madison Orton and Jenn Robinson 21-10, 21-16 in the final. Zia’s Erin Clair and Kelli Heenan took the third spot.

Ahwatukee’s Kelsey Brown and Melissa New capped off a perfect season where they won all three tournaments they entered and captured the girl’s 12’s championship with a 21-14, 21-18 win over Phoenix’s Alexis Arellano and Haley Lowrence. Megan Dudzinski and Mary Jo Kolze, also of Ahwatukee, finished third.

On the Boy’s side, Glendale’s Travis Hobson and Brad Young captured the 18’s title. Colton and Sean Knight from Phoenix won the 16’s besting Glendale’s Kyle Ausmus and Rob Echols. Justin Hobson and Josh Young, also from Glendale, took home the gold in the 14’s division and Gilbert’s Jason Shiflet and Tyler Hutchins won the boy’s 12’s championship.

Before the tournament began, some players were honored with some specialized awards. As voted by the Region Beach staff, Zia’s own Madison Orton was named 2004 Arizona Region Junior Beach Player of the Year. She was the regular season’s #1 and #3 team in the 14’s division with two different partners and took four first places, one second and one fourth in her six tournaments.

Peoria’s Audie Gonzales and Melissa Harper were named Arizona Region Junior Beach Team of the Year. The 16’s team won all three tournaments in the 16’s division and then moved up to the 18’s division where they took a second and a first. They were the #1 seed in the Regional tournament, but had to bow out when Harper sprained her ankle in the second round.

Finally, Zia’s Maressa Hunter and Danielle Serna won the Arizona Region Junior Beach Ironman of the Year award. Hunter and Serna played in 10 tournaments in two different age divisions over the course of the season, qualifying for both the 16’s and 18’s Regionals, but elected to play in the 16’s. The next closest team played in seven total tournaments.