Tawa’s Dots: Munciana 18 Samurai rolled through AAUs to win another national title

This is “Dots,” VolleyballMag.com’s weekly look at 10 things in club volleyball, past or present, that interest me and hopefully will interest you:

• This is an exciting time in club volleyball, with AAU Nationals winding down and USAV’s Junior National Championships set to begin for the 14s-17s age groups.

For some teams, dreams have been or soon will be realized.

“Hard work paid off.”

“We wanted it more.”

For most teams, there will be questions to ponder.

“Why didn’t we pass better?”

“What if we were able to get out of that bad rotation sooner?”

That’s the hard reality of season-ending national championship events. In each division, there can only be one team on top of the podium adorned in gold medals.

That team gets to call itself “champions,” but it’s not the only team that should walk out of the arena with heads held high.

It’s summertime. You all have been working, grinding, since winter. Making sacrifices, sweating, learning about yourselves, competing, improving for many months. And you made it! You reached the national championships! What an achievement!

Winning titles cannot happen for every team. But winning can. Focus on that. Focus on how your team won just to get to Orlando or Chicago. Keep those memories. They will inspire you more moving forward than the “what might have beens.”

• Munciana 18 Samurai was part of the 12-team 18 Open division that completed play last week at AAUs in Orlando. As the only team in the field with a high national ranking, Mike Lingenfelter’s squad was expected to win.

It did just that, in dominating fashion.

Over four days, Samurai won 10 matches, did not drop a set and yielded 20 or more points in only four sets.

With the large talent gap existing between Munciana and the other teams, the biggest challenge Lingenfelter faced was keeping his team motivated through June when most other 18s teams had finished up two months earlier.

“The key to prevailing was our youth,” Lingenfelter said. “The fact that we played five underclassmen helped.”

Samurai went to Orlando thinking about more than just winning the tournament.

“We knew we’d be in the hunt and, if we played to potential, we’d be a tough out,” Lingenfelter said. “The mindset was simply being the best version of ourselves.”

Samurai won its opening match, 25-7, 25-10. It defeated Bama Elite 18 Renegades, the team that upset it at Emperor’s Cup in Las Vegas, 25-20, 25-15. Lingenfelter was concerned that his team was too high error, but that’s because it’s his job to demand the highest level of performance from his team.

He got that in the championship match against Sports Performance 18 Elite, the opponent that has been his team’s foil and biggest nemesis over the years.

“Spri is synonymous with excellence and [coach Troy Gilb] is grinding to maintain and/or improve their legacy,” Lingenfelter said.

Samurai dismantled 18 Elite, 25-17, 25-11. Muncie made just five total errors in the match. It’s tough to lose when you do that!

Junior OH London Wijay continued her exceptional play with a dominant performance all week for Muncie. Sophomore pin Charlotte Vinson showed she’s one of the best in the ’25 class. Senior libero Ramsey Gary was consistently excellent and junior middle Bre Goss had a breakout finish.

• Sports Performance made the 18 Open final, but had to work hard to get there. SPVB dropped its second match of its opening pool, to Tennessee Performance 18-Maverick, and also lost its final first pool match, to Kairos 18 Alpha. The team then avenged the Kairos loss 24 hours later in its next pool before eking out consecutive “15-13 in the third” wins to make the semifinals. A close win over Lexington United sent 18 Elite to the championship match, to face Munciana for the first time all tournament long.

“I think that with this group we exceeded our expectations,” Gilb said. “This group has had a really rough season in many ways that no one would know about. It could have been really easy for this group to make excuses and give up but they did not do it. Even though we did not perform well in the championship match, I give these kids credit for how tough they were during the most important tournament of their season.”

Gilb said that Sports Performance played better as the tournament went along because its cleaner play started to match its resolve to win. Getting to the championship match was an achievement in itself. Gilb lamented not being more competitive versus Munciana, but credited Samurai for understanding that his team would be pin heavy and defending it well.

Junior outside hitter Katie Scherer (Maryland) was a standout all week for Sports Performance. Senior libero Lia Schneider, senior outside hitter Paige Lauterwasser and sophomore middle Sidney Hamaker also distinguished themselves.

***

Ohio’s Premier 18 Onitsuka won the 27-team 18 Premier division, sweeping Munciana 18 Quora in the championship match. Premier lost just once, 16-14 in the third to a team from Hawaii, but was taken to three sets in four of its 11 wins.

• AAU’s 15 Open division, which completed play on Wednesday, was larger and MUCH more competitive than 18 Open. The 61-team field included four in the national top five and an additional 7-10 considered among the top 40 or so best teams in the age group.

The elite teams came to play, too.

The four teams ranked in the top five, No. 1 Dallas Skyline 15 Royal, No. 3 Mintonette m. 51, No. 4 Legacy 15-1 Adidas and No. 5 Boiler Juniors 151E Gold, combined to go 41-3. They each finished no worse than a tie for third. Their only losses came to other top five teams.

• All four of those teams will be favorites to make the podium at USA Volleyball’s Junior National Championships, which start tomorrow for the 15 Open division. Skyline is the top overall seed in the 36-team field. Mintonette is No. 2, Legacy No. 4 and Boiler Jrs. No. 6. The other two top seeds are No. 3 TAV 15 Black and No. 5 Austin Skyline 15 Royal.

• Mintonette, the reigning USAV age group national champion, came away with the Gold Medal at AAUs.

Max Miller’s team, getting strong play on the pins from Layla Hoying, Layla Stewart and Sara Snowbarger, and efficient distribution from setter Mallory Matheny, outlasted Legacy in three in the semifinals and defeated Skyline in three for the title.

• Skyline had only dropped one set, to the Boilers in the semifinal, before falling to Mintonette in the championship match.  Skyline won back in February when the two teams first met at Triple Crown.

“AAU was a good warmup for us before Nationals,” said assistant coach David Huynh. “We were able to try out different lineups and put them in pressure situations. This tournament was very competitive and what we needed before playing at Nationals.”

• Legacy was arguably the most dominant team in the tournament over the first three days. The Michigan club continued its high level of play in the first set of the semifinals, a 25-16 thrashing of Mintonette. Tough serving and consistent passing were key to prevailing.

The beginning of the second set was much the same, but when Legacy faltered a bit from the service line and passing serve, Mintonette’s fast tempo attacks started to take hold. The set finished 34-32 in Mintonette’s favor  — Legacy only had one match point in the marathon stanza – sparked Mintonette’s three-set win.

• The other nationally-ranked 15s teams all acquitted themselves well at AAUs. No. 17 Tribe 15 Elite Cardinal, No. 19 GP 15 Rox, No. 24 FaR Out 15 Black and top 35 WPVC 15 Armour Black all finished in a tie for fifth. No. 23 Tri-State Elite 15 Blue and top 35 Top Select 15 Elite both tied for ninth.

No. 14 AP 15 Adidas was the lowest ranked finisher. The Austin squad placed 13th, but went 9-3, losing only to Mintonette, WPVC and Top Select.

***

Miami-area squad 305 VBC 15 Alan won the 97-team 15 Premier division over South Carolina’s Stars 15 Bing.

• The 62-team 17 Open division at AAU Nationals, which completed play on Sunday, wasn’t as strong as 15 Open but not nearly as watered down as 18 Open. The field quality was bolstered by two junior-dominated teams, FaR Out 17 Black and K2 17 Adidas Jota, which played 18s all season, playing as 17s for their year-end event. Both teams went 8-4, tying for third and placing 13th, respectively.

OT 17 T Aaron, a team we first learned about when it placed second at the Triple Crown NIT in February, emerged with the championship trophy. The Tampa-based team lost just once, to USAV At-Large recipient Miami Hype 17N Emilio to start Day 2, then fended off Academy 17E Tsunami, FaR Out and Top Select 17 Elite in the Gold Bracket to claim the title.

OT, which will be among the favorites to medal at Junior Nationals in 17 Open, hadn’t competed since a so-so showing at the Windy City Qualifier in early April, but started strong and overcame the Miami Hype hiccup to get to championship Sunday with momentum.

“Our Day 3 pool was the difference maker on the weekend,” noted coach Aaron Harrison. “We had a really strong pool, (VCNebraska, Mintonette, and VC United), but the team came in focused and got to work. We were getting great touches from our block, allowing my backrow to get after it, and, once Taylor Parks gets the ball in her hands, we are in good shape. I knew if we could hang onto that energy, sense of urgency, and relentless pursuit of the ball we would have a great shot at winning AAUs.”

Harrison said that playing in the Gold Bracket was different than the first three days.

“The first two matches of the day, Academy and Far Out, had a different feel,” he explained. “Every point was big, with all teams trying to make it to the championship. I honestly feel the championship match was less stressful than the two leading up to it.

“We made it to the final match and I knew all the extra work the team has put in all year and their experience in the final match at NIT had them ready for that moment. The energy in the final match from both our fans and Top Selects made it a great environment for the girls to play in front of.”

Parks, a Florida recruit and standout setter, was the tournament MVP.

“Her volleyball IQ, athleticism, and competitiveness keep us in every play,”Harrison noted.

Libero Bella Lee and OH Taylor Bedinghaus joined Parks on the All-Tournament team. Lee extended her defensive range this week and her out-of-system setting was essential to team success. Bedinghaus passed serve in every rotation, “defended like crazy” and scored from both the outside and in the back row.

Harrison said that many more than those three deserved consideration for All-Tournament.

“I could give you the name of every girl on this team,” he said. “Every one of them had their moment that really impacted the team. This team truly loves each other and lays it all out there on every play knowing their teammates would do the same thing for them.”

***

Stars 17 HP, coached by Corey Helle, went 14-0 to capture the 17 Premier division.

• As I type this, the 73-team AAU 17 Open division is in its second day. Top-seeded Adidas KiVA 16 Red lost once yesterday, to MVA 16-1, a team from Idaho, to lose its status; and lost again this morning, to a Sports Performance 16 Elite team that should be one of the favorites. A5 16 Gabe, OT 16 T JP, Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal, Northern Lights 16-1 and MI Elite 16 Mizuno are other tough teams to watch in the event, which completes play on Thursday.

Among the other favorites in a fairly strong field

Until next time …

John Tawa