SoCal Cup Recap

SoCal Cup Showcase tournament recap

On Thursday June 10th sixteen Bay to Bay teams traveled to Irvine, California to compete in the SoCal Cup Showcase. The tournament took place at two separate sites in the Southern California area (Momentous Sports Center and AIM Sportsplex in Seal Beach). At the conclusion of the 3-day event, Bay to Bay teams walked away with some impressive finishes and many valuable lessons. Let's take a look at each of the teams performances from the weekend:

Bay to Bay 18-1: The 18-1's got into a groove while in Southern California. The team came in seeded 12th in the tournament but finished the weekend in a tie for 5th place. They defeated a number of Open qualified teams including 949 and Pinnacle. In their quarterfinal match they lost a a barnburner to the eventual champion Vanguard 24-26, 27-29. Cos Masters was selected to the All-Tournament team.

Bay to Bay 18-2: The 18-2's went 0-6 on the weekend while competing in the Open division. They played a number of very close matches against Open and USA qualified teams including a 3 set loss to AZ Fear and Balboa Bay 18 White.

🥇 Bay to Bay 17-1: The 17-1's continued to test themselves against the top teams in the country. On the weekend they went 9-0 and won three very tight matches during their playoff push. As the age old adage goes, "Steel sharpens steel". Theoren Brouillette and Moses Wagner were named to the All-Tournament team, Ryan Duross was named tournament MVP.

Bay to Bay 17-2: Coach Ryan and Mark's squad finished 18th in the 17 Open division after going 5-3 on the weekend. The team had solid wins over NCVC, Wave, and 949 and continue to trend upwards as we head into the Junior National championships. The 17-2's will compete in the Club division during BJNC where they look to improve upon a Silver medal finish from 2019.

🥈 Bay to Bay 16-1: Coach Arielle and Colton's squad was tested early on at the SoCal Cup. In the first match of the tournament, it was a 2019 National Championship rematch with Bay to Bay 16-1's taking on Balboa Bay 16-1's. Bay to Bay came out on top with a 2-set victory and overtook the #1 overall seed in the tournament. They carried that momentum through to the Gold bracket where they avenged an earlier loss to SCVC, then defeated a very physical Ocean Bay squad in 3 sets, before falling in the finals to none other than their day one opponent the Balboa Bay 16-1's. Jack Ebertin and Sudhit Rao were named to the All-Tournament team.

🥈 Bay to Bay 16-2: Coach Josh, John, and Sam's squad had another great showing in Irvine making their third straight finals appearance. They finished 2nd in the USA division losing to Balboa Bay 16 White in the finals. On the weekend, the team went 8-1 and carried a ridiculous 1.69 point ratio over the three days. Sean Willson and Julian Villanueva were All-Tournament selections. This unit continues to elevate their game as we head towards BJNC where the 16-2's will compete in the USA division.

🥉 Bay to Bay 16-Club: Yet again, coach Lavelle and Brendan's team came away with some hardware at a high level tournament. The 16-Club team finished third in the 16 USA division and overtook the #2 overall seed by defeating eventual champion Balboa Bay in 3 sets on day one (25-20, 24-26, 18-16). Matthias Casier and Jacob Ngai were selected to the All-Tournament team.

🥉 Bay to Bay 15-1: The boys of 15-1 went 4-2 on the weekend, falling in the semi-finals to eventual runner up Balboa Bay. Throughout the tournament the 15-1's played some extremely competitive matches that will serve them well on their quest for Gold in Kansas City. Highlights included a high energy match with MB Surf, a rematch with Balboa Bay 15 White, and an impressive win over 949. Roan David Alviar and Kali Duvvuri were selected to the All-Tournament team.

Bay to Bay 15-2: The 15-2's scratched and clawed their way to a Gold bracket berth at the SoCal Cup. The boys went 2-4 on the weekend with losses coming to the first, second, and third place finishers at the event. In their quarterfinal match against MB Surf, the 15-2's applied pressure throughout the entire match before falling 23-25, 22-25. Luke Vieira was named to the All-Tournament team for the teams 5th place finish.

Bay to Bay 15-Club: Coach Gregg and Natalie's squad finished the weekend tied for 5th place with an overall record of 4-3. Their 3 losses came at the hands of Pinnacle (1st place), Balboa Bay (2nd place), and MB Surf (T-3rd place). Tyler Alden was selected to the All-Tournament team.

🥇 Bay to Bay 14-1: Finishing the weekend at 9-0, the 14-1's took home the Gold medal at the SoCal Cup Showcase. Over the course of the weekend, the 14-1's faced a number of new challengers that they had yet to play at a tournament, including Balboa Bay, Pinnacle, AZ Fear, and Bay to Bay 14-Premier! Julien Pally and Adrian Liu were selected to the All-Tournament team. The boys now set their eyes to Kansas City and the 14 Open division.

Bay to Bay 14-Premier: Coach BJ and Jon's squad went 3-4 while competing in the 14-Open division of the SoCal Cup finishing tied for 5th place. When asked, Coach BJ said the team made some massive improvements over the course of the weekend and showed that they can compete against the top teams in the country (taking MB Surf, the 2nd place finisher, to 3 sets and playing Bay to Bay 14-1's tight in their quarterfinal matchup. Holden Findley was selected to the All-Tournament team. 14-Premier will compete in the USA division at Junior Nationals.

Bay to Bay 14-Club: Coach Andrew and Teague's team went 1-5 on the weekend and still found a way to break into the Gold division by winning the pool crossover matchup. You don't have to win them all, just the right ones! The team continues to make some massive strides together and will be competing in the Club division at Junior Nationals. Cade Miller was selected to the All-Tournament team.

Bay to Bay 13-1: Coach Beau and Hillary's team played 10 matches over the course of the weekend (a club record in Vegas). The 13-1's went 2-5 on the weekend, finishing in 11th place of the 14 USA division. The team had nice wins over UVC 13's and our Bay to Bay 13-Premier team.

Bay to Bay 13-Premier: Playing in their first tournament ever, the 13-Premier team finished 17th. Coach Kevin and Joseph noted that the boys brought a great attitude and learned a lot from their first real club volleyball event. The coaches said they were excited to get back into the practice gym to keep laying the foundation for the future.

Bay to Bay 12-1: Also playing in their first tournament ever, the 12-1's team finished 10th in the 12-under division of SoCal Cup Showcase. The team competed with tons of energy throughout the weekend and showed coach Ryan and Justin glimmers of great volleyball. Now to get back into the gym to become even more consistent with the fundamentals!

Have any stories, highlights, or photos from the weekend? Share them with us on social media or [email protected].