SVBC U16 team tips off at Junior Olympics today
<p>Pictured back row, from left to right: Hailey Dunn, Taylor Martin, Amy Shepard, Emma Liband and Lexi Riley. Front row: Trinity Young, Mariah Kluver, Hailey Olin, Hannah Neumann and Kennedy Search. (Photo by ERIC PLUMMER)</p>
SANDPOINT — This much has already been established: The Sandpoint Volleyball Club U16 team is among the top 48 teams in the nation, earning one of the coveted spots to the Junior Olympics, which start today in Columbus, Ohio.
This is yet to be determined: Where, among the 48 best of the best, does the Sandpoint squad rank?
They’ll get a chance to find out where starting this morning, when the No. 45 seed Sandpoint team faces the No. 20 seed Azu Premier team from Arizona. In the past, Sandpoint has proven many seeding committees wrong, and head coach Jack Dyck believes this team will be no exception.
“If we handle well and serve well, you never know. I tell the girls someone has to win,” said Dyck, noting the team really doesn’t have any weaknesses. “We’re pretty good at everything, and we’ve become a lot smarter. We’re more consistent at a higher level, and being good for longer periods of time.”
Unlike regional tournaments, only the best of the best earn an invite to the Junior Olympics, meaning there are no easy matches. Also in Sandpoint’s six team pool is the No. 4 seed from Miami, the No. 29 seed from Deleware and a team from Cleveland.
Per usual, Sandpoint will be the shorter team most of the time, facing front lines with two and three inch height advantages. Dyck has taken teams to national tournaments before, and is always pleasantly surprised by how they hold their own.
“When we’re good, we’re really good,” he said, adding the team’s confidence is high after winning the regional qualifier despite being seeded in the 20’s. “We’re not afraid to win anymore. When the match is tight, we’re much better at finishing the deal.”
Sandpoint will face all five teams in its pool, and only the top three will advance into the gold bracket, and the chance to compete for a top 24 finish. The team started practicing at 6 a.m., to get used to the Eastern time change.
Focus, hustle and being tight knit were among the answers when the team was asked what its strength was. The players talked of a top 10 finish as a goal, and if all goes well, it’s not so far-fetched.
“We work as a team and move fluidly,” said Emma Liband of the team’s strength. “If everybody is moving in synch, it’s beautiful.”