Wylie incoming senior Aubrey DeGrate helped lead Premier 17 Black G to a 10-2 record and a second-place finish in the American Division at the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championships in Indianapolis. Photo by Elijah Kloepping / C&S Media
By David Wolman
Volleyball players at Wylie and Wylie East have been busy this summer perfecting their craft, and the most noticeable work that they have put in came at the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship, held June 25-July 3 at the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Wylie’s Aubrey DeGrate, Keelyn Green and Wylie East’s Macy Barcelo joined forces to help lead Premier 17 Black G to a 10-2 record and a second-place finish in the 17 American Division. Premier 17 Black G defeated Alamo Premier 17 in the Round of 16 in three sets, outlasted HP Illinois 17 National in three sets in the quarterfinals, topped Zona VBC 17 Black in the semifinals and lost a highly-competitive match to Northern Lights in the finals.
Reigning District 9-6A MVP Julia Hudgins of Wylie earned a selection on the all-tournament team after helping lead Arete 17 Navy Telos to a national runner-up finish in the 17 USA Division. Arete 17 Navy Telos went 7-4 overall, highlighted by a two-set victory over VC United in the quarterfinals and a sweep of OK Charge 17 UA Tulsa in the semifinals, but lost to NORCO 17 Black in the title match.
Wylie’s Suzie Gonzales also earned a spot on the medal stand after helping lead UEPA 16D to a third-place finish in the 16 USA Division. UEPA 16D won seven of the 10 matches it played at nationals, including a three-set thriller of Rockwall Thunder 16 Elite in the quarterfinals of the gold bracket.
Overall, Wylie had nine players compete in Junior Nationals.
Jolene Bao (Madfrog 17’s N Green, 17 Open, 5-4 record) and Ava Williams (Dallas Skyline 15-Royal David, 15 Open, 4-5) led their respective teams to 13th place, Berkeley Weidinger (Dallas Skyline 16 Royal-Jimmy, 16 Open, 4-5) finished in 19th place, Hailyn Malouf (Elevate 14 Blue, 14 Liberty, 6-4) led her club team to 25th place and Kinley Tortorich (Dallas Skyline 16 Black, 16 USA, 3-7) earned 37th place.
Wylie East had three players compete in Indianapolis.
In addition to a national runner-up finish for Barcelo, Zoey Williams helped lead TAV 16 Blue to four wins for 13th place in the 16 Liberty Division and Norah Hicks guided EXCEL National Red to three wins and a 43rd-place finish in the 16 Open Division.
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