AVA Texas earns pair of national titles
Local spikers find championship form at USA tournament in New Orleans
Before the club volleyball season began Absolute Volleyball Academy codirectors Jerry Linch and Katy Garza had a message for Suzy Buechele: Now is the time.
After a pair of fifthplace finishes at the Junior Olympics the last two years, everybody involved at the Dickinson club knew that its top 17-under team had the makings of a national champion.
Loaded with some of the best high school talent south of Houston, AVA’s 17 Rox traveled to New Orleans for USA Volleyball’s Junior National Championships with the hope of winning it.
That is exactly what they did.
AVA defeated No. 1-ranked and two-time reigning national champion Arizona Storm, 26-24, 21-25, 19-17 to become the first Houston team to win an Open division championship at the national level.
“I always knew they could. These are some of the most physically talented kids,” said Buechele, who was recently hired as the head coach at Alvin after two years as an assitant at Pearland. “We spent alot of time in the offseason discussing that we also need to focus on character. We have been learning about integrity, accountability and discipline. Physically I knew they could, but volleyball is so much more than physical.”
One national title would have been significant enough, but AVA won two. Not only did the club win two titles, it won two in the 17-under division. The 17 Attack team won the American championship proving AVA may be home to the nation’s best 17-under players.
“There are some big clubs that have two national champions in different age divisions,” Linch said. “But it is very unusual for it to happen in the same division.”
AVA had won three national titles before this summer. The club was co-founded by Garza and Linch in 2006 when they realized if they combined their clubs they might have something special. The club has taken off ever since it opened its Dickinson training facility in 2009. This year AVA’s 15 Rox and 14 Rox teams finished third at the national championships.
“We were both fairly successful with our old clubs,” said Linch, who used to coach at Friendswood. “When we put them together it was a synergistic effect. We both have the same common goals. We make it all for the kids. This area has become so strong in volleyball talent we continue to put out quality teams.”
The two national championship rosters are a Who’s Who of local volleyball stars. Alvin, Clear Creek, Clear Falls, Clear Lake, Clear Springs, Deer Park, Dickinson, Pearland Santa Fe and Texas City are represented.
Buechele’s 17 Rox team has been mostly the same the last two years, but it added Ridge Point’s Caitlyn Cooper for this year. The University of Kentucky pledge was named MVP of the national tournament. Clear Falls’ Ashlynn Dunbar and Alvin’s Taylor Horsfall earned AllAmerican honors.
Santa Fe’s Keegan Nelms of AVA’s 17 Attack was named the MVP for the American Division. Clear Springs’ Elizabeth Armstrong and Cameron Edwards were named AllAmericans.
All of the players will take some time off before gearing up for their senior years. Some will be on the same team but mostly they will play against each other. That will make for some exciting matches as they try to win district, regional and state titles.
“We have all the best seniors in the area,” Buechele said. “It shows how high of a level the play will be in high school this season.”