By Phil Brozynski
Illprepb.com Editor
Orlando, Florida – Ouch, ouch, ow-wee and wow.
Three Illinois teams advanced to challenge matches in the 18 Classic division Thursday at the AAU Girls National Volleyball Championships at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
However, all three – Belusa United 18 Cyclones, EVC 18 Elite and Precision 18 Blue – lost their challenge matches, preventing any Illinois representation in the 18 Classic championship bracket.
That left ESVBC 18U Ninjas (Eastside Volleyball Club)m competing in the 18 Club division, to carry the Illinois banner into the championship bracket, and the girls from East Peoria did not disappoint, reaching the championship quarterfinals before falling out of national title contention.
After winning eight of its first nine matches in Orlando, Eastside “crossed” Clarksville VBC 18 Smack (Clarksville, Tennessee) off its to-do list Thursday, defeating the girls from the Volunteer state, 30-28, 25-20, in a crossover match to advance to Friday’s championship bracket.
The Ninjas won their championship bracket opener Friday, defeating Fusion 18 Nationals (Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin), 25-22, 25-12, in a quarterfinal feed-in match to earn a berth opposite Premier 18 Onitsuka (Maumee, Ohio) in the quarterfinals.
But Premier 18 Onitsuka, which finished 13th in the Premier division at the 18U National Championships 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 10-12, and reached the championship match Friday in Orlando before losing to TPV 18-Paragon (Franklin, Tennessee), ended Eastside’s season, 25-12, 25-17.
Eastside (40-16 overall) finished 9-2 and tied for fifth place in the 18 Club division.
“The Eastside 18U Ninjas delivered a phenomenal performance at the national tournament,” said ESVBC 18U Ninjas coach Patti Mingus. “The team played with incredible energy, focus and unity, showing what true teamwork looks like on the court.
“Defensively, the Ninjas were rock solid, thanks in large part to Kayleigh Keim, our outstanding libero, who played a crucial role in helping the team make in-game adjustments and tighten our defense throughout the tournament.
“Offensively, Addie Pacha brought the heat with her powerful hits, keeping opponents under pressure and helping drive our momentum in crucial matches. At the net, Lily Klaus showed brilliant court awareness and execution, using her smart setting strategies and sharp ball movement to keep the offense unpredictable and efficient.
“Across the board, the girls were aggressive with their serves, sharp in their plays, and consistently communicated on the court. Every game plan was a collective effort, and every player contributed to a strong, successful showing.
“The Eastside 18U Ninjas showed what heart, hustle, and teamwork can accomplish,” the coach added. “Congratulations to the girls on an incredible tournament.”
Eastside featured 5-11 rightside hitter Carly Whitaker (Morton), 5-8 outside/rightside Callie Whitcomb (Tremont), 5-8 setter Lilly Klaus (Tremont), 5-10 middle blocker/outside hitter Ella Karmenzind (Bartonville Limestone) and 5-11 middle blocker/outside hitter Emma Schaumburg (Peoria Notre Dame).
Also, 5-7 setter Hannah Nieukirk (Morton), 5-8 libero Shelby Sennett (Normal West), 5-4 libero Kayleigh Keim (Eureka), 5-8 leftside hitter Addison Pacha (Metamora), 5-11 middle hitter Lexie Robokoff-Mullen (Washington), 5-10 junior middle hitter Cadence Hotz (Macomb) and 5-9 opposite Kailey Ciesielski (Metamora).
Meanwhile, back in the 18 Classic division, Belusa United was seeking to defend the national championship it won a year ago and opened tournament play by winning its first eight matches in Orlando without dropping a single set.
However, Belusa United’s two-peat bid was denied by Valencianas 18U (Juncos, Puerto Rico), 25-20, 25-21, in a challenge match Thursday.
“With such a new team this year, I was very happy with what they have done all season and here in Orlando,” said Belusa United coach and club director Nicole Diamond. “But it was definitely not the finish we wanted.”
Also advancing to a challenge match Thursday was EVC 18 Elite (Eich’s Volleyball Club, Plainfield), which won seven of its first nine matches in Orlando to earn a berth opposite Lake Nona 18 Luis (Orlando, Florida).
After splitting the first two sets with Lake Nona, EVC took a 10-7 lead in the third set and still led 12-10 before disaster struck. The Floridians won five of the final six points to deny EVC entry to the championship division, 25-27, 25-22, 15-13.
EVC 18 Elite and Belusa United 18 Cyclones then squared off in a Consolation Division B semifinal feed-in, where Belusa United prevailed, 25-22, 23-25, 15-7, to send EVC home with a 7-4 record in Orlando and a 21st-place finish.
Belusa was far from done, however. The girls from Romeoville then faced OK Premier 18 Diamonds (Norman, Oklahoma) in the semifinals and dusted off the girls from the Sooner State, 25-22, 25-16, to reach the consolation championship.
Cyclones then took care of business in the consolation finals, defeating BVA 18-1 (Jacksonville, Florida), 23-25, 25-22, 15-12, to finish 11-1 in Orlando and tied for 13th place.
“Today summed out our season perfectly,” Diamond said. “After winning last year, a lot of our athletes had felt the expectations of doing something like that again. With only four returners from our 2024 team and several brand new faces to our club, we were not sure how this season would look.
“But each week, these girls pushed themselves to be better individual athletes and pushed themselves to be a strong team. We may not have had the biggest hitters, but we had some of the smartest hitters with a fantastic defense behind them.
“Yesterday, losing the challenge match was a setback for us, but the girls refocused and strived to finish strong,” the coach added.
Belusa United (52-12 overall) featured 5-6 outside hitter/defensive specialist Sam Bagdonaite (Lockport), 5-6 libero/defensive specialist Amanda Bagdonaite (Lockport), 5-1 defensive specialist Sienna Smith (Oak Forest), middle hitter/opposite Addison Ciesielski (Minooka) and 5-7 freshman setter/outside hitter Aubree Westerfield (Romeoville).
Also, 5-10 junior opposite/middle hitter Sara McGraw (Lockport), defensive specialist Sydney Piazza (Joliet West), 5-10 outside hitter Alivea Arsenault (Plainfield Central), junior setter Olivia Rademacher (Lincoln-Way Central) and 5-10 outside hitter Sophia Swiderski (Lemont).
EVC 18 Elite (44-29 overall) featured outside hitter Larkin Calay (Joliet Catholic), 5-6 junior outside hitter Rylie Erickson (Lemont), middle blocker Kylie Frigo, setter Sabrina Fu and setter Abigal Husk (Oswego).
Also, outside/middle hitter Alyson Scorsone (Plainfield East), 5-5 setter/defensive specialist Jalynn Skaggs (Minooka), outside hitter Reese Van Duyne (Wilmington) and 5-11 outside hitter/opposite Atalissa Zanderson (Romeoville).
The final Illinois entry to advance to a challenge match Thursday was Precision 18 Blue. Precision opened its championship quest in the 18 Classic division by winning its first nine matches, although the Antioch-based club had to survive three three-set matches.
However, Precision’s unbeaten streak was stopped in a challenge match by ECVBA 18-1 (East County Volleyball Academy, Santee, California), 25-22, 29-27, exiling the far north suburban ladies to the consolation bracket.
Precision’s stay in Consolation Division B was cut short in a semifinal match by BVA 18-1 (Jacksonville, Florida), 23-25, 25-13, 25-10. Precision finished 9-2 in Orlando and shared 17th place.
Precision 18 Blue (34-23 overall) featured setter Bella Bellucci (Antioch), outside hitter Rylee Bode (Lakes), defensive specialist Saige Bremer (Lakes), middle hitter Caroline Brown andmiddle hitter Deirdre Lowery (Lakes).
Also, middle hitter Daniella Mazzola (Richmond-Burton), middle hitter Keira Parmley (Grant), defensive specialist Elizabeth Perez (Niles West), setter Erica Randell (Zion-Benton) and setter Lili Rondon.
Elsewhere, in the 15 Open division, SPVB 15 Elite won five of its first six matches in Orlando, including a surprisingly easy 25-9, 25-19 victory Wednesday over No. 2 seed Legacy 15-1 Adidas (Sterling Heights, Michigan), ranked 12th nationally.
However, SPVB 15 Elite could not maintain the momentum from its Legacy win, losing to Miami Hype 15U Prime (Florida), 25-22, 25-23, and Empowered 15 Elite Black (Fort Wayne, Indiana), 25-20, 23-25, 15-6, on Thursday to finish third in its four-team pool.
Exiled to the consolation bracket, SPVB 15 Elite faced Northern Lights 15-1 (Burnsville, Minnesota) in a consolation semifinal Friday. The Aurora crew lost, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10, finishing 6-4 and tied for 15th place in the tournament.
SPVB 15 Elite (25-26 overall) was 5-10 outside hitter Lexie Grevengoed (Joliet West), 5-10 setter Allie Coyne (Wheaton Warrenville South), 5-4 libero/defensive specialist Morgan Choi (Glenbrook North) and 5-11 eighth-grade middle hitter Hadley Engler.
Also, 5-10 outside Victoria Vlcek (Oswego East), 5-10 outside hitter Sara Gilio (Oswego), 5-9 setter Mia Kantowski (Wheaton Warrenville South), 5-3 libero/defensive specialist Jessica Juan (St. Francis) and 6-0 middle blocker Natalie Golonka (Naperville Central).