FAYETTEVILLE -- Most of the Ozark Juniors Volleyball Club 15-1 team has never even competed at the high school level, but they could be considered trail blazers for volleyball in Arkansas.
The team, which includes players from all over Northwest Arkansas, became the first from the Delta region, which includes Arkansas, Northern Mississippi and part of Tennessee, to win the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship.
At A Glance
USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championships
At New Orleans
15-and-under division
Quarterfinals
Ozark Juniors 15-1 def. Excel 15-2 of North Texas 25-20, 25-17.
Semifinals
Ozark Juniors 15-1 def. Absolute Volleyball Academy of Texas 27-29, 25-18, 15-6.
Finals
Ozark Juniors 15-1 def. Tribe Elite Dean of Florida 18-25, 25-18, 15-7.
The Ozark Juniors, which went 11-0 in the tournament, rallied from one set down to win both the semifinal and finals to claim the 15-year-old National Division title. The team ended the match with a 6-0 run for a 18-25, 25-18, 15-7 win over Tribe Elite Dean, which is based in a suburb of Miami.
Ella May Powell of Fayetteville, a rising sophomore who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, said her team battled nerves early in both matches, but she said a turning point for the team was in a tough 29-27 first-set loss in the semifinals to Absolute Volleyball Academy of Texas.
"Even though we lost that set we were coming back and we knew we had momentum," said Powell, who helped lead Fayetteville to the Class 7A state finals a year ago as a freshman. "We knew we were fighting back."
Powell also pointed to a year ago when the team went 10-1 in the tournament, but ended up in the silver bracket because they lost 16-14 in the third set of the match that would have put them in the championship bracket. This year the group was motivated not to have any letdowns.
"That was a very emotional thing for us," Powell said. "I think it was a big redemption year for us. It was absolutely incredible. It really didn't sink in that we won until the next day."
Jenny Lingenfelter, who serves as the 15-1s coach and the club director, said there's no question it's a special group.
"It's a huge accomplishment for our club to be national champions in such a short period of time," said Lingenfelter, who took over as director of the Fayetteville-based club in 2006. "This is such a special group of kids."
Lingenfelter, who played volleyball at Arkansas from 2000-02, said eight of the 10 players have been with the team for the past couple of years and several since they were 11. And the contributions were came from many different places throughout the tournament, but it starts with the setter Powell at the controls.
"Hitting-wise, we can definitely put the ball down," Lingenfelter said. "Haley is big on the right side and Lauren on the left. Defensively, Isabella Gibbany and Kaitlyn Schemel were strong. But our biggest strength is we have a great setter. Ella distributes the ball well. She's a smart kid who can make plays."
Powell's Fayetteville teammate Haley Warner, an imposing 6-foot-2 right side player, and 5-11 outside hitter Lauren Thompson of Springdale were also named to the all-tournament team.
Powell and Warner will both be sophomores in the fall, but they are already garnering attention from some of the top college coaches in the country. Thompson, who will be a sophomore at Springdale Har-Ber, will also get D-I attention, along with Emma Palasak of Bentonville, Lingenfelter said.
Sports on 07/03/2015