“Jared Rudinger, who coaches at NORCO, was instrumental is facilitating us working with NORCO to see if there was a fit,” said Kay Rogness, the tournament’s director. With the Colorado Convention Center being used as a hospital until the end of March and USA Volleyball keeping April as the month for the 18s Junior National Championships, another venue was necessary, whether in Colorado or another state. Yes, parents and other fans were not permitted to attend, but the 101 teams that made the trek were treated to a venue that served the purpose and, most importantly, was in a location that permitted it to be played. The facility opened just a month before the 18s descended on it for Crossroads (which must have caused more than a few panic-inducing moments), but proved a most able host. It is home to NORCO VBC and its spanking new, sparkling 10-court, Taraflex facility. Windsor, Colorado, sits due north of Denver some 58 miles, mostly on I-25.Qualifiers like Crossroads had to “take the temperature of the crowd,” both assessing the amount of COVID in the area and the political climate on a daily basis to determine how, when, where, and even if, to conduct their events. quickly and surged in the fall, putting the 2021 club season at risk.

Nor did any other qualifier thereafter or Junior Nationals.ĬOVID-19 spread across the U.S. “We wish things had not changed overnight, but they have.”Ī Denver Post story announcing the postponement noted, as follows: “The news release did not indicate whether the tournament’s second week will be held at a later date or would be canceled.”

“We have just received important and conclusive information that causes us to change the notice we sent out yesterday and announce that we must stop Crossroads for week two,” the early-morning March 12 news release said. Just a few hours later, following a recommendation by USA Volleyball that all its sanctioned events scheduled through March 22 “be postponed or canceled to ensure the safety of athletes as the COVID-19 virus spreads,” Crossroads made another announcement: On Wednesday, March 11, the tournament announced that the Denver event would go on as scheduled. One year ago, as the United States was trying to figure out just what this coronavirus was and what to do about it, Week 2 of Crossroads was getting ready to be contested.The 11s-14s age groups subsequently got pushed back to May (to follow the 15s-17s), but the Crossroads Qualifier would go on. The youngsters (11s-14s) would be at the convention center in early April and the older players (15s-17s) would invade the convention center in early May. The 18s would be a stand-alone tournament played March 19-21 at two facilities in Windsor: NORCO’s current six-court facility and a new, 10-court facility opening soon. 30, the announcement appeared on Facebook: the Molten Colorado Crossroads National Qualifier, typically held late February/early March on consecutive weekends at the Colorado Convention Center in Dallas, would indeed take place in 2021, only with some modifications thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Okolo finished with 13 kills for Etiwanda, and Tippeconnic added 12 kills for the Eagles.Daily Dots (March 23, 2021): Club or high school volleyball factoids, notions and ideas to impress your friends (or not) Ramirez and Wagdy added 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Underwood had a match-high 14 kills for Norco. The match fittingly ended when Coaston and Tippeconnic combined for a block to set off a celebration on the court. The score in the fourth set was tied at 23, but a service error by Norco put Etiwanda on match point. “I made a couple of errors here and there, but I never ever lost confidence in myself,” Okolo said. Okolo, a senior who is headed to Cal State Northridge, had six kills in the set, half of those down the stretch.

Etiwanda’s offense cooled down in the third set (only six kills), but the Eagles bounced back with 14 kills during the fourth game. Ramirez had the hot hand early, putting away five kills to help Norco take a 14-12 lead. The fourth set was tight from the beginning and featured seven lead changes. It worked in the third set, as Taylor Underwood, Demi Wagdy and Selayah Ramirez combined for 14 kills. “We also didn’t do a good job covering.”Ĭelsetin adjusted his lineup throughout the match, trying to get his top hitters against smaller blockers. “We had some runs in those sets, but (Etiwanda’s) block was very good,” Norco coach Jake Celestin said. Emma Tippeconnic led the way with five kills on six attacks. The Eagles also were extremely efficient on offense in that set, finishing with a. Norco led early, but Etiwanda used its blocking to fight its way back into the game.

Norco volleyball