Kaylee Molina and Cynthia Orona, from Glenwood Springs and Battle Mountain respectively, placed second in the 16U American gold bracket at the USA Volleyball Beach National Championships on July 14 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This was the highest finish ever for a team from the United Volleyball Club of the Rockies. The pair qualified for the national event by winning the Rocky Mountain Region Beach National Qualifier in June. They were seeded 14th out of 22 teams in the gold bracket after the first two days of pool play. They went on to win matches against higher seeded teams, ultimately facing the No. 1 seed in the championship match and finishing with a silver medal. The coach praised their teamwork and individual skills and noted their ability to complement each other on the court. Orona’s natural and fluid style worked well with Molina’s highly trained skills. The club has been focusing more on their beach program in recent years, urging players to qualify for national tournaments, which has clearly paid off. Other teams from the club also qualified for the 16U gold bracket, showing the strength and depth of the program.
Photo credit
www.vaildaily.com
