Boston Festival 2019

Lindsay Price
Mar 2, 2019
7 min read

Updated: Mar 2, 2019

Check out what the coaches had to say about the 2019 Boston Festival!

18 Grand Central

The 18’s put in great work this past weekend in Boston. After a slow start to the tournament, the girls rallied to win their third game of the first day and carried that momentum going into the second day, finishing Saturday with a record of 2-1. The third day saw some of the best volleyball we have played all year. After a well rounded win against CRVBC, it was time for a rematch against CT stars. The girls played exceptionally, but after a very hard fought battle lost the third set 16-14.

As always, every girl had her own contribution that was imperative to our success. Mackenzie Anderson dug every ball on Friday, totaling 34 digs and played well the whole weekend. The weekend saw the return of Julia O’Connor after an ankle injury but you would not have known by her average of 5 blocks per game. Kristen Dansereau stepped in two positions playing outside and middle and produced a .323 hitting average. Overall, it was another successful weekend for our huskies but is time to get back to work for our first NERVA!

-Coach Jose Rodriguez, Coach Carlos Rivera, Coach Sam McCreath

17 National

We played some of the best ball we’ve played all season....unfortunately it wasn’t at the beginning of the tournament. We got to learn a hard lesson on how to start a tournament and how to sustain our level of competition. Playing 2 three-day Tournaments in two weekends was stressful. The squad performed up to task and followed the leadership of our Co-Captains, Emily Dempsey and Juliet Young. The two served very well all weekend including a killer match point serve my middle blocker, Emily Dempsey to end a 3-set battle in victory in day 2. As we turn around and gear up for our trip north to Maine...we look to reinforce our offense by allowing our great serve-receive to open up our options. Pamoja!

-Coach Ryan Woodcock & Coach Jaime Snyder

17 Northeast

17 Northeast played well together all weekend and bonded really well while taking a trip to Quincy Market together. We made it to the Bronze bracket, but lost a tough one to a very strong team. We improved in team communication and each player improved individually in an area they have been working on. Our experience in Boston helped to get us ready for our 1st NERVA tournament this weekend.

-Coach Shelly Howlett, Coach Leon Tse, Coach Jordyn Dube

17 New England

Division: 17 USA

Finish: Silver Bracket, 9th of 36

Husky New England did great in Boston! Some highlights include going 2-1 on day 1 setting us up to compete with the best the competition had to offer (we later played tournament winner Eclipse 17 Elite (NY) and runner up AVA 17-ONYX (PA)).

On Day 2, we defeated a very good team Ocean County Volleyball Club 17 National (NJ), a team that took the 2nd place team in the tournament to their limit (losing 28-30 and afterwards losing the deciding set).

Overall we placed 9th of 36 teams in the tournament, placing the highest of all New England teams entered into 17 USA. Setter Morgan Sanborn served, set, and defended excellently. OH Alex Flanagan showed a lot of versatility in her ability to serve, receive, defend and attack.

Our tournament finished on day 3 when we had a chance to rematch Infinity Volleyball Club (PA) in the semi-final. Whereas the first time we lost in 2, this time we were able to win a tight second set to push them to 3. Boston was a great test that showed us how relentless the competition can be and at what level we will be expected to compete. Most importantly, it helped us achieve a new high level of play when the competition demanded our best.

-Coach Jonathan Bui, Coach Alyssa Carlson, & Coach Charles Saunders

16 National

Husky 16 National had a successful weekend overall. We ended up winning the bronze bracket in the 16 Open division. We went 2-1 on day 1 of pool play. On the second day we unfortunately didn’t come away with any match wins, but we were close in all of our matches, going to 3 sets twice, and losing by very few points in the one match that we lost in two sets. I believe if we were able to string up a few more point runs at the end of games, we could’ve easily came out top 2 and advanced to the gold bracket. Coming from DC at the Capitol Hill Classic just last week, we were in need of having a good weekend to show that we are in fact improving and learning from each tournament. What we struggled with down in DC, we were slowly improving on and it showed in Boston. We are reading well and it improved with each match. Our level of focus and attention to detail is getting better and starting to become a (good) habit. As a coach, you want the girls to recognize the amount of effort and work it is going to take to get the results we want. “Anything worth having is worth working hard for.” In the next few practices, we will continue to instill the goal of playing “purposeful volleyball” and improving their volleyball IQ. We also want the girls to get a better sense of belief and determination and competitiveness/fire, so what we will be working on in the next few practices are goal oriented and specific point-earned scrimmage type play. Playing with purpose and playing with passion go a long way. “If it is important to you, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.”

-Coach Tony Sanith & Coach Abby Stern

16 Northeast

After a rough start on Day 1, the team pulled off a win in the last game of the pool to finish 1-2. Entering Day 2, the team showed off their competitive spirit, starting 2-0 without dropping a set. With the last game of the pool starting at 9:30pm, they showed their fight and endurance and managed a 16-14 win in the 3rd set, ending the day 3-0 and finishing at 10:30pm. They carried that through into Day 3, winning their first match in bracket. Unfortunately, they fell in the finals right after that. The 16 Northeast team showed their ability to listen and make in-game adjustments and improved on their defense. They are starting to own their individual skill and also really pulled together as a team.

-Coach Brian Liu & Coach Dave Sprowson

16 New England Red

Despite starting off a little rough on Day 1, we fought through as a team and lost in the finals of Flight 2. Going on forward we will be continuing to work on being more efficient especially when siding out.

-Coach Kentaro White & Coach Lydia Niderno

16 New England Black

Husky 16 New England Black had great weekend showing a lot of growth as a team. The girls were able to make smarter choices knowing when to tip or hit. This propelled them into the Gold bracket on Sunday where they ended up playing the only team they lost to on Friday in three sets, Jags 16-1. The girls ended up losing in 3 sets but Jags 16-1 went on to win the whole bracket. Husky 16 New England Black was the only team to take sets off of the Jags 16-1 the whole weekend. The girls hope to meet them again at another tournament soon!

-Coach Juliette Givens and Coach Emily Engelhardt

15 National

15 National came into the Boston tournament with an attitude of improving from start to finish. First day started off with a tough pool, losing to the teams that would eventually finish second and third in the open bracket. As a team, we continue to improve our skills but need to focus primarily on our attitude and the non-skill based aspects of the sport. The players made this their primary objective on Sunday and finished strong. We are looking forward to our next tournament.

-Coach Donnie Colebrook & Coach Brianna Roath

15 Northeast

The girls had consistently tough competition this weekend so they had the opportunity to put their defense and serves to work. They put forward their best efforts and worked through some new challenges that arose. We are looking forward to NERVA 1 to continue our growth and progress in real game situations.

-Coach Laura Smolinski & Coach Caroline Flinchum

15 New England

"15 New England showed great improvement during the Boston tournament. Advancing to the silver bracket, they competed with each team they faced. Players showed improved awareness of positions, rotations, and communication. Passers are playing more aggressively and passing with greater control. Setters have made significant improvements in both ball handling and placement, and hitters are swinging a great deal more. Serving was a certain area of strength this weekend. Overall this team is demonstrating a lot of flexibility and tremendous team effort! Moving forward, 15 New England will be working on trusting their teammates as well as taking more risks.

-Coach Molly Grabowski & Coach Abby Gordon

14 Red

"14 Red started off with a tough pool on day 1. The first two teams they played finished 1st and 2nd in Gold Open, and one of those teams is playing in 16 Gold this upcoming Nerva tournament! Despite this adversity, the team stayed strong without getting down on themselves. Jocee Powers sacrificed herself on the court by saving the ball countless times on communication issues and difficult serves or tips. This past weekend I saw that the team learned how to stay strong during tight matches. This group is a fun team to work with, they progress more and more every day. In upcoming practices we will be working on improving serve-receive passing on more difficult serves and making more confident and aggressive swings at the ball."

-Coach Lindsay Price & Coach Matt Cyr

14 Black

"14 Black played short handed all weekend and lost in the 14 club silver semifinals. The team continues to build their positional understanding of the game, while bringing an infectious enthusiasm to the court. We were also the last team to leave the convention center Friday night at 11pm."

-Coach Steve Goodwin & Coach Kelsey Armstrong