Local Athletes Dig In At National Beach Volleyball In California
MADISON- The two-player team consisting of Discovery Middle School rising seventh grade student-athletes Allie Avena and Kennedy Vaughn recently participated in the USA Volleyball Youth Beach National Championships held in Manhattan Beach, Cal. The two 12-year old girls teamed together and finished 17th in the nation in the 33-team Gold Bracket.
“Just being in the Nationals is something special as we have worked hard and hope to return to the event next year,” said Avena, upon her return to Madison from the four-day tournament on the coast of the Golden State.
Vaughn added, “The tournament was really fun, but intimidating. In all, we had a great experience and really didn’t have that much pressure on us. Truly, I feel we did very well considering the amount of time that Allie and I have been playing together, which is less than two years.”
Earlier this year, the two girls won the Southern Region Rally held in Atlanta, which qualified them for the national event where they were the only team from Alabama to qualify.
Held on the beach with 38 courts laid out on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, the competition began with 68 teams in two days of pool play. Once the pool was completed only 33 teams advanced to the single elimination round of tournament play where the Madison twosome played three matches. Overall, the two played 11 matches and were 5-6 in those competitions.
“It was definitely different playing right there on the beach compared to where we play here locally,” said Avena. “Once we saw the competition on day one, we saw how good the competition was and we tried to fix our mistakes as went along. We learned how to play smarter and improve our communication during play.”
Both Avena and Vaughn play for the Discovery Panthers volleyball team and will soon begin their season of indoor play when middle school starts practices on Aug. 5. This was only their second season of outdoor beach play and the opportunity to make the transition from beginners to national qualifiers show how intense their devotion to being the best they can be.
“We are determined to be better and be the best as we’ve signed up to try and play year-round, which should make us equal with many of the other teams across the country,” said Vaughn.
While in Southern California, a mere 20 miles from Hollywood and even fewer miles from downtown Los Angeles, Avena and Vaughn each soaked in the sun and sights around the area and even took a tour of the stars of Hollywood. They saw numerous historical sites around the area and some of the high schools current Hollywood stars attended and the restaurants many visit. To the two visitors from Alabama, they found out in many ways those celebrities frequent the same, normal places they do.
“We even went to the Pacific Ocean, too,” added Vaughn. “It was so cold we almost couldn’t get in. It’s unlike the warm waters of the Gulf we have here in Alabama.”
Competition on Manhattan Beach was fierce as most of the teams, especially those from places like California, play beach volleyball year-round and have been together for years. The Alabama twosome showed they can play with any team, anywhere, anytime.
