The Southern California Invitational
or as it will now be known as….
The Tournament of Trains, Planes, Automobiles (and Greyhound Buses)
(headline courtesy of Kim Parker)
or as it will now be known as….
The Tournament of Trains, Planes, Automobiles (and Greyhound Buses)
(headline courtesy of Kim Parker)
The dedication and perseverance of the parents and players of LIVBC is just awesome!!
We had players who drove all night to get to an alternate airport…with some of them sleeping in the airport waiting for a flight out on Friday….others were lucky enough to get seats on flights leaving on Wednesday night. Players flew out of Baltimore, Harrisburg, Albany and DC. We were able to field 3 teams…16 National, 17 National and 18 National. The 15 National and 17 Regional team just could not get flights out.
The 16 National team, ranked 22nd in the tournament, was scheduled to start with 6 players on Friday but Stan Maring and Jacob Waga got seats out of Baltimore to arrive at 9am on Friday and made their first match at 11am. Sadly, Rimas never got to play front row!
In their first match of the day, they beat SASBoys (11th seed) from Hawaii in a thrilling 3 set match…with the 3rd set ending in an 18-16 victory for LIVBC. They went on to beat Central California and 303 from Colorado and lost in 3 to Team Rockstar (6th seed) to end the day at 3-1 and 2nd in the pool.
Saturday morning brought more team members out to San Diego, including their setter, Ryan Parker. In order to get into the Gold bracket, they would have to place 1st or 2nd again on Saturday…a formidable task. They were set to face 949 (3rd seed in the tournament), Epic (13th seed), and OCVC, the eventual tournament winner.
And once again, they were up to the challenge. In their first match they faced 949 and beat them in three sets…the last set going to 16-14. They lost to OCVC in three and then came back to beat Epic in two straight sets to move to Gold and secure their bid!
The 17 National team had only 6 players the entire weekend until Zach Zdrojeski, the lone 15 National team player to get to San Diego, stepped up to help them out as a Libero. The 6 players, Dominic Bonura, Brian Delaney, Justin McArdle, Jeff Natalone, Justin Riccardelli and Matt Wertheim played their hearts out, but they had a really tough schedule the first day and dropped out of contention for the Gold. They bounced back on Saturday and managed to win their Flight on Sunday.
The 18 National team had only 5 players on Friday…so they had to forfeit. On Saturday they fielded a team of five 18s…Tommy Ogeka, Tim Luft, Jeremy Manchenko, Vinny Sottile, Herschel Wiseman and two 17 Regional Players…Brandon Safranek and Will Jantzen. They won their pool on Saturday and finished 2nd in Flight 1 on Sunday.
SCVA Junior Boys Invitational - January 5-7, 2018
Teams Attending: 18N, 17N, 17R, 16N, 15N
Hotel Information:
Springhill Suites San Diego Downtown/Bayfront
900 Bayfront Court
San Diego, CA 92101
Telephone: 619-831-0224
Room Rate is $159.00 plus tax per night for 2 Queen Beds
Residence Inn San Diego Downtown/Bayfront
900 Bayfront Court
San Diego, CA 92101
Telephone: 619-831-0225
Room Rate is $159.00 plus tax per night for King Suite w/ Pullout
Both hotels occupy the same building with a shared lobby. The 2 Queen size bed rooms are at Springhill Suites and the King Size beds with pull-outs are in the Residence Inn
Booking Procedure:
We are given a finite number of rooms…all of which are given on a first come, first served basis. Our
Block of rooms and the negotiated rate will be held until November 27th –any unused inventory will be released by hotel on that date. However; it is possible that you could call on November 25th and the LIVBC block would be all taken. Book early!
In order to reserve your room at Springhill Suites, use the following link:
https://kcsportshousing.formstack.com/forms/spring_hillqq_downtownbayfront_jr_invitational_confirmation
In order to reserve your room at Residence Inn, use the following link:
https://kcsportshousing.formstack.com/forms/residence_inn_downtownbayfront_jr_invitational_confirmation_copy
Enter Club Name as LIVBC. Reservations should be made for three nights: January 4th, 5th, & 6th.
Hotel requires a one-night deposit (plus tax) for each individual room booked.
Player Arrival & Departure:
Players need to arrive on Thursday, January 4th. The tournament starts on Friday at 8am.
The age groups are split between 8am and 2pm. We will not know which wave each age group is in until registration closes and the final count of teams is confirmed.
Do not book a return flight on Sunday before 7pm!
Hotel Amenities:
These hotels are 1 mile from the Convention Center. Rooms include complimentary breakfast and free wifi. There is an outdoor rooftop pool overlooking downtown San Diego and an on-site fitness center. Rooms include refrigerator, microwave, coffee/tea maker & hair dryer. On-site parking is $35 per day with limited self-parking available. Uber is readily available if you do not rent a car.
Tournament Site Information
San Diego Convention Center
111 West Harbor Drive
San Diego, CA 92101
Teams Attending: 18N, 17N, 17R, 16N, 15N
Hotel Information:
Springhill Suites San Diego Downtown/Bayfront
900 Bayfront Court
San Diego, CA 92101
Telephone: 619-831-0224
Room Rate is $159.00 plus tax per night for 2 Queen Beds
Residence Inn San Diego Downtown/Bayfront
900 Bayfront Court
San Diego, CA 92101
Telephone: 619-831-0225
Room Rate is $159.00 plus tax per night for King Suite w/ Pullout
Both hotels occupy the same building with a shared lobby. The 2 Queen size bed rooms are at Springhill Suites and the King Size beds with pull-outs are in the Residence Inn
Booking Procedure:
We are given a finite number of rooms…all of which are given on a first come, first served basis. Our
Block of rooms and the negotiated rate will be held until November 27th –any unused inventory will be released by hotel on that date. However; it is possible that you could call on November 25th and the LIVBC block would be all taken. Book early!
In order to reserve your room at Springhill Suites, use the following link:
https://kcsportshousing.formstack.com/forms/spring_hillqq_downtownbayfront_jr_invitational_confirmation
In order to reserve your room at Residence Inn, use the following link:
https://kcsportshousing.formstack.com/forms/residence_inn_downtownbayfront_jr_invitational_confirmation_copy
Enter Club Name as LIVBC. Reservations should be made for three nights: January 4th, 5th, & 6th.
Hotel requires a one-night deposit (plus tax) for each individual room booked.
Player Arrival & Departure:
Players need to arrive on Thursday, January 4th. The tournament starts on Friday at 8am.
The age groups are split between 8am and 2pm. We will not know which wave each age group is in until registration closes and the final count of teams is confirmed.
Do not book a return flight on Sunday before 7pm!
Hotel Amenities:
These hotels are 1 mile from the Convention Center. Rooms include complimentary breakfast and free wifi. There is an outdoor rooftop pool overlooking downtown San Diego and an on-site fitness center. Rooms include refrigerator, microwave, coffee/tea maker & hair dryer. On-site parking is $35 per day with limited self-parking available. Uber is readily available if you do not rent a car.
Tournament Site Information
San Diego Convention Center
111 West Harbor Drive
San Diego, CA 92101
