Harker volleyball team member Shannon Richardson, grade 9, wrapped up a stellar July by winning the USA Beach Junior Volleyball Championships, (National Division), age 14 and under category, with her partner, Alexandra Kim of Daly City. The event was held in Milwaukee, on July 28-29. In the two days of play, Richardson and Kim went undefeated.
Richardson and Kim competed against 16 other teams from around the country for the title. “It was a fantastic tournament,” said Ben Barr of USA Beach Junior Volleyball. “They should be very proud!”
In her warm up to nationals, Richardson had a great round in July, including four tournaments and a high performance camp and mini-tournament that was even tougher than the Nationals event.
Her first event was July 14. Richardson and her partner for the trip, Chanti Holroyd, a freshman at Mountain View High School, competed in a California Beach Volleyball Association (CBVA) Cal Cup Qualifier in Pacific Palisades, earning first place in the age 14 and under category, qualifying them for the Sept. 2 championships in Manhattan Beach (see photos – Richardson is on the left in both, Holroyd is wearing the black and white top; Kim is wearing a tee shirt).
Next stop was the USA Junior Beach Volleyball High Performance Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. At the conclusion of the four-day camp on July 18, Richardson participated in a mini-tournament in which girls had to play with a different partner for every match. Richardson was the only camper who did not lose a single match with any of her partners.
Immediately afterwards, Richardson moved on to the USA Junior Beach High Performance Championships at Hermosa Beach, July 19-21. The tourney started with two days of pool play, followed by a day with cross pool and finals. Richardson and Holroyd lost only one match on the first day of pool play, so advanced to finals where they took the gold medal, beating the one team they had lost to in pool play.
Next, July 22, the pair went after the 16-and under category in a CBVA tournament in Doheny, Calif., where they had some tough practice and earned second place.
Richardson’s last outing in this trip was a CBVA Qualifier in Santa Barbara July 24 where Richardson and Holroyd took first place, beating the team they lost to in Doheny two days earlier.
Richardson, who has competed for Harker since grade 4, then traveled to Milwaukee for the USA Junior Beach Championships, where she and partner Kim triumphed!