Southside Volleyball Club’s latest run at junior nationals is built on the evolving strengths of maturity and intelligence, coach Guy Enriques said. ADVERTISING Southside Volleyball Club’s latest run at junior nationals is built on the evolving strengths of maturity and
Southside Volleyball Club’s latest run at junior nationals is built on the evolving strengths of maturity and intelligence, coach Guy Enriques said.
That the Southside 17s are making better decisions on the court was evident Tuesday after they recorded their eighth victory to reach the quarterfinals of the USA Volleyball tournament in Dallas. But make no mistake, Enriques said, the Big Island-based club also has become much more mature off the court, which became apparent to him after he recently pulled off one small victory at bed check.
“These are things you like to see,” said Enriques, coach at Kamehameha-Hawaii, “and it’s huge for kids this age. At 17, they got one more year left to go.”
Shaking off its first loss, Southside beat Cincinnati Attack 25-21, 25-19 behind Kamehameha-Hawaii seniors Avery Enriques (11 kills) and Addie Enriques (eight) to ensure a spot in the gold medal bracket. Seeded fourth, Southside plays a team from Maine on Wednesday in the round of eight. Each club enters the match 8-1.
“We’ve lived up to and surpassed expectations,” said Guy Enriques, whose club began the tournament seeded 12th. “This is the best of the best.
“Everywhere you look, there are college coaches scouting players.”
Southside won a point tiebreaker to advance from its pool and won’t have to face the only team it’s failed to beat. In the middle match Tuesday, Vaqueros of Puerto Rico proved to be a tough matchup for Southside’s defense, eking out a 28-26, 27-25 victory. Addie Enriques led the way with 11 kills in defeat, Avery Enriques added six and Konawaena junior Ben McKinley added four.
Earlier, Avery Enriques (11 kills) and Addie Enriques (seven) powered Southside to its second victory against Ponce Pumas of Puerto Rico, 25-19, 25-20.
“From here, we’re going to be out there playing blind, and will have to figure out what to do during the game,” Guy Enriques said.
That’s were the rise in maturity, led by twins Avery and Addie, could come in handy. Southside’s core group have been playing together for the past six years, bagging a 14s title in 2013 and finishing ninth in last year.
“They’re getting prepared and focused on what we need to do before matches better than ever before,” Guy Enriques said. “Whether it be at dinner or even between sets.”
The devotion to preparation spreads to curfew. Enriques said he took on the thankless task of trying get a group of teenagers to voluntarily give up their smart phones at night. It took awhile, but the coaches finally won out.
“It was a battle, and they voted four times, but it proved we were all in and it eliminated a built-in excuse,” Enriques said. “They gave up something they cherish.”
On Wednesday, Southside can something it cherishes.
