USA VOLLEYBALL BOYS’ JUNIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
How “tweet it was” for the Balboa Bay Club FULL FLIGHT: Balboa Bay Quiksilver 16 Coach Richard Polk celebrates after a long journey.
The Balboa Bay 16 Quiksilver
team needed the help of social networking to win its USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Champion- ship. After being informed their flight
to Minneapolis had been cancelled and they would not be able to make it to the event on time, a parent on the prominent club team impro- vised. Brad Barnes, whose son Weston
plays for Balboa Bay, waited 99 min- utes on hold with the airline before he turned to his Twitter account and communicated the magnitude of the team’s situation. An ABC news team was alerted to the dilemma and at the 11th hour a bigger plane was utilized to get Balboa Bay to Minneapolis. “Having them miss the nationals would have been devastat- ing,” Barnes said. “It was a team effort from the coaches and parents, we all played a role in getting the boys to Minneapolis.” Once they arrived, seventh-seed-
ed Balboa Bay Quiksilver delivered. Tucker Pikula, a 5-10 outside hitter, earned Most Valuable Player honors after a run that saw the team dis- patch of higher seeded teams until they topped rival The HBC 16 in the championship match. Richard Polk, who has won six national titles in his 23 years at
40 | VOLLEYBALLUSA
SWEET SUCCESS: Balboa Bay 18 Quiksilver were not as rushed to the court as the 16s team, but made it a gold-medal sweep in the 16s and 18s Open Divisions in Minneapolis.
Balboa Bay, said this team showed as much heart as any of his past squads. The team also leaned on 6- 10 middle blocker Kevin Rakestraw and first-year setter Kent Kawa- guchi. “I am really proud of this
team to just keep working and get- ting better all season,” Polk said. “We had to work just to get to the tournament and it was a great way to finish off the season.
PHOTO: BRACE HIMMELGARN
PHOTO: DAVID SHERMAN
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