News

Sunday, April 17, 2022 | Atlanta, Georgia

With an overall record of 10-0 (20-2 in sets), Triangle 16 Black wins the deeply talented 16 Open division at The Big South National Qualifier. 16 Black began the event as the overall four seed after finishing tied for 5th and earning a qualifying bid to USAV Junior Nationals at the Sunshine Volleyball Classic Qualifier two weeks prior.

After the first two rounds of pool play at Big South, 16 Black remained undefeated (6-0) and had not dropped a single set. On Saturday night the team began the Gold pool facing off against Top Select 16 Elite Blue (FL) who had previously defeated 16 Black at Sunshine. Triangle, looking for a different outcome, battled to capture the first set 26-24 and then proceeded to clinch the win in set two (25-22).

On Easter Sunday Triangle entered their second Gold pool match against OT 16 J Will (FL) who they had defeated at Sunshine two weeks prior. Triangle dropped their first set of the tournament, but regrouped and went on to win in three (24-26, 25-19, 15-3). Their final Gold pool match was against the #3 nationally ranked A5 (GA). Triangle had faced A5 in Gold pool play at Sunshine but was seeking a different outcome. The match was hard fought and would take three sets but Triangle 16 Black triumphed 2-1 (20-25, 25-23, 15-7). The first place finish in their Gold pool set up the championship match vs. Wave. In the championship final Triangle established early control of the match and went on to defeat Wave in straight sets (25-14, 25-20).

<WATCH MATCH POINT>

WATCH THE FULL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH (with replays) vs. WAVE 16 Brennan (CA)

VIEW HERE (free) ON ATHLETES GO LIVE

The Big South National Qualifier is the largest indoor girls junior volleyball tournament held over a single weekend in North America. Established in 1988 in Tampa, Florida, and previously known as the Tampa Bay National Qualifier, The Big South moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 2005. Since then, BSQ has called Atlanta home and has been one of the most competitive juniors events in the nation. In 2022, Big South had 174 courts in the Georgia World Congress Center and had over 1300 junior girls' teams aged 11-17s.

The members of Triangle 16 Black are:

Name........................................ City........................ High School

Emily Bobbitt............................. Clayton.................. Corinth Holders HS

Avery Booker............................. Holly Springs........ Middle Creek HS

Kiarrah (Kiki) Horne................... Raleigh.................. Millbrook HS

Ashlyn Philpot............................ Winterville............. D.H. Conley

Avery Scoggins.......................... New Bern.............. New Bern HS

Coley Shiflet............................... Randleman.......... Southwestern Randolph HS

Lilly Slaymaker........................... Raleigh.................. Wakefield HS

Laynie Smith.............................. Durham................. East Chapel Hill HS

Sophia Grace [SG] Stevens....... Wake Forest......... Millbrook HS

Asia Thigpen.............................. Pittsboro................ Northwood HS

Coaching Staff:

Head Coach, Mike Frank

Assistant Coaches: Katherine Koslowsky and Alissa McGuire

2.27.2022 | Atlanta, GA

With an overall record of 5-3 and a T5 finish over the three-day weekend of Southeast Qualifier, Triangle 18 Black earned an 18 OPEN bid to USAV Girls' Junior Nationals.

The USAV Girls' 18s Junior Nationals will be held April July 4-7 in Las Vegas, Nevada and requires qualification via the USAV bid tournament system. The members of Triangle Boys 18 Black are:

  Syd Daniels............................... Raleigh

Brooke Doherty......................... Apex

Halle Gibson............................. Cary

Lillie Holcomb............................Greensboro

Maddy May............................... Winterville

Kaya Monrose...........................Chapel Hill

Abby Morse...............................Holly Springs

Ella Philpot................................Winterville

Payton Shiflet........................... Randleman

Anna Shohfi............................. Chapel Hill

Coaching Staff: Logan Barber, Tonya Holmes, Brendan Koslowsky

2.14.2022 | Manheim, PA

With an overall record of 5-2 over the three-day weekend of Boys' Atlantic Northeastern Bid Tournament, Triangle Boys 14 Black earned North Carolina's first-ever 14 Open bid to USAV Boys' Junior Nationals. The team needed to win their Gold Challenge match against MVP 14 Black (Maryland) to put themselves firmly in place to earn one of three bids available at the USAV sanctioned bid tournament. Triangle defeated the long-established program in two close sets (28-26, 26-24).

The USAV Boys' Junior Nationals will be held June 29-July 3 in Las Vegas, Nevada and requires qualification via the USAV bid tournament system. The Open division is the highest level in the perennial national championship event. The members of Triangle Boys 14 Black are:

Ezra Bright............................... Pittsboro

Matthew Clark.......................... Wake Forest

Wade Coppedge...................... Raleigh

Joshua De Oliveira................... Cary

Nolan Jones............................. Raleigh

Lev Marushevskyi..................... Cary

Deuce Ross............................. Morrisville

Mark Seda............................... Raleigh

Beckett Walsh.......................... Raleigh

Samuel Webster....................... Apex

Coaching Staff: Michael Webster and Grant Kaestner '19 

February 8, 2022 | 2022 Regional Double-Goal Coach Award Winners Announced

Triangle is excited to announce the selection of Coach and Injury Prevention Coordinator, Michelle Panzl, as a Regional Winner for the prestigious Double-Goal Coach^®Award established by the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) and presented by TeamSnap.

The Regional Winners were selected from hundreds of nominated coaches who received over 1,000 letters of reference. Nominees are assessed on the extent to which they reflect the model of a Double-Goal Coach, whose first goal is winning, and whose second, more-important goal is teaching life lessons through sports. A Double-Goal Coach^® behaves as follows:

• Takes a mastery approach to sport rather than a scoreboard orientation, teaching athletes to put forward maximum effort, continuously learn and improve, and not let themselves be stopped by mistakes or fear of mistakes.
• Fills Emotional Tanks of athletes, refusing to motivate through fear, intimidation, or shame. Recognizing that a player’s “Emotional Tank,” like the gas tank of a car, must be full in order to go anywhere, the Double-Goal Coach provides a fuel mixed of five specific, truthful praises for every specific, constructive correction.
• Honors the Game by respecting ROOTS (Rules, Opponents, Officials, Teammates, Self).

Panzl's nomination highlighted her work as both a team coach and her role as Triangle's Injury Prevention Coordinator. Her coaching career began when she herself was a student-athlete at Triangle Volleyball Club (Class of 2010). She coached at Triangle in a variety of roles throughout her undergrad education at UNC-CH and while she earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Elon University. She operates a satellite physical therapy clinic in Triangle's gym, offers free injury screenings to Triangle athletes, and oversees Triangle's award winning injury prevention program. In the 2021 season, Panzl assumed the head coaching role of Triangle 14 Blue after the team's young coach, CJ Hunter, passed away unexpectedly. The season was one that realized tremendous on-court success, outstanding team bonding, and individual growth and development while challenged by the loss of a beloved coach. Panzl joins Triangle 18 Black Head Coach, Logan Barber, a 2019 National Winner of the PCA Double-Goal Coach^®Award.

The Coach nominations for the Double-Goal Coach^®Awards must be accompanied by numerous professional references from colleagues, former players and former parents. In the coming weeks, the PCA selection committee will identify 25 National Winners from the list of Regional Winners who will each receive $500, a certificate from PCA, and recognition on PCA's website, newsletters, and media campaigns. Thanks to the generosity of the Taube Family Foundation, one special coach will win the Taube Family Prize in Recognition of Excellence in Coaching and be named PCA’s National Coach of the Year. This prize, to be awarded later in the Spring, will include $10,000 ($2,500 to the coach and $7,500 to the youth sports organization or school of their choice).

To see the Positive Coaching Alliance release click HERE.