Category Archives: Team Spotlight

Orlando Volleyball Academy 17 Asics Start Strong, Finishing Strong

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The Orlando Volleyball Academy 17 Asics are off to a fantastic start to the 2012 season.  In January, the 17 Asics captured the OVA MLK Tournament 18 Open Division crown by beating Boomers 18s, nationally-ranked A5-18s, and the #1 Ranked 18s team in the nation, Tampa Bay Juniors 18 Black. In February, the 17 Asics traveled to Las Vegas to for the SCVA Las Vegas Classic. With over 100 teams entered in the 17 Open division, it was a challenging tournament. OVA rose to the occasion, beating top teams from California and Texas. In the semi-finals, OVA fought and lost to the eventual champion Texas Advantage Volleyball 17 Black finishing 3rd. In March, OVA 17 Asics won the 18 Open Division of the Orlando Volleyball Academy Asics Invitational. Last weekend, the team traveled to the Mideast Qualifier in Indianapolis, Indiana.  With over 40 teams entered in the 17 Open Division, the OVA 17 Asics defeated teams from CA, IL, IN and OH to win the tournament and secure their bid to the USAV Junior National Tournament held in July in Columbus, OH.  This past weekend, the team clenched the 17 Open Title at the Big South Volleyball Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia. The girls are now prepping for two tournaments before Nationals, the Show Me Qualifier in April and the National Junior Classic over Memorial Day.
The Orlando Volleyball Academy 17 Asics are led by outside hitter Lindsey Owens and setter/right side Hailey Luke.  Both girls have been on the same team since they were 12s and have been a consistent force for this team.  They have led this team to 2 AAU National Championships and 3 Top 3 Finishes at USAV Nationals.  In 2011, both players were named to the All Tournament team at USA Nationals behind their 3rd place finish in the 16 Open division. Lindsey is a junior at Bishop Moore High School and led the Hornets to the State Finals this season. She is an outstanding 6-rotation player who can pass and hit with precision.  Lindsey has committed to Virginia Tech in the Class of 2013.  Hailey is a junior at Lake Brantley High School.  Hailey’s hard work and dedication to the sport of volleyball has paid dividends.  Hailey sets and hits right side for the 17 Asics.  She has great vision of the court and has a high volleyball IQ.  She is also an outstanding beach volleyball player.  Hailey has committed to play volleyball for Florida State University in the Class of 2013.  This team’s success stems from the consistency and mental toughness that this group has shown over the years.  They always fight back and even when they are down, never count them out.

Little Rock Juniors Plays with Discipline and Heart-1st Place Volleyball Blog

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Little Rock Juniors 17 National Team Plays with Discipline and Heart. Coach Todd Bourdo compliments his team on their 8-3 record so far, shares team goals and attributes the success to their hard work.

 “The 17-National team is made up of 15-17 year old young ladies. In my 20 plus years of coaching Junior Olympic volleyball teams this team is the hardest working team I have coached.They have a lot of self discipline and play with so much heart. They play every ball like it is match point. I have had numerous college coaches and parents from other teams compliment our team on their work ethic and how confident they look while on the court. I occasionally ask my team what is the thing I look for in players and its always “DETAILS COACH”and this remains a goal of our team since we started practicing. We are totally driven on peaking at the end of the season just before Nationals, where our ultimate goal is to win the AAU Nationals. We have a saying that if practices are harder than the actual game we will be prepared when we meet the tougher competition. Our team has a record of 8-3 and we are continuing to grow each and every tournament. We are developing plays for our offense that will make us tougher to defend so we spend a lot of time getting the timing down between our hitters and setters. We are also studying action shots of game pictures to see where we can use some improvement on defense. I am very happy at this point of the season and look forward to each and every practice because these young ladies are like sponges; they want all the information they can get to make their team better. Being a College Coach from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, I just have to say I am very proud of them.”

Thanks Coach Bourdo! We are very proud of them so far as well. Stay in touch with this amazing team by following their page on Facebook.

PLAYER PROFILE: Markie Shaedig

ACADEMICS

High School: Little Rock Christian Academy

Graduation Date: Spring 2013

GPA:            3.9

ACT Score:            23

ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENTS 

High School: 9th Grd Yr – Varsity VB Team, 5A SW All Conf. Player, 5A All State Player, 5A State All-Tournament Team, 5A SW Conference Champions, Spring 2010 – Top 25 Camp, Selected 1 of top 25 VB Players in Arkansas, Varsity BB Team – State Runner-up, Varsity Soccer Team – 5A State Champions,10th Grd Yr – Varsity VB Team – Team Captain, 5A Central All Conference Player, 5A All State Player, 5A  All-Tournament Team, 5A Central Conference Champions, Henderson State Inv. Trmt. 1st Place – MVP of the TournamentVarsity BB Team – State Quarter Finals, Varsity Soccer Team-State Runner-up, 11th Grd Yr – Varisty VB Team-Team Captain, 5A Central All Conference Player, 5A All State Player, 5A State All-Tournament Team, Undefeated Conference Champions, 5A State Runner-Up, Henderson State Invitational Tournament, 1st Place – MVP of the Tournament

Club: Little Rock Jrs – At 13 she was selected to play on the 17-1’s Team as Guest                                                                        Player.  At 14 she was invited to play on the 16-1 Team and attended AAU Natl’s in FL.  At age 15, Coach Todd Bourdo,University of Arkansas Assistant Volleyball Coach, selected her to play on his 16-1’s team and again attended AAU Natl’s in FL.  In 2011 Season, at age 16, Coach Bourdo again selected her to play for his 18’1s team.  2012 Markie is on Coach Bourdo’s 17 National Team and was selected All-Tournament Team at Battle at the Fort 2/29/12.  Position Libero.

PERSONAL DATA: 

Position Played: – Libero, Hitter, DS & Setter, Dominate Hand: – Right, Standing Reach: – 6’11”, Block Jump: – 8’3”, Approach Jump: – 8’10”

REFERENCES

High School Coach:  Karen M. Schaedig | 501.425.8744 Karen.schaedig@littlerockchristian.com

Club Coach: Todd Bourdo | 501.425.9176 | tmbourdo@ualr.edu