Miramonte’s Mary Diamantidis leads Xceleration volleyball team

Courtesy of Tom Owen

Sunday, March 21,2010 – After a grueling 3-day competition among 105 teams from 20 states, the Xceleration 18s Volleyball Club battled its way into the final match of the day against Southern California’s powerful Club West.  Xceleration had won all nine matches it previously played, against teams from Texas, Utah, Arizona and Kansas, as well as two of Southern California’s most powerful clubs, Elite 951 and TCA, earning a bid to the Junior Olympic Tournament, which this year is being held in Reno, NV.  Against Club West, Captain and Setter Mary Diamantidis recorded 15 assists in the first game, flanked by Campolindo’s Alex Shurtz and Anisa Smith, and Las Lomas’ Morgan Borch, helping her team win the game 28-26.  Club West came back to take the second game 25-20, and both teams fought hard in the deciding game, with Club West prevailing 15-12.  

Xceleration is the first team in the San Francisco East Bay Area to qualify for this year’s Junior Olympics, and one of only two teams in the entire Bay Area to have achieved this feat.  San Jose’s Vision received a Junior Olympics bid earlier this month.

“I am tired after playing ten matches in three days, but I am so happy to be playing for such a great team,” said an elated Mary Diamantidis. “Everyone at Xceleration, from my great teammates to my coaches Andy Schroeder and Jeremy Swann, team assistant Paul Harrison, Club Director Jim Ross and Club College Recruited Jack Cowden, has been wonderful to me.  This is the best club experience I have ever had in my seven plus years as a volleyball player.”  As the only setter on the team, Mary never left the court and had an active role in nearly every point of every match.

“Mary is a tireless court leader,” said Coach Andy Schroeder, “but this accomplishment is the result of great work, focus and excellent teamwork by every single player on this team.  I am very happy for their success and couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Jim Ross, a resident of Orinda, is Xceleration’s Club Director and from a family very involved in Miramonte High-School Volleyball:  His daughter Shannon Ross was a Miramonte 4-year varsity player and currently the Head Coach of Miramonte’s Girls varsity team.  His younger daughter Kelsey Ross is also a Miramonte Volleyball alum and  star player at Rutgers in New Jersey.

Xceleration defeated teams from Colorado, Texas and Southern California in straight sets on Friday, and then continued by defeating teams from Carmel Valley, Portola Valley and Orange County in the Saturday morning pool also in straight sets.  In the afternoon “bracketbuster” match, Xceleration defeated a tough Kansas Jets team, still without dropping a set.  On Sunday morning, playing in the elite Eight Gold bracket at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, home of the US National Volleyball Team, Xceleration defeated a tough Southern California’s TCA Club, again in straight sets to advance to the final four. 

In the semifinal match, against the powerful Texas (Arlington) Ace Club, and with a Junior Olympic bid at stake, Xceleration lost the first set 25-22, its first set loss in the entire tournament.  Led by torrential hitting from Alex Shurtz, Dana Balding, Meghan Cooney and Morgan Borch,  Xceleration stormed back and held on to win set two, 25-23.  In the final set, Xceleration opened the game with a 5-0 lead, but Ace fought back and tied the score at seven.   Great serving and defense by Emma Jackson, Mollie Kennedy, Megan Kehoe and great defense by Libero Gillian Matsuoka helped Xceleration regain the lead to 10-7. Clutch blocking by Gabby Hands and Dana Balding helped Xceleration build the lead which they never relinquished and went on to win the set 15-11 and the match – Players, coaches and parents celebrated wildly following this great victory, which gave Xceleration an automatic bid into the Junior Olympic Tournament.

Mary, the top unsigned senior setter in Northern California, was recruited heavily at the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament in February more than 25 colleges and universities from around the country.  Numerous Division I and Division II schools, from as far as Rhode Island and New York in the East, and Alaska and Hawaii in the West invited Mary to join their team, with several offers including full scholarships. Mary has narrowed down her choices to three NCAA Division I schools and will be signing a commitment letter with one of them next month.   “I owe a debt of gratitude to the club for the way the helped me go through this process.  Before Xceleration, I didn’t even know if universities would want to look at me.  My coaches gave me the confidence and skills to be a top level player, and the club College recruiter worked hard to help me find the best school for me.  I want to go somewhere where I will be an impact player and help my college team win.”

Several of Mary’s Xceleration teammates have already committed to play at the University level.  Morgan Borch will be going to UC Davis in September, Meghan Cooney will be going to Dartmouth College, Megan Larmour will be going to San Francisco State University and Mollie Kennedy will be going to California State University Monterey Bay.  Alex Shurtz will soon be selecting one of several California State Universities that have offered her a spot on their volleyball team.

California is the home to some of the country’s best clubs and best players in the country.  Northern California has several successful volleyball clubs that have produced many college level volleyball players.  Xceleration has only been in existence since 2005 but has already produced several successful teams.  For more information on Xceleration, go to www.xcelerationvbc.com.  For information on upcoming volleyball tournaments, including the Junior Olympics, go to www.ncva.com.