Top tournaments draw national volleyball spotlight

It's well known that top-ranked Assumption (Louisville, Ky.) coach Ron Kordes will take his team anywhere, anytime for tough competition.

It's a philosophy shared by many with the ultimate payoff coming on the season's final day.

"We schedule teams from out of state to play the best competition we can find," said Kordes. "Playing a tough schedule and having been somewhat successful doing so has provided a lot of respect and opportunities for our high schools and club programs in Kentucky."

Last September, Kordes took his Assumption squad to Nebraska to take on national powers Torrey Pines (San Diego) and Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.) in a one-day, three team event known as the Nfinity Battle on the Plains (sponsored by PrepVolleyball Magazine). Each team won one and lost one, but the event set what is believed to be a national attendance record for a high school volleyball match, with a sold-out and standing room-only crowd of 2,592 at Creighton University's Sokol Arena in Omaha, Neb.

There is no three-team event this year, but Assumption is scheduled to play in four of the top high school volleyball tournaments scheduled in 2013, including the Asics (Chicago), Durango (Las Vegas), and New Castle (Ind.) tournaments.

But it's this weekend that has Kordes' attention as Assumption draws the national spotlight when its hosts the Active Ankle Louisville Invitational that will feature many of the top high school volleyball teams east of the Mississippi.

Assumption has won the event 10 times and is the reigning champion.

In addition to the No. 1-ranked Rockets, nationally-ranked teams will include Mother McAuley (Chicago), Mercy (Louisville, Ky.), Notre Dame Academy (Park Hills, Ky.), Ravenwood (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Walton (Marietta, Ga.). Mercy and Ravenwood are unbeaten and McAuley, Notre Dame and Walton have lost just once this season.

The 24-team tournament field also includes a host of other talented teams, including unbeaten Kentucky teams Ryle (Union, Ky.) and Eastern (Louisville, Ky.) and once beaten St. Ursula Academy (Cincinnati), Notre Dame (Portsmouth, Ohio), Centerville (Ohio) and Archbishop Alter (Kettering, Ohio), along with Holy Cross (Louisville, Ky.).

Also in the field are perennial powers Chattahoochee (Alpharetta, Ga.), St. Joseph's Academy (St. Louis), and St. Henry (Erlanger, Ky.).

Assumption has history with every team in the tournament, most recently defeating Mercy (3-2) in the 2012 Kentucky state finals, beating Notre Dame for the 2012 Asics title and losing to Chattahoochee in the finals of the Louisville Invite two years ago — Assumption's only loss in a 45-match season.

Kordes pointed out the main reason for playing tough competition in tournaments is its importance to the postseason.

"You never know who you are going to play in district, regional and state tournaments so we get experience in a tournament format and, of course, the better the competition, the better the preparation for later in the season.

"It's about survival, staying alive, and that's what you have to do in the postseason," said Kordes. "The goal is to be as prepared as you can for the season's final day."

In addition to this weekend's event, Assumption will play in major events three of the next four weekends — Sept. 14 at the New Castle Invitational, Sept. 20-21 in Durango (Las Vegas), and the Asics Challenge (Chicago) on Oct. 4-5.

The philosophy works well for Assumption, winners of three straight state titles and 17 in the last 21 years. Since losing to Torrey Pines last September, the Rockets have won 19 matches in a row.

"We'll find out how good we are over the next couple of weeks," said Kordes.

In addition to Assumption, the New Castle field will include seven of Indiana's top-ranked teams hoping to upset the Rockets. Host New Castle is unbeaten.

At Durango, Assumption will run into No. 3 Horizon (Scottsdale, Ariz.), No. 5 Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) and Torrey Pines (San Diego), last year's Durango winner and the only team to defeat the Rockets in 2012.

Durango brings in 64 teams from seven states and British Columbia.

The Asics Challenge, hosted by Mother McAuley, should prove as challenging with a field including Kentucky rivals Notre Dame, 10-1 Henry Clay (Lexington, Ky.) and Sacred Heart (Louisville, Ky.), along with Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.) and St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and unbeaten (9-0) Hillcrest (Simpsonville, S.C.), winners of 53 matches and state titles in each of the last two seasons.

Onlookers would be hard-pressed to find a team with a schedule as challenging as Assumption's 2013 lineup.

Kordes said he was fortunate that Kentucky has no out-of-state travel restrictions as some states do.

"That enables us to travel and see how other states operate, as well as their level of competition. It's very educational for us," said Kordes, who was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year in 2012.

But like Kordes points out, "It's good to be recognized, but the key is to win in the last tournament of the season."

That philosophy also applies to No. 5 Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) and many other highly-regarded programs around the country.

Mitty coach Bret Almazan-Cezar simply said, "It's where the best congregate."

He has scheduled six tournaments for his 2013 team that finished 2012 unbeaten and as California D-2 state title winners.

In addition to playing in Durango, the Monarchs will compete in California tournaments in Milpitas, Stockton, Santa Barbara and Presentation.

Mitty also will host its own five-team round robin showcase featuring four 2012 Northern California champions – St. Francis (Sacramento, Calif.) (38-3, state D-1 runners-up), Mitty itself (38-0, defending state champs), Campolindo (Moraga, Calif.) (30-5, defending state champion and winners of two of the last three D-3 titles), Branson (Ross, Calif.) (37-1 and winners of four straight D-5 titles) and Santa Barbara (Calif.).

Almazan-Cezar said he switched to the showcase because it "was less administration and increased quality was guaranteed. It's much more of a familial atmosphere."

Although the spotlight is on Louisville, New Castle and Durango in September, several of the top tournaments have already crowned champions.

In mid-August, The Woodlands (Texas) won the prestigious Texas Volleyball Invitational (76 teams) in Pearland and followed that a week later by winning the Magnolia's Volley-Battle Tournament.

Two weeks before it opened the regular season on Aug. 31, defending Hawaii large school state champion Punahou (Honolulu) defeated Huntington Beach (Calif.) to win the 31st annual Ann Kang Invitational in Honolulu.

As impressive as those tournaments were, Pearland was for Texas-only teams and Kang features 16 teams from only Hawaii and California.

Last weekend, Carmel (Ind.), ranked No. 24 in the latest Xcellent 25 Rankings, won the Mishawaka Invitational for the second-straight year; No. 17 Wapahani (Selma, Ind.) was unbeaten in winning its own tournament, as did No. 21 Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.) in capturing its 31st Benet Invitational.