Two Noblesville sisters got the chance to play for a national championship at the 2020 AAU Junior National Volleyball Championship, which took place July 19-22 in Orlando, Fla.
Riley and Reese Resmer are members of The Academy Volleyball Club, and play on its Lafayette club, Boiler Juniors. Riley, an incoming freshman at Noblesville High School, played on the 14 Gold team, which won the national championship in its division. Reese, who will be a seventh-grader at Noblesville West Middle School, played on the 12 Gold team, which finished as runner-up.
The 14 Gold team finished with a 9-1 record at the AAU national tournament, and won the national title by beating Miami Xtreme 14 Elite from Miami, Fla. In three sets, 24-26, 25-21, 15-10.
“Going to Orlando and playing at Nationals is what we train for and look forward to every year and we were all really glad we still had the chance to go,” said Riley. “We put in a lot of work all season, especially after the gyms opened back up, driving to Lafayette for practice three to five times a week! Even though everything was a little different this year, the win was still just as exciting! I’ve been lucky enough to play with these girls and my coach for four years and so to win it all was really amazing!”
The 12 Gold team compiled a 9-2 record at the tournament, advancing to the championship match before losing a close championship match to Tribe 12 Elite Altone from Deerfield Beach, Fla. The score was 25-18, 22-25, 15-10.
“Going to AAU’s is always the highlight of my year,” said Reese. “I’m so blessed to have the opportunity to compete in Orlando and its awesome to see our teams hard work and commitment really pay off! Practicing so much so far away is hard, (I love it though!), so seeing us place really well in AAU’s year after year is amazing! It definitely looked and felt a lot different this year with court spacing, sparse fans, and no ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex but the experience is still surreal! I am so lucky to have such amazing, dedicated parents, teammates, and coaches!”