SUBMITTED ARTICLE
MONTEREY COUNTY — IMUA Elite 16 Jason, representing local-based elite travel volleyball club IMUA Volleyball Club, is headed to the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships — formerly known as the USA Junior Olympics — this summer.
MUA Elite 16 Jason seized the bid with a stunning performance at the Pacific Northwest Junior National Qualifiers held in Spokane, Wash., over the weekend of March 31 to April 2.
This will be the second elite team that IMUA Volleyball Club has produced to qualify for this prestigious event in the past 16 years. There has been no other local traveling club team to achieve this feat.
To secure their spot in this prestigious event, IMUA Elite 16 Jason team battled elite teams from California, Oregon, Washington and Texas.
IMUA Elite 16 Jason consists of the following 10 standout local student-athletes in the Monterey County community: Spencer Hagenbuch, Notre Dame High School; Logan Riggenbach, Notre Dame High School; Savanna Maker, Salinas High School; Lauren Gonzales, Salinas High School; Kaila Uota, Salinas High School; Soana Lauloto, Carmel High School; Tristin Sahlie, Pacific High School; Grace Shepherd, King City High School; Cheyenne Rice, Templeton High School; and Valen Shaw, Templeton High School.
They are led by Coaches Jason and Veronica Companion of Notre Dame High School.
This year’s USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championships, the 38th annual, will be held in Minneapolis, Minn., from July 1 through 4.
IMUA Elite 16 Jason is seeking donations to help offset travel costs.
IMUA Volleyball Club is a local non-profit junior girls and boys volleyball organization and all donations will be 501(c)(3) tax write-off.
For any questions, or to donate to IMUA Elite 16 Jason, contact Coach Jason Companion at 831-238-2362.
