After spending the off-season recuperating from their undefeated run to win the 2020 NVA Championships, the Utah Stingers are back to business as usual with the start of their first event in 2021. Starting just where they ended last season, the Utah Stingers came through with another 3-0 appearance, only dropping one set the whole weekend. Going up against the NVA’s newest teams, the Dallas Tornadoes and the relocated Texas Tyrants, the Stingers welcome them to the league by showing them how tough the reigning champs can be.
Some notable performances from the weekend include Paul Clark, selected as player of the match against the Tornadoes. Paul made some aggressive plays at the net, scoring three aces, two blocks, and ten kills, hitting 56% efficiency. The big man, Jake Langlois, continued to be an unstoppable force with a flurry of back row attacks scoring double-digit kills in each match he played. The newest international recruit from Cuba, Inovel Romero Valdés, took on the role of the team’s outlet player receiving 62 sets on the weekend with almost perfect reception with no errors. Then middle blockers held some of the best overall hitting percentages in the league, with Alex Shmelev hitting 58% and Rusty Lavaja hitting 64%.
After their final match against the Tyrants, Setter Leo Durkin sat down with announcer Nick England to share his thoughts on the team’s outlook moving forward in the season.
“We’re just here to have a lot of fun…For the most part, we are a bunch of old guys with jobs who are still eager to play high-level volleyball…As a team, we’re still not completely gelling together with the recent additions of Romero and Mencia, but that will smooth itself out in no time.” – Leo Durkin.
The Utah Stingers will be flying out to Atlantic City next in the event, where they will be taking on last year’s third-place team, the Vegas Ramblers. The Ramblers are currently tied with the Stingers after also going 3-0 on the first weekend and will be tough opponents. UCLA Alumni Brandon Rattray, the league’s point leader with 6.2 kills per set, will be the man to beat on the Ramblers. The match is set to take place on May 28th at 11:30 am PST and live-streamed on the NVA USA YouTube page!
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NVA postpones season due to COVID-19
Faced with the uncertainties regarding the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and the impact it will have on the sport of volleyball, despite having the infrastructure in place for one of the most anticipated season opening events thus far, the NVA postponed the season until further notice.
The statistics surrounding the pandemic are getting worse at the moment, but the kind people at NVA remain optimistic that they will have an opportunity to safely host an event this year. Meanwhile, the league announced that the safety of the athletes, coaches, and staff is their top priority. According to NVA staff, until the proposed scenarios for handling the health threat are implemented by authorities and improving the overall covid statistics, public safety will come first. And until the methods that would go into hosting an event with public safety at the forefront are well understood and approved by relevant officials, there would be no opening event. With the likelihood that another event gets canceled still up in the air, the athletes continue to train at home and the staff continues to have their weekly meetings in order to prepare for updates, both good and bad.
During a time when we are at the mercy of the CDC guidelines and the State Governor’s recommendations, it is unclear when the next event will take place and, better yet, what that will look like. Do players wear masks? Only the officials? Just the fans? Or, better yet, will the virus run its course and open the door for the entertainment that our beloved fans have been waiting for? Either way, the NVA will be here and looking for the next opportunity to provide world-class volleyball entertainment.
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