Team Pineapple 15 Open Black rides momentum into USAV Nationals

ANGOLA, Ind. - Team Pineapple Club’s 15 Open Black is carrying a season’s worth of momentum into this weekend’s USA Volleyball National Championships.

The club volleyball team is hot off the heels of winning the ASICS Junior National Championship earlier this month, and is looking to take first place again in Chicago.

“A lot tournaments, you never know exactly whom you’re going to run across,” head coach Brian Harris tells ParkviewSportsMedicine.com. “But we always know from the first day, we want to come out and give it our our best. To come out and start off the way we did at 3-0 and not losing a set really propelled us throughout the rest of the weekend."

The 15 Open Black team fields a team of girls representing different schools and different cities across Northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio. Players come from Fort Wayne, Angola, Decatur, Fremont and even as far as Toledo each week to practice at the Ball Sports Academy.

“They’re always at practice and ready to go,” outside hitter Eva Hudson, who also plays for Bishop Dwenger High School, says. “Knowing the dedication that we’re here to play volleyball and be as one is very comforting and makes you trust each other more.”

That practice has paid off for the 15 Open Black team, which has played together since they were 12 years old. The time together on and off the court have made them a formidable foe and a close-knit group.

“We’ve put in a lot of hard work every single practice. 110 percent and giving it our all,” setter Allison Richman, who also plays at Heritage High School, adds.

With impressive wins under their belts, big tournaments to come and tough competition to measure against along with it, Team Pineapple 15 Open Black team could make a big splash in the local volleyball scene fore the years to come.

Team Pineapple Volleyball Club partners with Parkview Sports Medicine for athletic training, nutrition, athletic rehabilitation and orthopedic services for student-athletes. Learn more at ParkviewSportsMedicine.com.