July 5, 2009 — ATLANTA — The Tool City 18 Orange Club volleyball team will have to change its name next year to Tool City 18 Gold.

The reason: TC18 is no longer a contender, the team is the 2009 USA Junior Olympic Boys Volleyball nation champions.

“Twelve years ago, the first (Tool City) team came to nationals,” said TC18 coach Justin Johnson. “To see how far it has come from taking a couple of teams to the seven or eight we take every year ...

“We have great teams in the past, a couple finishing second, but our teams, top to bottom, get better every year. Just helps the volleyball around our area that much more.”

After three solid days of pool play — TC18 went 7-2 in that stretch — the local squad entered the gold bracket for Saturday’s final round. That assured the team of a top-five finish, but they were looking for more.

In the championship round opener, TC18 posted a 25-16, 24-26, 15-9 win over Santa Monica Beach Club 18-Silver. TC18 Orange followed that up with a 25-18, 25-19 win over United 18-Blue (Pittsburgh) in the semifinals. In the final, the locals overcame a 28-30 loss in the opening game to win two straight — 25-19, 15-12 — and capture the title from Molten 18-Black (Ariz.).

The comeback in the final was no surprise to Johnson.

“The atmosphere there is unbelievable, said Johnson. “Center court and the national tournament, I didn’t have to do too much to get them ready. I knew, with the group I had, it wouldn’t take much to get them ready for anything.”

It helped that several members of the TC18 squad placed fifth in the 17 club tournament. Having that experience under their belt made this trip that much easier.

“I think it helped a lot,” said Johnson. “Last year, when they made the gold bracket, I think they thought they were fortunate to be there and came out flat. This year, we all new what it was all about, and came out ready to play.”

Four members of the TC18 orange team were voted to the all-tournament squad. Maplewood setter Nicholas Bancroft, along with hitters Kyle Beatty (Saegertown) and Adam Barba (Meadville). The fourth member was hitter Adam Roche of Cochranton, who didn’t just make the all-tournament team but was voted Tournament MVP.

“He dominated,” said Johnson. “Nick and him worked so well together. He hit it over blocks, around blocks. And his blocking was unbelievable.

“He was unstoppable for four days.”

The other members of the Tool City 18 Orange team are Maplewood’s Jackson Ferringer, Conneaut Valley’s Jeff Conley, McDowell’s Brenton Mineo, and Cochranton’s Ethan Oertly.

The Tool City 16 Orange and Tool City 16 White were also in back in action Saturday.

The Orange squad lost its opener to SMBC 16-Black 25-22, 25-20. The team also played NARANJITO ENVOL and CVA 16 VB Rags, but results were not posted at presstime.

The White team opened with a win Saturday, beating Onipaa Boys 16-1, 25-23, 25-19. The White unit had three other games on the day against Ocean B 16 South, Orlando Gold 16 Gold and RVC 16-2, but those results were also unavailable.

Tool City 16 Orange is coached by Jim Brown and features Maplewood’s Christian Brown, Cambridge Springs’ Michael Hobson, John Turner and Geoff VanWinkle, McDowell’s Chris Mineo, Cochranton’s Josh Oertly and Ty Sheehan and Meadville’s Chad Smith. The Tool City 16 White team, coached by Brian Shoop, includes McDowell’s Ben Boncella, Meadville’s Cole Graham, Alex Minnis, Travis Jensen and Caleb Stein, Saegertown’s Justin Griffin and Conner Shorts, and Conneaut Valley’s Nolan Varee.

Finally, the Tool City 14 Orange team got its tournament run underway with a 25-23, 25-15 win over FSVBC Na Opio. TC14’s other matches against SG 14 Jim and Beachbones 14 Black were unavailable at presstime.

Tool City 14 Orange is coached by Denny Patton and consists of Maplewood’s Logan Battin and Justin Dahl, Cochranton’s Nickolas Dickson and Logan Herzberger, Meadville’s Matt Izbinski and Tyler Minnis, and Saegertown’s Shane Rigby and Dustin Pavlik.

The Tool City 17 Orange and 17 White squads begin their competition today.

Tool City 17 Orange is coached by Meadville head coach Doug Nelson and includes Saegertown’s Patrick Amy, Casey Handel and Dylan Johnston, Meadville’s Tyler Banks, Daniel Nelson and Taylor Willey, McDowell’s David Rion and Cochranton’s Jacob Schultz. Tool City 17 White is coached by McDowell’s Dean Platz and includes Saegertown’s Jason Amy and Clay Dawson, McDowell’s Daniel Clark, Jake Keefer and Matthew Twinem, and Meadville’s Joshua Dolnosich, Tom Hillwig and Ian Phillips.