AAU MEMBERS NAMED TO AVCA ALL-AMERICA TEAM

est Coast AAU Junior Olympic Games champions Abril Bustamante and Skylar Caputo are two of the four elite high school beach volleyball players from across the country who were recently announced as members of the second annual American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) High School Beach All-America Team last week.

The tandem came out on top of the 52-team field at the West Coast AAU Junior Olympic Games which weighed heavily on the committee’s decision. Bustamante and Caputo earned their spot in the Games by claiming the top spot in the Winter Classic Open at Dockweiler State Beach in California. Caputo also earned the title of AAU Player of the Year 2015 and the girls finished first in the NVL RIZE (Port St. Lucie, Fl.), Dig the Beach: Siesta (Siesta Key, Fl.) and the Florida Tour Series #4 & #5 (Pompano Beach, Fl. & Siesta Key, Fl.) this season.

Joining Bustamante and Caputo on the All-America team are Ashley Allmer and Macy Jerger, who are the reigning AAU National champions. The duo also won the Dig the Beach: Siesta (Siesta Key, Fl.), the Florida Tour Series #5 (Siesta Key, Fl.) and finished fifth in the West Coast AAU Junior Olympic Games. Allmer finished in the top 10 in every tournament she played in during the 2015 season and notched 10 first place finishes in 18U junior tournaments. Jerger placed first in five tournaments in Florida’s U18 Division this year.

Also earning recognition on the 2015 AVCA High School Beach Honorable Mention All-America Team was former AAU Beach Volleyball Player of the Year Zana Muno (CA), along with Kaity Bailey (CA), Grace Campbell (CA), Isabelle Carey (CA), Carly Schneider (OH), Katie Smith OH), Anika Wilson (CA) and Rachel Wilson (CA).


The AVCA awards committee is comprised of AAU Beach Volleyball Executive Committee member Gino Grajeda, as well as Cindy Phillips (Florida/East Coast), Steve Bishop (Florida), Scott Stover (Texas/Central) and Jeff Smith (California/West Coast).