Thousands of boys volleyball clubs compete annually, but only one club at each age group can be crowned a national champion. The 2024 U18 USA Volleyball Junior National Championship trophy returned to Whatcom County after Apex NW dominated with a perfect 12-0 record.
“Nothing is better than telling the team you just beat that you are from Washington,” captain Braddock Duckworth said. “It’s like starting a history of volleyball and people in Whatcom County are proud of it.”
Apex NW proved its dominance by winning 24 out of 25 sets played.
“It was the strong culture and chemistry that we had,” coach Clayton Sin said. “Playing together brought a bunch of joy and they had a lot of ownership of the team.”
The U18 squad began five years ago as 24 eighth graders. Although three remained on the team, the U18 Apex NW steadily improved before reaching the national status in 2022. In the first two seasons, Apex NW played local tournaments and won nearly every single one, all while trying to build their bonds with each other.
“The team bonding was tough when we first connected until we got to know each other past volleyball,” Duckworth said. “I didn’t lead my team, but I brought us together to bring us to victory.”
The eight players were driven and hungry to win a national title. The only barrier was connecting the parts together. Once they became best friends, they took the nation by storm.
Apex NW finished third in the country in 2022 and returned in 2023 as one of the favorites, but fell into fifth place after battling some issues.
“We thought we could do better and last year we put too much pressure on ourselves and got fifth,” Duckworth said. “We didn’t go as far as we wanted and we were sick of it.”
The U18 Apex NW team knew they had to kick it into another gear if they wanted to bring home the trophy in 2024. The squad began 2 hour, 15 minute practices twice a week from November through July.
During their free time, many players would watch film, study the collegiate and professional athletes, and train mentally. Then, the squad traveled to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, for the national title game against Ku’ikahi Red RoShamBo from Hawaii.
Although the Hawaiian squad battled until the final point, Apex NW won 25-14, 25-21.
“There is not a title of the emotion I was feeling,” Duckworth said. “It felt surreal and an out-of-body experience. It was joy, sadness, excitement and pride all came together. You are sad to see the season go but happy it ended that way.”
“This team started in eighth grade and was the first boys Whatcom County team,” Sin added. “It’s the most perfect ending to a story that can be imagined.”
Since most of the players were seniors, it was a bittersweet ending for the team that began as middle schoolers. Peter Albert and Duckworth will play at Vanguard University in California, Alden Jacobs will play at Long Beach Community College, Sawyer Nicholas will play at Harvard and a few others are still uncommitted.
In addition, Sin will return to Sehome to coach the high school but will remain with the Apex NW squad, led by returning setter Theo Quiggle.
Even though the U18 squad has finished its career, the story will remain alive forever.
“This has been the most perfect storybook ending,” Sin said. “How do you do this together for so many years and finally dominate at the end? It is the whole team effort to end it that we can remember forever.”
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
