Last summer, Toa Fa’ali’i led the Rage Volleyball Club 16-under boys team to a fifth-place finish in the USA Volleyball Junior National Championship in Salt Lake City.
Even with much of the players aging out of the division, the Lathrop resident knew there was enough talent coming back for them to vie for the gold in 2024.
“Most of the pieces were picked up for just this (summer) season,” Fa’ali’i said. “We made it to Nationals last year but did not win. I told the boys that if we can just stay together, I’ll choose a few boys to run with you and we’ll have a chance.”
He was right.
Rage dominated on the way to the 22-team USA Division championship on June 26-29 at Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas. They won all 12 of their matches and dropped just one out of 25 sets. The one lost set came in the final round against Beach Cities of Manhattan Beach. Rage prevailed, 23-25, 25-17, 15-12.
“We played against these teams from Southern California, Texas, Miami — these aren’t easy teams,” Fa’ali’i said. “All of these teams had to qualify to make it to Nationals the same way we did, so we couldn’t take anyone lightly. We approached every game like it’s the last.”
The USA Division is the second toughest at Nationals behind Open. Teams must earn bids with top-two finishes at regional tournaments. Rage 16 had the option to test themselves in the Open Division, but there was still unfinished business in USA. There are other classifications — American, Patriot, Freedom, Liberty and National — available for clubs to compete in lower competitive levels.
Rage 16 featured area standouts Alex Alvarellos (Ripon), Gabriel Fa’ali’i (Lathrop), Marco Palomares (Lathrop), Mason Tameling (Ripon Christian) and Darren Van Groningen (Ripon Christian).
The rest of the team is comprised of Luke Dorn (Big Valley Christian), Andrew Gregory (Mountain House), Bradley Kaji (Livingston), Dylan Neves (St. Mary’s), Luke Rossi (Beyer), Andrew Suico (Enochs), Aidan Suntra (Waterford) and Hayes Terry (Beyer).
“We were stacked,” Coach Fa’ali’i said. “All of those kids made the playoffs for their high schools.”
Gabriel Fa’ali’i, Toa’s son, was named MVP for the USA 16U division. The outside hitter is coming off a decorated sophomore campaign with Lathrop in the spring, earning All-WAC MVP, All-SJS First Team and Manteca Bulletin All-Area MVP honors.
Tameling, Neves and Suico also made all-tournament. It was Tameling who put away the final point with a kill to clinch the national title.
“It’s is one of my proudest moments,” Fa’ali’i said. “It was a little rough in the beginning, but the boys worked hard. Everything just came together. We peaked at the right moment.”
