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TRAVEL VOLLEYBALL: WHIRLWIND VOLLEYBALL CLUB, OWEGO’S HAMED GARNER GOLD IN BOSTON (2023-03-11)

Tioga County Sports Report
BOSTON — The Whirlwind Volleyball Club from the Owego / Binghamton area sent several teams to the Nike Boston Volleyball Festival at the Convention Center in Massachusetts last weekend.

The 16 Elite Club team competed with 63 other teams in the American Division and went all the way to the finals on Sunday afternoon where they won the gold medal in the Gold Bracket to finish up the three-day tournament that hosted teams from all over the United States.

Owego freshman outside hitter Maggie Hamed was among the 16 Elite team members.

The 16 Elite team’s other players include:
Piper Hooey, Junior, Elmira, outside and right side hitter
Cassandra Bellmore, Junior, Windsor, setter/right side hitter
Julia Abbott, Sophomore, Binghamton, middle blocker
Ashlee Hagerman, Sophomore, Windsor, middle blocker
Hannah Nemecek, Sophomore, Vestal, right side hitter/setter
Nevaeh Masso, Sophomore, Chenango Valley, outside hitter
Riley Conrow, Sophomore, Windsor, libero

Coaching the team is Joe Nemecek, who recently completed his 23rd year as the volleyball coach at Vestal. He was recently named Coach of the Year by the Press and Sun Bulletin and is in his sixth year as a coach for the Whirlwind Volleyball Club.

The team recently won a bronze medal in Washington D.C. where they placed third out of 64 teams from across the U.S. in the Capitol Hill Classic.

In February, the team played another 16 Elite team in Syracuse where they won a bid for nationals. With an injured libero, Piper Hooey stepped in to play the position for her first time, and the team rallied for the win.

Abbott, Nemecek, Masso, Conrow, and Hamed have been playing together since they were 12. Hooey and Hagerman joined the club last year while Bellmore joined this year.

Next up are tournaments in Syracuse, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh before going to nationals in Chicago the first week of July.

All of the girls have played at the varsity level in theirs, have goals to play volleyball at the collegiate level, and are actively in the process of being recruited.

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