The SMASH 15s took first place of all 15s teams competing in the Mizuno Boston Volleyball Festival this weekend.

Head Coach Jim Crandall pointed to aggressive serving, great team defense, and smart decision-making on offense as keys to victory. Crandall said the team's ability to minimize attacking errors in tough situations and win long rallies was a major step forward for the 15s.

"The biggest improvement was in managing the game by making smart attacking decisions," Crandall said.
The team entered the Gold bracket Sunday morning riding an undefeated streak with a perfect 10-0 set record through two rounds of pool play.

In the semifinals, the 15s wasted no time defeating CT Juniors 25-20, 25-15 before smashing Husky 15 National 25-15, 25-19 in the finals to end the tournament with a perfect 14-0 set record.

Crandall said he was proud of the team's ability to handle adversity. "They displayed mental toughness adapting to new lineups and positions due to a teammate's injury." he said.

The SMASH 15s were not the only SMASH team to succeed in 15s Open. SMASH 15s Power finished 7th in Open for the tournament.

Power, coached by Patrick Tom and Aileen Hermann, began the tournament with a strong 2-1 showing in their first pool before being matched up with the SMASH 15s in their second pool.

The team came out of their second pool seeded in Silver and won a tough-fought 3 set match over Pumas 15 Ebony in the semifinal before falling to CMASS 15 Smack in the final.