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No. 2 tries harder: Carolina Select 15U Black is runner-up @ AAU Nationals

By David Rogers. ORLANDO, Fla. — Summer is the season for “travel ball” for the athletically gifted and serious young men and women throughout the nation. That includes volleyball — and Watauga County student Ember Honeycutt joined with other 15-and-under female athletes from Western North Carolina to bring home a national championship runner-up trophy for their club, the Hickory-based Carolina Select Volleyball Club 15U Black (CSVC 15U Black).

CSVC 15U Black libero Ember Honeycutt is all smiles after her team finished runner-up out of 158 teams in the AAU Nationals. Photo courtesy of Josh Honeycutt

Competing in the Gold bracket of the National 15U Club Division, Honeycutt and her teammates finished the 4-day tournament at the Orlando Convention Center with a 13-1 record, the only loss coming in the championship game where they lost to the Midwest Elite 15-1, 18-25, 25-21, 15-6.

“After winning the first set, our girls just ran out of steam in losing the No. 2 and No. 3 sets,” Ember’s father, Josh Honeycutt said. “But finishing No. 2 out of 158 teams from all across the country is a pretty big accomplishment.

The CSVC 15U Black team went 13-1 over the 4-day AAU Nationals tournament in Orlando, Fla. Photo courtesy of Josh Honeycutt

Over the course of the four-day tournament, CSVC 15U Black played 14 matches, losing only the championship game to finish 13-1. In the best two-out-of-three sets format, the CSVC 15U Black team won 11 of the matches in straight sets, often by lopsided scores.

Several of the girls competing on the CSVC 15U Black squad compete for other high schools in the NCHSAA’s Northwestern Conference, including South Caldwell and Alexander Central, as well as schools in other regional schools in different conferences under the NCHSAA realignment that goes into effect for the 2026-26 academic year. Those schools include Patton (Morganton), Ashe County, Maiden and Hickory Christian Academy.

The Midwest Elite 15-1 club is organized by MVP Volleyball (www.mvpvolley.org), based in western Iowa.

The Carolina Select Volleyball Club is based in Hickory, N.C., offering programs for a variety of ages, including boys and girls teams.

Parents Josh and Angela Honeycutt flank their trophy-winning daughter, Ember Honeycutt, after her Carolina Select Volleyball Club 15U Black team finished No. 2 out of 158 teams competing in the AAU Nationals. Photo courtesy of Josh Honeycutt.

Carolina Select U15 Black Roster

  • Macyn Baker, Head Coach
  • Hayden Huffman, Assistant Coach
  • Miracle Yang, Assistant Coach
  • Emma Bumgarner
  • Emma Eckard
  • Soraya Hartman
  • Ember Honeycutt
  • Emmie Jones
  • Kymber Kelly
  • Reagan Pierce
  • Riley Powell
  • Addison Sigmon
  • Quinn Winfield
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