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Billy Fowler had a pretty good idea just how valuable of a player Bryte Nielson was before the Saratoga Falcons took part in the Menlo-Atherton Midway Classic. And now everybody else knows what the Saratoga coach knew all along.
Nielson was named the Most Valuable Player after leading the Falcons to the tournament championship. Saratoga beat host Menlo-Atherton 25-16, 25-19 in the tourney title match to clinch the crown.
The Falcons, 22-1 for the year and 5-0 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, won seven straight matches to take the title in the Midway Classic. Nielson was named the tourney MVP and teammates Nina Sevastopoulos and Sarah Nguyen were also picked to the all-tournament team.
Sevastopoulos hammered 11 kills and added five blocks and Nielson had nine kills and a team-high 20 digs to lead the Falcons to the win over M-A in the finals. Nguyen led the team with 25 assists and Barbi Li, Lea Anthony, and Hannah Gladwell added 10 kills each.
Saratoga knocked off Notre DameBelmont 25-16, 25-16 in the semifinals. Jordan Henry was the kill leader with 11 and Nielson and Gladwell had nine apiece. Nielson also had 13 digs with L. Anthony adding 11 and Amanda Anthony 10. Nguyen had 26 assists.
Sevastopoulos came through with a team-high 11 kills and Nielson had nine kills and 13 digs in a 25-19, 25-5 win over Overfelt in the quarterfinals. Nguyen had 22 assists and Li had eight digs.
Saratoga beat San Benito 25-13, 25-19, Westmont 25-18, 25-20 and Pinewood 25-9, 25-16 in pool play to get into the championship round.
Nielson had nine kills and Sevastopoulos and Henry had six apiece in the win over San Benito. Nguyen had 19 assists and A. Anthony led the team with 18 digs. Page Henry added 11 digs, Li had 10 and L. Anthony had 10.
In the win over Westmont, Nielson had 11 kills, Nguyen had 18 assists and Sevastopoulos had five blocks. Li was the digs leader with 16, Nielson had 13 and A. Anthony had nine.
Nielson and Sevastopoulos had eight kills apiece in the win over Pinewood and Nguyen had 19 assists. Nielson led with 15 digs and L. Anthony had 10.
Saratoga ran its league record to 5-0 last week with wins over Wilcox and Homestead.
Sevastopoulos finished with a team-high 13 kills in a 25-5, 25-7, 25-12 win over Wilcox, and Nielson had 12 kills in a 25-15, 25-18, 26-24 win over Homestead.
A week earlier, Saratoga pounded Fremont 25-12, 25-14, 25-9. Nielson led the charge with 13 kills and 19 digs, and Henry finished with eight kills. Nguyen had 26 assists and nailed five service aces.
In a match against Valley Christian, Nielson drilled 24 kills and Sevastopoulos added 18 in a 25-20, 25-13, 22-25, 25-9 win. Nguyen led the Falcons with 35 assists and Nielson had 30 digs. L. Anthony and Li supported with 16 digs apiece and A. Anthony had 13.
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Photograph by Leigh Ann Maze