A group of seven Grant Union Prospector volleyball players who have been participating in club sports will compete at the AAU Junior Girls National Volleyball Championships June 25-28 in Orlando, Florida.

The opportunity came after the 18U team, dubbed the Gold Diggers, won the June 8-9 regional tournament, the RIVAL AZ Championships, in Lake Havasu, Arizona.

Led by AAU coach Kristi Moore, who is a Grant Union English teacher and will be the new dean of students this fall, the team came together after spring sports ended, with just a week of practice before the regional competition.

Moore said there was only one day when all seven could attend practice.

“Some are still playing summer softball,” she said. “We’re just trying to fit it in without denying them anything else.”

She said their best practice day was in pool play during the first day of the tournament, where they won two and lost two games.

Moving on to bracket play on Saturday, the girls faced Arizona Desert Valley in the final game, which was a team they had fallen to in pool play.

“They were the team we had to beat to win the gold,” Moore said. “It was high stakes, and they played amazing and did a great job.”

She said audience members seemed to enjoy watching their team and cheered them on.

All but one of the Gold Diggers play three seasons of sports, while other teams at the tournament had been involved in AAU volleyball since last November, Moore said.

“They were kind of the Cinderella team of the tournament because they came in with no ranking,” she said. “No one knew what to expect.”

She said, while her team played well, they still had some unforced errors and missed serves, “little things that we’re hoping to perfect before we leave (June 23).”

Moore said her daughter Alcie, who is on the team, enjoyed playing AAU volleyball when they lived in Phoenix, Arizona, and Alcie had hoped to continue when they moved to the John Day area last year.

Some of the Grant Union girls played AAU volleyball in middle school, but not in the higher age group.

“This is the first time that they’ve competed on a national level,” Moore said. “It’s fun. Making this happen, I wondered, ‘What am I doing to myself — I’m already busy.’”

She added, “It’s a lifetime experience for these kids.”

Moore said she paid for the trip to nationals up front, and the girls will hold fundraisers to repay the money.

McKeely Miller, a member of the Gold Digger team, said when the group came together after spring sports, they were able to jump back into the game after only a few practices.

“We are just used to playing together as a team, and we adjust really well to each other,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity to be able to play volleyball at such a high level.”

Moore said the girls are already talking about competing next year.

Moore is the AAU coach, and the Grant Union varsity coach this fall will be Ali Abrego, who teaches at Humbolt Elementary School. Abrego was hired for the coaching position after former head coach Shae Speth moved out of state. The Grant Union volleyball team won the 2A state championship title last season.

Moore said she’s pleased that Abrego will lead the Grant Union team this fall.

“I think Ali will do a great job with them,” she said.