Richardson and Los Gatos mate reach U12 final
MORGAN HILL — Morgan Hill’s Shannon Richardson and her teammate Selin Ekici of Los Gatos won the silver medal in the U12 U.S. Beach Volleyball Junior Tour Championship on Aug. 22 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Used to rank teams nationally, the annual U.S. Tour Championship was being held outside of Southern California for the first time. It was Richardson’s first competition in beach volleyball. The 12-year-old started playing indoor volleyball two years ago with the San Jose club Stingray.
“Beach volleyball is more physical because you play in sand and it’s hard to jump,” Richardson said. “Also, in beach volleyball there are just two players, and indoor volleyball you must have six players in the court.”
There were 22 qualifying events around the country, beginning in May. Richardson started the qualifiers with Alexandra Kam, but Kam couldn’t go to Florida, so Richardson decided to play with Ekici for the U12 tournament.
She and Ekici lost to Jelley’s in the final 21-15.
“It was the hardest team in the tournament, but I am really excited to be second place in the country,” Richardson said. “We were confident.”
Richardson attends Harker School in San Jose, where her school’s indoor volleyball team has been undefeated the last two seasons. Next weekend, Richardson has more tests to prove her talent.
“I have two more tournaments this Saturday; one in Santa Cruz and the other one is in Santa Monica, but I haven’t decided which one I will play,” she said. “But right now, I am in a great shape, and I have more experience on sand.”
