St. Joseph Notre Dame junior Parker Johnson helped lead his Bay 2 Bay (B2B) boys’ youth volleyball team to a ninth-place finish in the 16-and-under Classic Division at the 49th AAU Junior Boys National Volleyball Championships. The four-day tournament took place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., on June 28 to July 1.

Teams from across the nation took part in the tournament. B2B is an AAU club based in Campbell with several teams in different age groups. Johnson’s B2B 16 Club went 9-2 overall in the tournament.

The team began the event competing in pool play. B2B 16 went 5-0, while just losing one set, in Pool 1 on Tuesday, June 28. They defeated MVP Central Florida 16 Blue, 2-0 (25-17, 25-13); Forza Boys 16-1 of Illinois, 2-0 (25-15, 25-13); 630 Volleyball 16-4 of Illinois, 2-0 (25-23, 25-20); Jacksonville Juniors Volleyball Association Boys 16 Black, 2-0 (28=26, 26-24); and Mill City 16 Adidas of Massachusetts, 2-1 (16-25, 25-21, 15-12).

B2B advanced to Group 1 in round 2. The team went 1-1 in the three-team group competition on Wednesday, June 29. They started group stage with a 2-1 (25-14, 19-25, 15-11) victory over Academy 16 Blue of Indiana. However, B2B suffered its first loss of the tournament to Orlando Gold 16, 2-1 (20-25, 28-26, 10-15). Orlando Gold won the group with a 2-0 record.

Despite the loss, B2B 16 advanced to the challenger round on Thursday, June 30. In the challenger round teams play one match. The winner advances to the championship bracket, while the loser competes in the consolation bracket. B2B lost a contested match to 630 Volleyball 16-3 of Illinois, 2-1 (25-19, 16-25, 9-15), in challenger match #5.

B2B won the consolation bracket with a 3-0 record on Friday, July 1. They defeated Sky High Adidas boys 16-2 of Illinois, 2-0 (25-22, 25-22), in the first round. They beat Sports Performance Volleyball (SPVB) boys 16-Charlie of Illinois, 2-0 (25-19, 25-19) in the semifinal. Finally, they beat SPVB boys 16-Bravo of Illinois, 2-0 (25-20, 25-23) in the final.

This was Johnson’s second trip to Nationals. His team previously finished third and he was awarded All-Tournament Honors.

In addition, Johnson was a 2022 AAU Volleyball Academic All-American Award recipient. More than 1,000 high school volleyball players — boys and girls — were given the Academic All-American Award. The recipients were selected by the AAU Volleyball National Executive Committee. Created in 2013, the award recognizes student-athletes for their excellence in academics as well as athletics. All recipients, including Johnson, attended high school during the 2021-2022 school year and participated in the 2022 AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships.

Johnson plays on the SJND boys’ volleyball team.