10 Feb 2015
Every year, AAU Volleyball gives out an MVP award at the AAU Girls’ Junior National Volleyball Championships in remembrance of Zigmant "Ziggy" Ziupsnys. This award is granted to the Most Valuable Player of each division in each age group from 15U – 18U.
Ziupsnys coached and played with the Neris Volleyball Club, which he started in 1955 with women’s and men’s teams. Neris was started as a Lithuanian volleyball club which also won many Lithuanian North American Championships. His teams have toured Europe, Australia and Lithuania and he played into his fifties.
After he was done playing, he won numerous National Championships as a coach and was one of the founders of Midwest Junior Men’s Volleyball, which was the first Junior men’s team in Illinois. Ziupsnys ran most of the first Junior men’s tournament in the Chicago-midwest area.
In 1975, his team that he coached beat a team from California in the final, clinching the first AAU Boys’ National Championship. Ziupsnys’ son, Ritas, also played was the first MVP.
For many years, there was no charge except for registration fees to play for the club. Many times, Ziupsnys would use his own money for players who could not afford anything.
You can find a list of last year’s Ziggy Ziupsnys MVP Award winners below.
To see winners from previous years, please click HERE, and then select “All American/All Star Awards” under the year you would like to view.
15 Open
Halle Johnston
Mizuno Northern Lights 15-1
15 Premier
Payton Nutter
Mizuno Northern Lights 15-2
15 Club
Kloyee Anderson
Xcel 15X Select
15 Classic
Tatum Shipes
ProLink 151 Casey
16 Open
Dana Valelly
Skyline 16 RSB Royal
16 Premier
Delilah Wolf
Mizuno Northern Lights 16-2
16 Club
Jac’Cara Walker
Gainesville Juniors 16 Elite
16 Classic
Isabella Milejczyk
Sky High 16 Blue
17 Open
Jade Tinglehoff
Mizuno Northern Lights 17-1
17 Premier
Reagan Davey
Ocala Power United 17 Rox
17 Club
Ashleigh Traylor
TexStar 171
17 Classic
Sarah Sprague
Tampa U17 Elite
18 Open
Rachel Minarick
Sports Performance 18 Elite
18 Premier
Kimmy Martino
Mizuno Sports Performance 18 Red
18 Club
Amelia Grahn
Capital 18 Navy
18 Classic
Cally Zevnick
Crossfire 18-1
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