Atlanta (December 6, 2010) – North Atlanta Volleyball Club (NAVC) shares the news of the passing of their friend and coach, Dennis Jocson.

Dennis passed away suddenly on the evening of Tuesday, November 30, 2010.

Dennis discovered his passion for volleyball when he started playing beach volleyball in his hometown of Pensacola, Florida in 1989. He continued playing when he took a spot as the setter on the Men's Club team at the University of Florida, in the early 90's. In 1996, he moved to Atlanta and became one of the leaders in the Atlanta volleyball community. He was the owner/director of AirVorne Volleyball, LLC which hosts tournaments / leagues as well as outdoor sand clinics for kids.

With a passion for anything and everything volleyball, Dennis used AirVorne Volleyball to organize and conduct training clinics for young children, allowing them to learn to appreciate and love the sport Dennis gave so much to. In addition to working with youth, Dennis also organized and played with many adult teams in the Atlanta area. His love for the sport of volleyball was evident in all he did for the Atlanta volleyball community and in turn, NAVC.

As a way to remember our beloved team member and to support his family in this difficult time, contributions can be made in leiu of flowers.

Michael Jocson
8109 Heirloom Drive
Pensicola, FL 32514

North Atlanta will continue to honor and remember Dennis, by wearing patches on their warm ups as well as renaming his 13 Blaze team to 13 Airvorne.

17 Black - 2nd in Gold
January 31, 2011 - The misson continues and this team will not rest! After Myrtle Beach the 17 Black team knew what they needed to do coming back into the very strong Southern Region. Right from the start during Pool play the 17 Black team proved they derserved the number one seed blowing through pool and knocking off the top seed and host team K2 171 taking over the top seed for sundays playoff.

Sunday the girls remained focused in the first round beating VolleyOne 171 soundly proving they could flip the switch any time they wanted. The semi's were definitly a challange. A very good Club West team used outstanding defense and speed to push 17 Black to three games but the Offense and control proved to be too much and 17 Black took the third game 15-8. In the finals 17 Black faced the host team K2 171 again. We knew it was going to be a fight and a great fight it was, A HUGE THANK YOU to all the Coaches, Players and Parents from our other NAVC teams that came to support. I would say we had most of the convention center watching this epic battle. 17 Black came out swinging but neither team could hold a lead for long as punch for punch the serve changed sides. 17 Black lost the first set 23-25, In game two there were impressive rally's that lasted 7-8 minutes (thats a long time in volleyball) neither team backing down. Ultimately the 17 Black had the lead 21-19 but missed three costly serves to drop the set 23-25 again for a second place finish. In this tournament our Middles Anna McConaghie and Megan Emery lead the way with smart shots and solid blocking. Followed closely behind by our Defense with outstanding saves by Paige Schandevel and back row attacks by Carissa Bell. This team is NEVER willing to settle and will continue our mission, Coach O and I are so proud of this group of girls and the example they set. We are back in action on Feb 19th as we challenge ourselves again as we play up to 18 Power.

16 Blaze Wins in Nashville
16 Blaze had a great weekend at the Alliance Prez Day Battle, bringing home first in silver. This team continues to grow and develop every single match and continues to be fun to coach. The team was fueled to another level with breakout offensive performances from Isabelle Paradis and Camille Smith. Katie McKnight and Heather LaPrade had a back and forth battle all weekend for the hardest hit ball. Shelby Allen and Katherine Birdsong continued their excellent hustle all over the floor on defense. Victoria Pregibon and Anna Pidgeon came up with some huge blocks. And Elaine Villanueva kept the offense running with excellent decision making from the setter's spot. Overall, the single biggest factor was the team's ability to play at a high level of intensity the entire weekend. They never gave up, were loud, and controlled matches. Now that we have seen how good this team can be, we are excited for the things they can do the rest of the season!