We have our 2nd week of Badger Championships with 9 of our teams competing over the weekend. We had some high finishes all around!
11 Red
This past weekend the 11 RED team had the opportunity to compete in the Badger Region Championship at the convention center in downtown Milwaukee. This is a very large event with around 30 courts and can be intimidating to some, but not this group of young ladies. I AM was entered into the top division which hosted the top 16 teams from around the state. We were all excited about the awesome competition this weekend, and it did not disappoint for those who were able to watch.
In matches 1 and 2, I AM came out strong and confident and crushed to victories 25-13, 25-10 and 25-11, 25-17. Their next match was against JR Vikings 11-1's. The Junior Viking played well in game 1 pushing I AM to extra points, however, I AM's abilities to focus when points matter allowed them to come out on top 29-27. I AM then showed their consistency winning game 2 easily 25-15. I AM then went over and scouted their next opponent for Sunday Morning - Sting White, who had beaten them in the Frisco Mo championship.
I AM's confidence and focus allowed them to take down Sting White convincingly 25-16, 25-23 Sunday morning. Again playing their best when points mattered. I AM 11 Red then played Madtown 11 Select, a team they had beaten earlier this year in a very close 3-set match. I AM began the game confident and focused, winning game 1 25-21. Game 2 saw Madtown grow some confidence and battle to a very close 20-25 victory. Game 3 went the way of Madtown as I AM was not able to sustain its confidence and energy. I AM did however earn the opportunity to play a 3rd place match against FC Elite 11 Navy, the only team that they have not beaten this season.
In a very competitive game 1, I AM again showed focus when it mattered to win in extra points 26-24. Game 2 saw I AM jump out on top and never let up, winning 25-20.
In this tournament, we had a lot of accomplishments. Players continually made incredible plays to help out teammates and pick them up when they needed it most. It was probably one of the best team efforts I have seen in my many years of coaching. We beat 2 teams - Sting White and FC Elite, which are not only top teams in the state, but are teams that we had lost to earlier in the season. The girls should be proud of their progress and how they have supported each other throughout the weekend!
Parents - THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT
I AM - PROUD
11 Black
This past weekend we had Badger Region! During this tournament we had over 70 aces! All of our girls had at least 1 ace over the weekend! This weekend we played our best volleyball while going up against some very good competition. We fought so hard every game at took 3rd in the silver bracket! It was a fun and exciting weekend filled with lots of good volleyball and memories! We have our last tournament coming up this weekend and can’t wait to get back at it!
12 Red
I Am 12 Red took on the open division at the Badger Region Championships this weekend! This meant tough competition across the board. I was excited for the girls to take on this challenge.
Our serving continues to become more aggressive each week. Shoutout to Janie for earning a serving pin AND serving professional pin.
Overall we finished 1-2 each day. In pool play Saturday our win came against a Sting team that had beaten us earlier this year. We have talked about confidence all year and that really showed during this match.
Greta is doing a great job at the net, and earned herself an overpass kill pin!
Shout out to Hazel for earning MVP. Her serve and backrow play was solid and she played her strongest tourney of the season.
Overall the girls competed, learned a lot, and are looking forward to playing again this weekend.
12 Black
We started off the first day of the Badger Region Championship extremely strong beating East Troy in two sets, 25-4 and 25-7! Dani and Kierstyn both had 8 aces! Our second game was a tough battle against Block Party 21-25 and 25-27. The girls fought so hard and showed lots of hustle in this game. Eloise and Stella both had 6 aces! Game 3 was a hard match against Sting Silver, which placed us in the Bronze Bracket for Sunday.
Because we seeded high after Saturday, we got a bye for the first round of bracket play! For our first game, we played the 608 Juniors. The girls did such a fantastic job playing together as a team. They had some great hustle plays and outstanding offense. After that win, we played in the championship against Epic. The team blew them out of the park and took the victory in two sets! Because of the team's hard work and determination, we placed first in the Bronze Bracket!
#Shoutout Dani, Ava, and Zoey for the block kills!
Kara and I are so excited for the team to bring it next weekend in Green Bay! Great work team!
13 Red | 4-2 | 4th Place
13 Red played in the Badger Region Championships this past weekend. We were placed in the Open division which meant we faced the best teams all weekend long! We started off Saturday with pool play against three solid teams. Each match increased in competitiveness and brought out some awesome play. We didn't drop a set until our 3 set loss against Wisconsin Ice, the eventual 2nd place finishers. It was an exciting match that went back and forth for most of it! At many times we got in a hole, but the team always fought out of it and kept the match close. Some highlights from day 1 included 3 overpass kills from sunny, 1 from Abby, and 1 from Ella. Ella, along with Brooke also earned serving pins!
#Shoutout to all of those players for earning those respective pins!
Sunday's play started off with a challenge match which required a win to get into the gold bracket. We came out fired up and played a very consistent match against a talented North Star team to win in 2 sets. Our best match of the weekend (and the season) was in the semifinal against MVP. They were a powerful and smart team that really tested our mental toughness. It took some time for our girls to figure out how to respond to the smart shots being made, but once they did it was a fantastic match. They battled back to win the second set but couldn't quite pull out the 3rd set win. This was a great loss to the team who ended up winning the championship. After using up a lot of energy in that match, we weren't able to find our groove in the 3rd place game. Highlights of day 2 included MASSIVE blocks from our middles and aggressive play at the net!
#Shoutout to Abby for earning tournament MVP!
She has been working hard to fine tune her serve, and did a great job of being aggressive behind the service like this weekend. She also has improved her play at the net. She had numerous blocks and helpful touches on the ball, as well as was being ready to hit quick sets out of the middle.
Even though we didn't place high enough to medal, this was easily our best weekend of play. We faced good teams in every match and our players were constantly working to better the ball. Mental toughness has been a struggle for us in the past and it still isn't perfect, but huge improvements have been made which allowed us to be extremely competitive! Our team also had a blast cheering on all of the other I AM teams that played in the tournament!
13 Black
Coming Soon!
14 Red | 4-2 | 4th Place
Coming Soon!
14 Black | 5-1 | 3rd Place
It was a great weekend for 14 Black! On day 1 of BRC we went 3-0. It took us a while to get moving after having a late afternoon start, but we managed to beat our first 2 teams. The last match of the day was against the higher seeded Wisconsin Elite team. That game was the best we played all day with Leilah P. and Emersyn L. both earning ace pins. On day 2 we played Impact, a team we had beaten twice before, and we beat them a 3rd time! The scores of both games were 25-12! A great way to start off the day and solidify our spot in the gold bracket. The next match was against FC Elite Blue, who we also have beaten before in 3 close sets. Unfortunately we lost, which sent us to the consolation game, playing for 3rd or 4th. The girls were upset, especially because we had beaten them before, but they were quickly motivated by the fact that 3rd place gets medals, their name on the BR banner, and no reffing for the rest of the day. The 3rd match started off great, 25-20, however we lost the 2nd set. This forced us and Lakeshore Storm to battle it out for the medal in a 3rd set. With a few adjustments to our line up we were able to put away the 3rd set 15-7! This earned us a 3rd place finish in the 14 Club Division. We are truly so happy to have placed at Badger Region and are so proud that we went 5-1. We cannot wait to see how we grow from this!
14 White | 3-2 | 11th Place
14 White played in the Badger Region Championships this weekend. Saturday started with a comfortable win vs 1W Bay 14 Onyx, and then a very tight 3-set loss to Wisconsin Elite 14-Red. The girls were able to regroup and after a break and took down Reign 14s, finishing 2nd in our pool. I think everyone left a little disappointed that we weren't able to compete for the gold bracket on Sunday, but overall Saturday was our best full-day performance we've had this season! On Sunday we started strong with another comfortable win in the challenge match, taking down Heat 14Black and moving up to the Bronze bracket. Unfortunately the bronze bracket wasn't our best volleyball, and we exited early with a loss to Rock VBC 14-1.
Overall a very solid performance for the weekend, finishing in the top 1/3rd of the division with our only losses being to a National team and a 1s team. Our MVPs for the weekend went to Izzie on Saturday and Sam on Sunday.
15 Red | 4-0 | 1st Place
15 Red came into the FC Elite Open as a top seed in a 16s tournament. They have had a tough schedule all season and were excited for the opportunity to be the top team that is being chased by all the others. For the first two matches of the day, the girls absolutely took care of business. They never let their opponents above 15 points and controlled the serve and pass game from start to finish. The team has also been working on using different types of sets from different situations and they began to see some progress with them. In the final match of pool play they were matched up against another 15s team that had shown to be scrappy and had a good amount of height to challenge us. The girls came out firing on all cylinders and once again controlled their side of the net beautifully. In set 2 the other team stepped up their game and began to put us in tougher hitting situations. The girls continued to work together and were able to win a tight 2nd set. In the championship crossover the girls were matched up against the top-seeded South Shore Slam 16s team. This team by far had the most swings and ball control that we had seen all day. In set one our serve receive shined where we were constantly in system and put a lot of pressure on their first contact. After winning set 2, we got off to a slow start showing some nerve and mistakes we didn't make earlier in the day. The girls were able to regain their composure and finish the tournament with another close 2nd set win. The girls could not be more excited about their first tournament win of the season. "I thank the girls for allowing me to coach them for the weekend and inviting me into their team. I had a lot of fun getting to know them and I appreciate how much they were willing to learn and adapt throughout the day. I hope to get a chance to coach them more down the road!" - Jimmy