The last tournament of the regular season took place last weekend as our club took over the Renesiance Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota! We played in the Midwest Championship Fiesta hosted by Kokoro. Our 18 Red headed to USAV Nationals in Columbus, Ohio!
11 Red
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12 Red
I AM 12 Red finished the season bringing home the Championship at the Fiesta in Minnesota!
We cruised through pool play on day 1 finishing the day 3-0. We had been working on a 6-2 in practice, but they were VERY hesitant to try it out. After playing the first match in our normal 4-2, I decided it was time to test out the 6-2. By the end of day 1, they had gotten the hang of it and were playing better than ever and starting to embrace the 6-2.
After some Mall of America and pool time Saturday afternoon, the gold bracket had us back in the gym for an early 8am match. We started out on fire with our serve beating a Prior Lake 12’s team 25-7 in the first set. Well…they woke up and took set two 25-19. I AM battled back to take the match with an impressive 15-4 win.
The semifinals had us up against a solid Vital 12-1’s team. We took an early lead 15-10 in set one, but tough serving from Vital had us down 24-18...and our backs against the wall. With nerves of steel from Grace behind the service line, great teamwork, anxious parents AND coach on the sidelines,we made an impressive comeback win 26-24!!! The girls were soooo excited and we went on to win set two 25-19 and advance to the Championship match! We beat a solid Midwest United team 25-19 and 25-12 to finish out the tournament and take 1st place!
Shout out to:
Jovie, Brooke and Janie for earning serving pins;
Janie and Grace for earning professional serving pins;
Janie and Addie for the overpass kill pin!
Congrats goes out to Brooke for the MVP pin! She came through with consistent passing and great attacking on the outside throughout the weekend.
I am so proud of this entire team. We played our best volleyball of the year this weekend… what a great way to end it!! There was a mix of emotions as the girls were sad to have the season come to an end.This was a great group to coach and I appreciate such supportive families all along the way.
Congrats 12 Red on a great season! Can’t wait until next year!
13 Red
13 Red played in the premier division of the Midwest Fiesta Championships this weekend. Both days of play were filled with exciting and competitive matches! Day one was interesting for us as we struggled in the first half of most sets but then fought back to pull out some impressive wins. This was awesome, as the team was resilient. However, by the end of the day they lost some steam and weren’t able to win the challenge match to make it into the gold bracket. It was a tough 15-17 loss in the third set, but there was a lot to be proud of from the day. This included our aggressive swings and solid blocking. We also put up a strong fight against the team who ended up winning the tournament.
#Shoutout to Ana and Abby for earning overpass pins!
Day 2 in the consolation bracket started off very slow for us. We struggled to find our groove and couldn’t string points together in the first match. Thankfully, the team quickly turned it around and brought great energy to the final two matches. With a couple more comeback wins, we were able to finish the day 2-1. Overall, we finished 3-3 with two of those losses being points away from going our way. It was great to see the team battle through adversity and learn from the close losses. Highlights from day 2 include aggressive serving and smart shots from our hitters.
She was solid in serve receive and stayed mentally tough in defense. She did an awesome job of adapting to the opposing hitters’ patterns and getting touches on the ball to keep the plays alive.
13 Black
Over the weekend, 13 Black competed in every aspect of the game. They started with a win against Minnesota Select 13-Black. A slow start picked up into great swings and service pressure which led them to a 3-set win.
In the second match, we faced the eventual winner of the tournament: Synergy 131. We had great rallies and hitting, but the service pressure and precision hitting from Synergy led to an eventual loss for I AM. Though an unfortunate loss, they walked away with their heads held high and knowing they played a great game.
Match 3 against Fusion 13-1 was a 3-set thriller. A close first set 26-24 win led to a slow second game loss 17-25. The third set was highlighted by crafty attacking by our hitters, consistent passes, and great service pressure. This great trio led to a 15-13 set win and a 2-1 positive match record on the day. Unfortunately, this was not enough to get into gold as we tied with 2 other teams in our pool and lost due to a set-win percentage.
Match 1 on Sunday vs Waconia JO 13-1 was a quick two-set win (25-9, 25-15) and overall domination on the court. The team seemed like they could not make a mistake and were playing at a very high level together. Match 2 was a lot closer against MN Premier 13-1. A slow first set led to a loss of 25-22. The message after the first game was simple: We'll win in 3. We play our game. We have fun. The girls did that in the second set win (25-22) and took that same energy into the set 3 win (15-9).
Match 3 was my favorite match of the year to coach against Kokoro Volleyball 12-1. The team was full of energy, confidence, and laughter during the whole 2-set win (25-14, 25-20). Every mistake was followed by a great play. Every push Kokoro tried to make was met by a bigger pushback from I Am. This game was the best they had played all season!
13-Club Consolation Champions! 5-1 record on the last weekend! I am super proud of this group of girls and the progress they have made this season. We were the most aggressive team in the building and had the most fun as well. I can't say enough about the character and commitment of these players and I can't wait to watch them grow even more!
14 Red
We entered this past weekend having no idea what to expect in the 14 premier division. Even though we were the top seed in our pool, it became immediately clear that all seed numbers could be thrown out of the window as all of the teams were pretty evenly matched. We began our day against a tough team, but we prevailed in a very closely contested 3 set win. After having a few weekends off, we played rather sharply! In our next match we went up against a much larger M1 team that also passed extremely well against us. Combining their success on 1st contacts and our unforced errors, we played from behind in both sets and were swept. As we headed into our final match, we found ourselves in position to still win our pool based on the other results; which really illustrates how balanced the field was. We played exceptionally and rolled through our final match against a MN-Select team
On day 2, we still remained the number 1 seed in bracket play and performed like it by steamrolling our opponents in 2 sets; it took about 35 minutes. It may have been our most convincing win against a similar opponent all year. We then headed into the Gold Semi's after a break and came out sluggish and unfocused. We again hindered our progress with unforced errors and lost in 2 sets (to the eventual champion). In our 3rd place match, we once again played outstanding volleyball and defeated a very good team from Northern Wisconsin that we have never competed against.
Overall, to finish 3rd in the Premier division was a nice accomplishment. We had some strong and consistent performances from Avery Pierce and Maddie Katte, as well as timely and smart attacks from Grace Tilley. Our setters also were so good at distributing the ball (and serving for Milli and Sierra). Each and every player made memorable plays over the weekend and our parents and coaches had a wonderful time watching them. While we still have 2 more events this year, it will be a memorable trip to the Minneapolis area for the 14 red families!!
14 Black
Coming Soon!
14 White
14 White ended their season at the Fiesta Midwest Championship in Minnesota last weekend. A 1-1 finish on Saturday put us in the Silver bracket, and a 2-1 finish on Sunday gave us a 5th place finish in Silver. A very fun and competitive weekend, with clear improvements from match to match.
Overall it was a great year! Big highlights include a 1st place tournament finish, a 3rd place tournament finish, and a top 5 in Power League. The improvements in skill, communication and energy were incredible from everyone. For the season we gave out 43 pins (excluding MVP awards) and recorded 423 aces (20% of our scoring came from service aces!). A huge thank you to all the players and parents for making it such a fun season!
15 Red
Truly a team effort this week to bring home the championship piñata! We kicked off day one in a 3 team pool with a crafty team that tipped and rolled with precision that caused us to give up what looked like silly points. Wrappe with a handful of hitting errors and serving errors we need up going 3 with the team and all games had to be played to 25. We came out on top and won the match but that felt more a survival than a take over. Match two we played tough and found our rhythm like last week. I chalk up the slow start to travel fatigue :)
We were the one seed overall in the club division and we proved that all day on Sunday. We took off on each team around 15 points and sprinted towards the finish!
Our offense and was too much for any team to handle with every player taking big swings and setting up huge timely blocks. The setters were dynamic and the back row cleaned up the rest! A handful of pins were given out this weekend.
#Shoutout to Ambryn Aanson for getting her first overpass pin and hitting pretty close to 1.000 in the championship! She is our Tournament MVP this week!
That gives us back to back championships! We will now switch up the lineup and bring in two new players and get ready for the post season! #USAVNationals
15 Black
15 Black finished the weekend with a 4 and 2 record to take 17th of 32 teams.
Saturday was a tense day as we struggled finishing points. The first match of the day was a tough 3 set loss. #GetThePin - Elyse for 2 Overpass Kills, Olivia with 1 Overpass and Katie with a Pancake. (That was Katie's 4th Pancake of the season).
In the second match we were able to control the pace of play by keeping MN Premire out of system with aggressive serving. Shoutout to Olivia and Laila for big runs while serving. #GetThePin - Overpass Kill explosion: Elyse, Olivia, Morgan And Layla each had 1, Riley had 3!!.
In 3rd match we had to win to stay in the upper half of the tournament. Unfortunately everything we did was just a little off. We started flat and struggled with our ability to end rallies. #GetThePin - Morgan and Elyse both earned another Overpass pin.
Day 2 was a late start for us. We moved to a new gym and got to work. First match went smoothly. The girls played relaxed and loose for a quick 2 set win. The second match was a bit more interesting. We won the first set after starting a bit slow, then settling in to finish 25-20. Set 2 we started serving, earned a point, then lost rally. A quick side out to earn the ball back and then Riley decided to put on a Serving clinic. 22 serves and 8 aces later the other team finally sided out. One more quick side out from us and we kept control to win 25-2.
Game 3 we moved to a different gym and were relaxed to start. Maybe a little to relaxed as our opponent (who hadn't wan a match Sunday) kept us out of system and we stumbled on set 1. Aggressive serving and attacking carried us through the next 2 sets to close out an undefeated Sunday.
#GetThePin - Overpass Kills: 3 more for Olivia, and 1 for Elyse. Riley, Sam and RaeAnn earned Ace pins.
Overall a season with lots of fun, good play, outstanding girls and enjoyable parents.
15 White
Coming Soon!
15 Gold
15 Gold had amazing last tournament at the Fiesta championships. They played some amazing volleyball, with under five serving errors per game, at least three blocks per set, 10 aces per game, and over 70 hitting and tipping attempts per game. These girls fought point for point with the teams we played this weekend and we ended up going 2-4. We are so proud of how much this team has grown since the beginning of the season. And we would like to wish 15 Gold luck on their future volleyball endeavors!
16 Red
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16 Black
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16 White
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17 Red
This past weekend, 17 Red competed at the Midwest Championships in Minnesota. As individuals and as a unit, great strides were made. On Saturday, the team consisted of 7 players, meaning a whole lot of playing time and solid reps. Our setters, Lily Oberneder and Natalie Sebo, did a phenomenal job of running the court and leading their teammates to success. We had players in unusual positions, but both Carolyn Lippe and Lizzy Pieper held down the fort while playing libero. They finished 2-1 on day one, advancing to the gold bracket on Sunday.
Avery Smith and Elyse Karrels are two dynamic middle blockers who stay involved in plays and help the team greatly. They are both crucial to the teams’ success. Alongside them is Kate Boettinger, who did an excellent job on day two of providing energy and instilling confidence in her hitters. The team fell short in two close matches on Sunday morning but were able to bounce back and win the final match of the weekend, securing a 7th place finish out of 14 teams. Our MVP of the weekend is MB/RS Jenna Soerens – who absolutely excelled as a six-rotation outside hitter. Her defense and serve receive were consistent, as was her attacking from the outside.
Without many players being willing to step into new roles, we would not have had the outcome that we did this weekend. 17 Red is more than excited for the remainder of the season as we gear up for Nationals, knowing there is still so much growth to be made!
17 Black
Coming Soon!
17 White
This weekend we played our final tournament In Minnesota. We were down 3 girls so played with 7. The girls stepped up and played hard! We had so many shining moments of resilience. The whole weekend we were scrappy and had amazing defense against very strong hitting opponents. There were times where our morale was down, but we always found a way to come together and be our goofy selves to get us out of the ruts we were in. Though our record wasn’t what we hoped for, we never gave up and gave each game 100%.
The last game ended with tears knowing that our time together was over, and that for some of us this was our last time playing on a club team or a volleyball team in general. This group of girls was so special. I have never coached a group that was so drama free, connected, goofy, and awesome. It was a privilege to coach every one of these girls. The highlight of our season was that we were truly one unit that supported each other on and off the court. The girls appreciated and embraced one another. They had a way of being able to lift each other up, even if they were in a mood. We knew how to have fun together. I would say each practice consisted of laughing 99% of the time. Which was a good thing because we learned throughout the season that when we are loose, having fun, and not putting pressure on ourselves, we play the best volleyball. Each girl displayed growth in their confidence in themselves. I am finishing this season an extremely proud coach!!
18 Red
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