2026 Week 2 - Tournament Recaps

First weekend of the Badger Region Power League! Teams spread out and take on a two day weekend tournament that extends over 2-3 weeks throughout the season. Great starts and some continued success for our teams.

11 RED

This weekend 11R showed so much growth and heart at our tournament. Our first match was a tough battle, and even though we struggled to find our footing right away, our determination and positivity remained. Even when we were down, we focused on staying aggressive with our serves and battling every point, regardless of the last one. Nellie had some incredible serving runs with her newly developed jump float serve that left other teams baffled. Kenzie, who had been working on not swinging her arms while passing, showed off her new skills with excellent passing. And Charlotte hustled hard to wherever the ball was to get great sets to our hitters.

The teams dedication to good volleyball paid off in our second match, winning the first and third set with incredible comebacks, strong plays, and nonstop energy that lifted the team to the win! We had some player trying out different positions, and the flexibility, adaptability, and team mentality of Aila, Blake, Kolbi, and Simone was crucial to our victory. With Blake and Kolbi playing back row in unfamiliar positions, they played hard and picked up quickly as the went, diligently following responsibilities we briefly went over in practice. Simone went from setting to playing back row, and proved that ball control and speed are universally valuable, regardless of position. Aila went from hitting outside to setting, working hard with her sets, and bettering the ball whenever she touched it.

By our third match, we faced new challenges with our toughest match yet and new positions still being in place. Even so, the girls stayed positive, supporting each other and helping each other figure out rotations, responsibilities, and substitutions that had not been practiced before. Harper and Isla showed off at the net, between overpass kills, jousts, and attacking the ball when they were set, they showed just how impressive their work at the net has gotten in just a month of practice. Savannah held the team steady as she refused to make errors and swung smart from the outside, finding the court with an incredible snap on the ball. The team proved that the scoreboard doesn't matter when they have great teamwork and positive determination to get the win in the end. Their attitudes, resilience, and teamwork made this tournament something to be proud of, and, as coaches, we are so excited to keep this momentum for next tournament.

12 RED

The I AM 12 red team went into this weekend with a single day of play in the Badger Power League on Sunday.

I AM faced off Against Sting Silver in it’s 1^st match of the day. After mentioning to the team that I forgot to have them practice serving this week, the team proceeded to miss 12 serves in game one. (Coaching OOPS #1) We did however manage to have consistent siding out and won that game 25-23. Game two was a little more of the same however playing our best when we needed, I AM won 25-22.

Refocusing for our second match of the day against Sting 11 White, I AM won easily 25-10, 25-11. With Kara leading the way with 10 ACES, I AM totaled 25 aces with only 8 errors in the match. Most of those errors came while pushing our abilities and attempting jump topspin serves.

Match 3 was more of the same with 28 Aces and only 8 errors for the match while winning with a score of 25-7, 25-14.

Once we settled down coach Becca and I were very impressed with the toughness of our serving throughout the day. When the ball did get returned, we executed on offense and had some great swings from all position. We are starting to run a faster offense, and we have been super impressed by how the girls continue to push their abilities. Keep up the great work ladies!

12 Red is excited to play in the winter classic this weekend and take on some of the best teams in the state!

13 RED

Headed to UW-Parkside this past weekend to compete in the 14 Elite division of the Badger Region Power League.  The key word that we needed to work on is the "compete' portion of our play.  We knew we would see bigger teams, stronger servers, and more strength and pace in attackers.  This proved to be all true, but it was nice to see us respond with some of our challenges to other teams.  Once again, we relied on our serving prowess.  The team's increasing ability to attack zones, vary paces, and keep streaks going, will be a key for our season's success.  Over the course of the 2 days we went 5-1, with only falling 21-25, 21-25 to a taller and a bit more aggressive Milwaukee Elite 14's team.  We didn't play our best in that match, but played hard.  If we play better volleyball, and maintain the effort, we can certainly take them.

What we learned about ourselves the most from this past weekend is that we need to establish consistent effort and improve our communication, as well as some mental tenacity.  When we are "in-system" we can score against anyone, and we also have the ability to win long rallies given the players' diversity of skills.  

The coaches were particularly impressed with our setter and middle combinations.  It is clear that even at this particular 14's level, we may be the best in the field at it.  The players (specifically Stella Walter, Reagan Vogelsang, Peyton Hemsing, and Sarah Heitzkey) who play the majority of first contacts, are able to deliver a nice ball to our setters (Jaidyn and Kennedy) who deliver quick sets at an elite level.  When we get Hanlee Kellerman and Alliyah Cline going on offense, our other hitters are then provided opportunities to get their kills.  When we do this, we are a tough matchup for anyone!

We've also begun to emphasize blocking more frequently in practice and it showed this past weekend with so many touches at the net and eye-opening block kills.  Olivia Harry is quickly learning, and grasping, the importance of her presence as a blocker.  I look forward to the time when she expects to dominate the net instead of being surprised by it.

The girls, the coaches, and the families are excited to get into some more challenging competition.  This past weekend proved that we are up to the task, and the next one, the Winter Classic, will be a great early season test to determine if our effort and mental toughness can meet our physical abilities.

13 WHITE

What a weekend for the team! Competing in the first weekend of Badger Region Power League, our athletes showed incredible grit, high-level IQ, and a serving game that was virtually unstoppable, ending the weekend 4-2. The theme of the weekend was "refusing to back down." We didn’t suffer a single sweep all weekend, taking both of our losses to a deciding third set. The energy remained high from Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon, allowing the team to build massive momentum and go on game-changing scoring runs. We saw a significant jump in "Volleyball IQ" from our hitters and setters, who began finding creative ways to exploit the defense and making smart, strategic plays under pressure.

• Sophia led the charge, earning three ace pins and recording 8 aces in a single match. Her highlight of the weekend was a dominant 13-point serving run that she maintained through two opponent timeouts!

• Emma kept the pressure on with a streak of 4 consecutive aces in one match.

• Lexi and Celia also earned their ace pins, both dominating at the service line all weekend.

Our MVP pin goes to Sophia! Sophia was the definition of "all-around" this weekend. Between her lethal serving, lockdown serve-receive, and vocal leadership, she was everywhere. Her court coverage and ability to rack up digs against heavy hitters kept us in every rally.

Malia earned our Game Changer pin. She showed incredible versatility by adjusting from her usual DS role to playing all-around and right side. She also had quite a few service runs, helping us gain momentum.

She led the team with a composed presence, high-IQ decision-making, and consistent service pressure as well! 

While the weekend was a success, we are always looking to level up. We noticed that "scrappy" teams challenged us to stay ready at all times. This week in practice, we’ll be dialing in on coverage and staying active on our toes to ensure we can out-hustle any opponent.

We are incredibly proud of the growth this team is showing & hope to continue the growth in the coming weeks!

14 BLACK

I AM 14 Black opened the first of two weekends at the Badger Region Power League with a competitive slate of matches that showcased resilience, growth, and flashes of high-level play against strong regional opponents.

The weekend began on Day One with a hard-fought victory over Milwaukee Juniors 13-1’s. I AM 14 Black set the tone early, winning a tight first set 26–24 before closing out the match with a 25–21 win to secure the two-set victory.

In the second match, I AM 14 Black faced Midwest Penguins 14-1 in a thrilling three-set battle. After dropping the opening set 20–25, the team responded with grit and composure to claim the second set 26–24. Although the Penguins took the decisive third set 15–8, I AM 14 Black stood out as the only team to take a set off the Penguins during the tournament to that point.

The final match of Day One came against WI Juniors 14-1’s. Despite strong effort, I AM 14 Black fell in straight sets, 25–16, 25–16, closing out a challenging first day against top competition.

Day Two opened with a rematch from the previous Sunday against I AM 13 Red. While the overall result mirrored the earlier meeting, I AM 14 Black showed clear improvement, pushing the match to three sets and earning a hard-fought second-set win. The match finished with scores of 25–19, 21–25, and 15–5.

Momentum carried into the second match of the day, where I AM 14 Black earned an impressive three-set victory over Milwaukee Juniors 14-Elite. After taking the first set 25–18, the team responded well to a second-set loss (20–25) and dominated the third set 15–2 to secure the win.

The tournament concluded with a matchup against Wisconsin Elite 14-Elite. Facing another strong opponent, I AM 14 Black battled but ultimately fell in two sets, 25–9 and 25–11.

Overall, the first weekend of the Badger Region Power League highlighted I AM 14 Black’s competitiveness, determination, and steady improvement against high-caliber teams. With one weekend remaining, the team looks poised to build on these experiences and continue their upward trajectory.

14 GOLD

14 gold won five out of six matches over the weekend.  Displaying great teamwork and a positive attitude throughout.  Our team's hard hitting serves once again led to large runs from several players; Addison M, Addison G, Nadia, Natalie, and Destasia.  Additionally, working on setter out drills at practice last week paid off with some great playmaking from libero Finley.  Overall the team did awesome.

15 RED

Power League in the 16 Elite Division is a great challenge for us. We get to face off with top 15's teams and great 16's teams. Day one we had tall players in front of us from Madtown 16-2. Our offense and defense played great. Our serving was an area we could improve on, both made serves and location of our serves. Luckily the rest of our game was solid that kept us in.

We were down 23-24 and she elegantly tipped two balls short to take the lead 25-24 and had a block to end the game 26-24!

Day two we had an even tougher road. We faced off against rivals 414 Milwaukee Elite. Their tough offense gave us a taste of our own medicine as we scrabble to stay under control for long periods of time. As we ended set 1, we worked to get momentum going into set 2. We were able to get ahead and stay ahead forcing a game 3. Point for point down the beginning but we were able to add a point every time we went to serve which increased our lead. We take game 3 15-10.

Vs 608 Jrs (16's) we matched up well. We have a few mental breakdowns on responsibilities that rippled throughout the match but we caught a few breaks to get us a second wind to steal this match in 3, winning 18-16! Aira got her 1st #OverPassKill Pin and hopefully more to come! #HBD

6-0 is not a bad way to start the league! Great job team!

15 BLACK

in the first match against the Midwest Penguins., we were pretty evenly matched. Unfortunately we lost a player due to illness and then another one to injury. We adjusted quickly to players in different positions and new rotations and toughed it out to win in 3 sets. Shout out to Liz and Sophia for stepping into middle role and the rest of the team for keeping focus through the match.

Next match was against a tall WI Juniors team. We served tough to force a lot of out system play. The girls settled into their rotations and continued to work hard through the match. Tough 3 set loss this match.

Final match of Saturday had a very tired 15 Black team facing Milwaukee Juinors 15s - one of the top teams in the division. We stumbled a bit here in serve receive, but played hard. Eventually falling in 2 set and being one of the last teams in the gym. A well fought match with some sore players. High five to Zoe and Edie for playing almost every play throughout the day.

Sunday we showed up fresh eyed and ready to rock. And rock we did. Everyone knew their roles and maintained the mental toughness needed.

Starting with 1W 16 crimson we continued serving tough and forcing more scramble plays from our opponents. Because we love playing volleyball we went to 3 and pushed a 15-12 win.

Next match was another mental challenging game.  Evenly matched with WI Elite, we fell behind early.   Taking a time out, the message from the girls was "we serve tough, play defense and push". Time out over and time to execute.  Both sets the serve pressure won us the points.  We got to see how other teams can cave under pressure.

Final match again against a very tough team.  We held our own, continued to apply serve pressure and really stepped up our front row defense.

Awesome job to finish 3-3 with lots of adversity.  Additional shout outs.

#OPK pins to Liz, Sophia and Zoe.  Ace pins for Brianna and a pancake to Jovie.  Super proud of this group.  

15 GOLD

Ready to compete, ready to grow, ready to represent

Another snowy Saturday morning for our first Power League Round 1!!  We started out our morning a little slower than we would have liked to and ended up beating ourselves in the end. We lost 18-25 and 16-25. We will be ready for a rematch for sure Madison Elite!!  The team let that loss fuel their fire and responded in a big way. They ended up playing very well against the next two opponents. And ended day one with a 2-1 record.

Sunday, day two, brought an early 8 a.m. belief barrier to be broken, and the girls proved to themselves that they could show up, compete, and play hard right out of the gates!!! They played extremely well against a team that had gone 3–0 the day before, setting the tone for the rest of the day. That was a HUGE WIN for us!

Their momentum and energy kept building as they faced team after team. The girls stayed mentally strong and locked in all day long. Even when they trailed, they found a way to rally back and compete together. It was awesome to watch them pull together and finish the day strong. We had two Ace pin achievers this tournament, but we had a lot of team Aces-59 to be exact!!

Congrats to all our 15Gold Rockstars!!  This was a great tournament!

Achievement Pin Winners: 

• 5 Ace Pins: Laila & Ireland 

• Overpass Pins: Dani & Hazel

• MVP for Saturday's tournament goes to Eve Wille  

• MVP for Sunday's tournament goes to Laila Martin! 

16 RED

The I AM 16 Red team started with a strong first weekend of Badger Region Power

League finishing 6-0!! The team only dropped 1 set the whole weekend, winning a 3 set thriller against 414 Milwaukee on Sunday. Our rightside hitters Malia and Josie had a standout weekend leading our team in kills and hitting percentage, both hitting above .390 on the weekend! Sophie also had a standout weekend hitting over .350 for the tournament! Our team was very successful behind the service line recording 54 aces over 6 games averaging 9 aces a match! Overall a great first weekend of Power League for I AM 16 Red with a full team effort to go undefeated!

16 WHITE

We started Power League with a strong 2-1 record on Saturday. Sunday brought tougher opponents. Although we battled through many close sets all day, we couldn't secure any victories, finishing the weekend 2-4.

This was our first tournament as a full team, and we learned many positives about our potential and how we play together. I'm looking forward to building on that as we keep working towards the goals we set for Power League and the rest of the season.

17 RED

This weekend 17 Red played at our very own facility for Badger region power league weekend 1. Our team put together an impressive performance, finishing with a perfect 6–0 record. 

We were especially strong in serve receive throughout the weekend, which allowed us to stay in system and apply consistent pressure. We had some tough, well-placed zone serving for the most part over the weekend with Morgan Vetter earning a serving pin. 

While our offense is still working out a few kinks in some of our special plays, the team showed great effort and determination, continuing to work hard and improve each match.

Now we head back to practice for two days and are off to the Baird Center in Milwaukee for the Winter Classic!! 

18 RED

18 Red opened Badger Region Power League 6–0, showing consistent execution across all six matches. The group handled a wide range of opponents efficiently, with two matches standing out as the most demanding and revealing - testing composure, discipline, and trust in the system when sets tightened late.

Across the weekend, Anya led the offense with 31 kills while hitting .320. Laila followed with 23 kills, providing steady production from both the front and back row. The middle attack remained reliable, with Taylor hitting .330 and Grace .280. Serving pressure was constant throughout the weekend, as Emy, Grace, and Anya each recorded eight aces. Serving efficiency stayed elite: Morgan led at 96%, followed by Emy at 95%, Anya and Reese at 92%, and Grace at 90%. Morgan also paced the offense with a team-high 56 assists. Defensively, Emy anchored the backcourt with 66 digs, while Anya added 34 and Laila 32. At the net, Taylor led with six blocks, followed by Grace with five and Lily with four.

The final match of day one against 414 17 Elite provided a significant test of mental toughness and teamwork. In set one, 18 Red trailed most of the set and faced match point at 21–24 before staying composed and closing it with a 28–26 win. Offense was well distributed, with Anya, Grace, and Alayna recording three kills each. Efficiency proved critical, as Taylor hit .400 and Grace .250. Serve-receive was elite under pressure, led by Laila’s 2.50 and Emy’s 2.17, while defense stabilized the finish with 10 digs each from Emy and Anya. Alayna added a critical block stop, and Laila, Reese, Anya, and Emy were perfect from the service line. Morgan competed in multiple roles throughout the comeback and delivered a strong all-around performance.

Set two against 414 17 Elite was controlled from the opening points, resulting in a 25–18 win. Grace hit .670, Emy added two aces on five serves, Lily contributed four kills while hitting .250, and Anya delivered three kills at .600. Serving remained clean, with Grace and Morgan at 100% and the team at 96%. Emy added eight digs, and Lily and Taylor each delivered important blocks.

Day two opened with a tight battle against WI Juniors 17-1, again 28–26 first set win. In that set Anya led with four kills while hitting .300, Laila added two kills, and Taylor provided a steady outlet while hitting .500. Serving set the tone once again, with Emy recording two aces, Laila adding one, and Emy, Morgan, and Reese all serving at 100%. Defensively, Reese and Morgan each recorded five digs. The block showed up at key moments with Grace posting two blocks and Laila and Taylor each contributing an important stop.

Momentum carried into set two, which was closed 25–16 with controlled execution. Grace led with three kills on .750 hitting, the highest efficiency posted by 18 Red during the tournament. Laila added two kills at .400 and Taylor delivered two hitting .330. Serving pressure increased with Anya recording three aces and Laila and Emy adding two each, while Laila and Morgan again finished perfect from the baseline.

Emy earned MVP for this weekend by controlling the match from the libero position. She led the team with 66 digs, served at 95% with eight aces, and consistently stabilized play in the tightest moments, allowing the offense to stay in system under pressure.

Between matches, 18 Red stayed connected -spending time together and cheering on other I AM teams -  and that great energy carried right back onto the court. 

The 6–0 record is a result 18 Red is proud of, but the larger takeaway is the team’s response under pressure. In the most demanding moments of the weekend, the group stayed disciplined, positive, served aggressively, and trusted one another. 18 Red is heading to the Windy City Qualifier in Chicago next weekend ready to play hard - wish us luck.