2026 Week One - Reindeer Rumble

We host the first tournament of the season and it was bigger than last year's! 32 teams participated over both days, and we even added a 10/11's quad on Friday night. Hot cocoa was flowing, and even Santa made a special visit! Let's dive in and see how our teams performed.

Tournament Highlights

10 RED

The 10's Team kicked off their season with a bang. Our tournament on Friday night consisted of a 4-team quad. There were 2 11's teams and 2 10's teams, which provided great competition. We started against Milwaukee Juniors' 11's team. It was a good match to warm us up. We focused on calling the ball and getting our serves over. In the end, we won in 3 sets.

Next, we faced RVA and played their 10's team. We continued to improve as a team, and our serving got even better. We closed out the match in 2 sets, winning 25-17 and 25-18. After our second match, we cheered from the sidelines for our 11 Black team, who pulled out a victory and became our next opponent. The match was fun and exciting. By this time, we had really improved our serves and managed to put together a few serving runs, leading us to victory.

It wasn't easy, as we had to come back after losing the first set 19-25. I was super proud of our team this weekend. They showed they could overcome adversity by beating 2 older teams and even coming back from deficits to win. I was also really happy with how they cheered for each other and the other IAM Team. We will continue to get more comfortable with each other on the court and become more aggressive. Shoutouts to Hayven, Emilia, and Violet for their serving and MVP awards!

11 RED

Coming Soon!

11 BLACK

I am super proud of 11 Black’s 2nd place finish at the Reindeer Rumble on Friday! We went 2-1 on the day and played some great volleyball. Maggie and Penny both served fantastically, tallying many aces throughout the tournament. Kynslee also played great defense. The team learned a lot along the way and even got some ace cheers going! The team enjoyed sweet treats for their 2nd place victory. We look forward to our next tournament, the UWW Open in Whitewater on January 4th.

12 RED

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12 BLACK

The girls did a great job this weekend. They demonstrated the implementation of new skills we have been working on in practice! The team has been working hard, and it showed this past weekend. The girls went 2-1 in pool play, earning a spot in the gold bracket. They lost in the semifinals to our 12 Red team; however, they battled hard in the second set! We had some great defensive moves and strong serves from our girls. The morale of the team stayed high throughout the day, putting new cheers to use and earning laughs from both the girls and the parents.

A big shoutout for this tournament goes to our libero, Jay Morrisey. Not only was she all over the court, refusing to let any ball hit the floor, but the leadership and energy she brought to the court were impressive. Another coach even complimented Jay on her effort and passion for the game. She really stepped up and took on a leadership role this weekend, helping lead the girls into the gold bracket!

12 WHITE

We had a great start to our season this past weekend at the Reindeer Rumble! We went 2-2 on the day, with 3 out of 4 matches going to 3 sets. Charlotte Gettelman and Kaylin Schellinger led the team with aces, both tallying 7! Throughout the day, the girls were super positive, hardworking, and gritty!

13 RED

What a great way to start our season! We found ourselves in the 14/15 division for the Reindeer Rumble on Saturday, and it went pretty well! We had sustained moments of enthusiasm, hustle, and powerful play. Several times, we put together points that indicated this group CAN do incredible things. Whether it was pinpoint serving, limiting our serve-receive errors, or playing as a team to keep balls alive, we showed hints of a solid squad.

We won our pool without dropping a set and defeated 2 15's teams in doing so. It was nice to see the girls not worried about the age gap at all! Even while doing all this, Jaidyn Alexander worked through an expanded role, adding attacker, defender, and jump server to her plate. Olivia Harry made some nice plays as she became accustomed to a faster and more aggressive pace. Sarah Heitzkey showcased her newfound float serve that gave our opponents fits. Payton Hemsing, who had to step in and set for a few points, proved to be a stronger passer over the first couple of weeks. Overall, each girl did a fine job getting back on the court ready to play!

After a break, we entered the quarterfinals not quite ready to restart the way we finished the morning. Our focus waned, and the level of aggressiveness followed. As a result, we fell in 2. Missed serves, a lack of communication, and a general malaise were the root causes; it wasn't physical. The goal over the next month, as we prepare for the 14 Elite division in the Power League, is to dive deeper into how we prevent that from happening again. The group is definitely talented! The biggest question is how do we ensure that talent is always utilized? How do we maintain an expectation of 100% engagement when it's time to compete? If we can do that, we will always be a tough team to take down.

13 BLACK

A great kickoff to the season for 13 Black! The team took second place. The highlight of the day was probably our game against our very own 13 White team—a close 3-set match! 13 Black ultimately came out victorious. A huge shoutout to their team. We look forward to matching up again!

The first tournament of the season is always an exciting one, but it's also full of experimenting with different lineups, which can be a challenge. However, the girls rose to the occasion and were able to adjust and improve as the day went on. The team’s scrappy defense and hustle really stood out this tournament. We got everyone involved on offense, leading to some great and exciting plays. A shoutout to OH, Lilly Marsh, for making some high-level shots. As the season progresses, we will continue to work on controlling first contacts so we can come out aggressive in serve receive. Excited for the rest of the season with this group!

13 WHITE

The 13 White team showed incredible fight, synergy, and serving prowess this weekend at the Reindeer Rumble tournament, finishing pool play with a strong 2-1 record and advancing to the bracket rounds with high momentum.

The team started the day locked in, consistently demonstrating a positive attitude and fighting spirit. The girls showed resilience, battling for every single point across all matches. This determination was especially evident in the team's powerful serving, which was a dominant factor all day. 13 White racked up an outstanding total of 38 aces throughout the tournament! Key serving accolades included Celia Grove (Outside Hitter) earning an ace pin in the second pool match, and Alaina (Defensive Specialist) also earning an ace pin in the third pool match.

Advancing to the bracket, the team faced off against the tough I AM 13 Black squad. This was the most energized match of the day! The girls came out strong, showing tremendous focus and teamwork to capture the first set with an exhilarating 26-24 scoreline. The energy on the court was infectious, with every player contributing greatly and hyping each other up to maintain the advantage. In the second and third sets, the girls still put up a fight but fell short, losing 1-2. Though we did not advance in the bracket, we are so proud of the girls and will take the set win as a building block.

While every player on the 13 White roster contributed to the team's success, Lexi Hendricks (Outside Hitter) earned the well-deserved MVP Pin for her outstanding performance throughout the tournament. Her stats speak for themselves; she was huge defensively and offensively all day. Us coaches are thrilled with the results and the effort displayed. We are incredibly excited to see the continued growth and development of the 13 White team as we move through the season!

14 RED | 1st Place

The 14-Red season kicked off last Saturday with a dominating performance at the Reindeer Rumble. This team, last year as 13s, brought home a 2nd place finish at the USAV Nationals in the Patriot Division. Now, as they begin the 25/26 campaign, their gameplay began with that same high level of play. The team welcomed 3 new players who were not with them last year – EDEN KNOBLAUCH, AUBREY JAKUBOWSKI, and EMORY BJORSON, who immediately made an impact on the floor. The unity, focus, and determination on Saturday blew teams out of the water, with an average win of 15 points each set.

Each player contributed in a full sweep at the Rumble to go 6-0 in sets and claim their first tournament championship. Statistically, 14-Red controlled the score and statistics as ball after ball found the floor through offense and serving. Defensively, we have a core belief that our side of the court is “ours, not theirs.” This means nothing touches our floor because we control it. That mindset saw our defenders taking ball after ball and putting it back in play. From the first whistle to the last, I AM held the reins (pun intended :P) to the championship.

SHOUTOUT

HAYLEE ROBINSON led the team with an incredible 44 kills on 70 attempts, with only 5 errors for a .560 hitting average. Right behind her was MADDIE HAGEL with 36 kills on 63 attempts, with only 3 errors and a .520 average.

The team served a staggering 94%! This was led by LONDYN WISKIRCHEN and OLIVE BRYANT, who both had 20 aces, and EDEN MILLER, who had 15. Across the board, 14-Red owned the service line!

The team also held a strong serve receive for the day with a 1.81 average. This was led by libero WISKIRCHEN, who passed an impressive 2.14 serve receive and had a team-leading 38 digs. CHLOE CAVANAUGH added 17 digs to help shore up the defense.

The setters led the offense with remarkable movement and setting choices. BRYANT led the team with 72 assists on 156 attempts, and CHARLEE KRULL added 51 on 98 attempts.

What an amazing start to the season! If you have the opportunity, come watch this extremely talented team as we battle our way to the 2026 National Tournament.

14 BLACK

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14 WHITE

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14 GOLD

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15 RED | 2nd PLACE

Excited to see how our team would come together after 4 practices, and we had an awesome story arc worthy of a sequel! Not to mention our elf performance on Saturday!

The first set was against Spiketown 6-2, and it was a challenge from the start. Game one was rough as we were learning on the fly to see who gets what ball in a live situation. Spiketown had good offense, defense, and pressure serving. Game two, we calmed our nerves and were able to side out quickly. With a serving surge from Reagan, we found some life and energy!

In matches 2 and 3, we controlled the game against nice teams from JustAGame and Cool City. We took 2nd place in the pool and had the crossover with WI Shock 16's, who won their pool. We went 3 with them and pulled off the upset! Our next opponent is our very own 15 Black. This will be a fun matchup all season. They were down players, but they put some pressure on us, making us call timeouts. Their serving gave us something to think about, but in the end, we had enough firepower to come out on top.

Now we are in the Championship against Spiketown 16-2 AGAIN! They beat their own 16-1 team in the semifinals. They looked gassed, and we took advantage of that in game one, serving them off the court. Game two, we had serving and hitting errors early that gave them momentum, which they used through the rest of the set and game 3. We came up a few points short, but what a great day of volleyball! Three exciting matches and a whole list of things to work on before the power league. Great work, team!

15 BLACK | 3rd PLACE

What a strong start to the season! Well done to the girls for earning a tie for 3rd place out of 16. The plan for the day was to work a few lineups, see if we could get a rhythm going, and work on team identity. We got that along with some very good matches. As the girls told me...it's game day.

We started the day against a long, tall, and fast Spiketown 16-1 team. They came at us with aggressive serves and a defense that did not break. We definitely showed first-game jitters that were compounded with a last-minute change in lineup. While we struggled and ultimately took a 2-set loss, we didn't give up at any point.

After a break, we regrouped, tweaked the lineup a bit, and found a groove. We were able to work past the IAM 16 Gold team to secure the first win of the day. Next match was against Hartford 15-1, where we found the rhythm we were looking for. With a 2-1 record, we finished second in the pool and got ready for our first playoff match.

Got to love a home tournament as we were matched against the IAM 16 Black team. What a match! It was hard-fought from both sides, with 15 Black earning the W in 3 sets. The girls never lost focus and showed real grit when working through tough runs. Next up was IAM 15 Red for the semifinals to earn a trip to the Gold Championships. Unfortunately, the early morning start and long day were starting to catch up with us, and some plays that were easier before did not go as we wanted. We won some hard-earned points, hitting over and through their big tall block across the entire front row, but weren’t able to close it out. Another tough loss, but again, the spirit never faltered.

I did a terrible job with stats, so instead, I'm going to call out a few key elements from the day:

• Coach Jamie and I asked for flexibility and willingness to be uncomfortable. We got that from everyone. Even when we mixed up lineups a bit and tried things we did not practice, we kept grinding, and everyone had high spirits all day.

• Ava had a crazy day in the middle. Some unorthodox defense kept the ball alive in more than a few situations, as well as a few big overpass kills to finish rallies.

• Jovie and Zoe had multiple point-serving runs at key times to keep momentum with us.

• Team serving overall had minimum errors all day. This is huge when battling for every point.

  
  

As expected, 15 Black learned a lot about ourselves and what this team can be. The energy, joy, and resilience shown this weekend will be the building blocks to make a great season. Super proud of all the girls.

15 WHITE

15 White had a strong start to the season, going 3-0 in pool play and making it all the way to the semifinals. With their strong serving and persistent hustle, they were able to string together points and go on long runs. This weekend, the focus was on grit and finding their connections with each other as a team, which continued to show and grow throughout the day. We are excited to keep growing as a team to see what these girls are capable of!

Player highlights:

• Jeana showed her serving strength, hitting multiple zones and going on a run of 6 multiple times.

• The girls also showed their strength when it came to protecting the net, with Hannah, Sienna, Stella, Patton, and Katie getting some big kills.

• Patton really showed her dedication to being a great teammate this weekend, constantly hyping everyone up and pushing the team regardless of the current outcome, hence why she is our first MVP.

  
  

15 GOLD

Coming Soon!

16 RED | 3rd Place

The I AM 16 Red team started strong with a 3rd place finish in the 17s/18s division at the Reindeer Rumble tournament hosted by I AM! The team finished with a 4-1 record, going undefeated in pool play and winning their quarterfinal match, only dropping 2 total sets for the day. Our hitters had standout performances as our team as a whole hit over .400 on the entire day! Our defense specialists had a spectacular weekend passing, keeping our team in system! Our setters put our hitters in great positions to get kills, leading our standout offense very well! A full team effort for week 1, getting us ready for a great season to come!

16 BLACK

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16 WHITE

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16 GOLD

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17 RED | 2nd PLACE

17 Red kicked off the season with the Reindeer Rumble. We had an amazing day overall, learning to play with new teammates and having fun.

Going into the tournament, we were down a pin hitter, forcing Emmalee to play all around and Emree to set out of the front row. Both did great stepping into roles we haven’t practiced yet.

We dominated the day, only allowing some teams 5 points. The finals came, and we lost to our own 18 red team in a hard-fought battle. We learned a lot from this match to take back to practices! Until next time, 18 red…

Back to practice we go until the new year, then it's time for the power league.

17 BLACK

Coming Soon!

17 WHITE

I AM 17 White kicked off the volleyball season at the Reindeer Rumble this past weekend! It was a fun day full of development as players and growth as a team. Our team endured a number of challenges throughout the day, including being shorthanded, losing a teammate to injury, and a tough go in pool play, finishing with a record that didn’t reflect our play or mood. The girls found a surge of energy and came out firing on all cylinders after lunch, playing their best volleyball of the day. We ultimately lost in the semifinals of the consolation bracket, but the coaches and team agreed, we felt the day was a success despite our record. It was awesome to see the girls bond as teammates, grow as players, and recognize the steps they took forward this weekend!

18 RED | 1st PLACE

18 Red delivered a statement performance in the opening tournament, the Reindeer Rumble, capturing the championship after an undefeated six-match run, highlighted by a hard-fought three-set title victory over 17 Red. From first serve to final point, the entire roster played a vital role in an exceptional weekend.

Offensively, Alayna led the attack with an impressive 4.5 kills per set, finishing the tournament with 23 total kills while hitting a strong .260. Anya followed with 2.5 kills per set, contributing 21 kills and posting an efficient .270 hitting percentage. Laila had the most kills in this tournament - 25 total with 2.0 kills per set. In the championship match, Grace was dominant in the middle, hitting an outstanding .330, while Alayna added 9 key kills to secure the victory.

Both our middle attackers, Grace and Taylor, were a consistent force throughout the tournament, as they combined for countless momentum-shifting blocks, timely kills, and even digs that anchored the successful results of 18 Red.

Morgan orchestrated the offense with poise and confidence, logging over 150 assist attempts, with 44 resulting directly in kills, and with 10 perfect assists in the championship match.

Defensively, Emy was relentless in the backcourt, finishing the tournament with 58 digs and a memorable highlight, our defense queen contributed 7 kills across the weekend.

From the service line, Reese delivered multiple outstanding game-changing runs, recording 16 aces while serving at an impressive 93% efficiency. Laila was flawless from the end line, serving a perfect 100% all tournament long and converting all 23 attempts into successful serves with 6 aces. Anya, Laila, and Grace each served perfectly at 100% in the championship match.

Beyond the results on the court, the team embraced the holiday spirit, creating ornaments for the I AM tree, taking pictures with Santa, and enjoying a festive team experience that made the weekend even more special. Thank you so much to everyone for cheering and for organizing such a joyful and memorable event - it was a championship weekend in every sense.