The boys kick of the season with an early tournament at the Badger Boys Series. Check out how our 12's and 13's boys did!
12 Boys
The first action for the U12 Boys I AM team happened this past Friday night at the Milwaukee Sting Center. The boys ended the day 1-2 overall after facing off against MKE Sting 12-1 and 12-2, along with South Port VBC.
While our first set against MKE Sting 12-2 was a bit of a shock (9-25) the boys were able to show terrific grit and teamwork, battling back in the second set only falling short by two points (23-25). The boys showed a tremendous ability of maintaining our “next point mentality” and not letting previous errors/mistakes affect the current play. The team ended our first match of the season with 9 total aces.
Our second match brought about our first win of the season (25-12, 25-21). The boys absolutely balled out in this match against South Port and they truly came together as a team both on the court and on the bench.
Special #shoutout to CJ Novoa for bringing the team together with his constant communication, energetic ace cheers, forming a team huddle on the court after every point, and handing out high fives to all his teammates.
It was truly a game changer in the team’s level of confidence, which helped lead the team total of 21 aces on the match. We certainly heard “uno-dos-tres-ACE-ACE-ACE” a lot during that match.
Another special shout out goes to #7 Ian Napiwocki for totaling 4 aces in the second set again South Port. With two of them coming back to back at a crucial moment late in the game. He earned an ace to put us up 23-20, at which point South Port called a timeout to try and ice him, but with the ice in his veins Ian went back out there and got another ace to make it 24-20 and nearly solidify the match win.
Our third and final match came against a top team in the state, MKE Sting 12-1. While we would eventually fall to Sting (0-2 L), it gave us a wonderful opportunity to play against high level competition and players that have had loads of experience. At the conclusion of our match and during the team handshakes, the coach for Sting 12-1 stopped me and complimented our team on the ability to keep the ball alive and in play, as well as getting incredible touches on defense against their strong attackers. She was impressed with the talent and first contact prowess that our I AM boys had shown in that match. We are all looking forward to seeing them in future matches again this season.
Special #Shoutouts on the day go to #6 Rory Waldron for totaling 4 kills and 1 block, #25 Jamison Kellenberger for earning 3 kills, and #22 Beckett Krier with 2 kills and 1 overpass kill.
The team made some excellent strides in learning how to become ONE TEAM as opposed to being a group of 11 individuals. The boys had changed from when they first walked in that building just a few hours prior. They all left that gym as better volleyball players and it was an absolute blast to see them all progress. We’re looking forward to our next event in January, following the holidays and some extra practice!
13 Boys
Coming Soon!