Tournament Recaps - Week 13

11 RED

The 11 Red team played the final weekend of the power league in the 12's division this past weekend! They started out the day against JAG VBC in a very intense match. 11 Red led most of the way in game 1, however we lost our confidence at the end of game one and ended up losing 21-25 and 18-25. 11 Red came back strong in game 2 beating MWP 12 Red 25-14, 29-27. In their last match of the day, 11 Red played Milwaukee Juniors 12-1's. After easily winning game 1 25-15, we allowed people to try some new positions and 11 Red ended up losing the next two games 25-22, and 15-10. 

On day 2, 11 Red determined to dominate its competition. And this is exactly what they did. They beat Wisconsin Juniors 11-1's team 25-7, 25-17 and then beat Eclipse 12 Solar 25-16, 25-13. 

In the finals 11 Red played the MWP 12- Black team. 11 Red was playing very good volleyball and confident that they were going to dominate this match. In the 1st game I AM won 25-23 and in the second game the Penguins snuck out the win 26-24. 11 Red was excited about how they were playing continuously, getting good swings and being the more aggressive team. The 3rd game was more of the same, with I AM leading the back and forth battle 8-11. 11 Red started to play a little timid and we took a time out to discuss and reset our team. During the time out, players encouraged each other to be aggressive and let them know it was ok to make mistakes. This was something we didn't do on day one and this time we were going to make sure we dictated the outcome of the match. Although we had a few mistakes, our aggressive play out matched the penguins and I AM 11 Red went on to win the match 15-13.

As coaches, we could not be more proud of how the girls played today. Believing, Encouraging and Trusting (BET) each other during high pressure points is such an important part of our growth as a team!

Great job 11 RED, we couldn't be more proud!

12 RED

Badger Region Power League Champions!

Since the very first weekend of this 3 weekend event, we had the target on our back as the top seed.  This target became even larger as the final brackets over the weekend came into picture.  There are teams in our age group that see us as an enormous challenge and those teams really get up to play us; this in itself is a reminder of who we are as a team and an opportunity to remind the girls that we need to respect our opponents' efforts.  We would get the best the other teams had over this past weekend.  But, we took it to a whole new level!

With an injury to one of our middles we had to make some adjustments in our lineups to deal with the sudden blow.  It's a good thing that our girls have periodically played in different positions in case something like this occurred, and Bell Pauly was incredible in her new-ish role over the weekend.  She was so intelligent with her net play, took some really aggressive swings, and scored us some big points from the service line, too!  Sarah Heitzkey, on Saturday would not come off of the court at any point, and made play after play, and served 12 aces!  We ran a 4-2 for the first time all season, without practicing it, and Kennedy Hiller became a DS as a right back and then set in the front row; she did this as if she's done it all season.  This is the reason all-skills need to be worked on in practice...you just never know!

While we did drop our first set of the power league on Saturday against a spirited WI Juniors team, we did then control sets 2 and 3 to take them down, we played pretty clean volleyball for much of our time on the court.  Our setters ran a very balanced offense, with more pace than we have at any time this season.  Our first contact consistency, in serve recieve and free ball really allowed our offense to implement some of the more aggressive and fun swings we've been working on in practice.  Our outsides Payton, Reagan, and Sarah played so smart, and took some big swings when the time was right-not afraid to make an error!  Our team serving was outstanding, Lyla, Hanlee, and Kennedy were hitting lasers  to the point of collective frustration from our opponents.  It is also important to add that the improvement of Jaidyn Alexander, not only as a setter, but as an offensive threat, has made an incredible difference in our team's identity.  No one, not in Wisconsin, or even from what we saw in St. Louis, can do what she is capable of at the U12 level.  A 5'8" lefty setter, who can jump, is devastating in the front row.  The defense has to account for her threat, which then allows her to set an outside against a single block, because the opposing middle needs to stay with Hanlee, who was unstoppable on Saturday, on a middle quick or a slide (Which our girls ran for championship point!).  

When the girls play as a team, find joy in the challenge, and do their "jobs", we are really tough to beat! 41-5 is a pretty impressive record overall!

13 RED

Diggin' in the Dells is the final tournament of 13 Red's regular season schedule before getting some time off to rest, relax, and recharge during a shutdown period. The girls were excited to play in the Dells, something our club hasn't done in quite some time. With how the schedule worked out, 13 Red played up in a 14's division. They have proven that they can do this many different times this year but as always when playing up you never know the obstacles that you might see. The attention to detail at practice recently has been great. The girls are really focusing on little things that make a big difference. On day 1, the girls overall skill level and experience is what set them apart. They played with a lot of poise and consistency while implementing high-level expectations that have been a focus in practice. They breezed through the competition on day 1 and moved onto the gold bracket for day 2. In the quarterfinal of gold, the girls played a tough McHenry 14-1's team that had a few high powered hitters and a very scrappy defense. In set 1, we made many uncharacteristic errors. Didn't control enough of our side to get anything going. After a tough start and an injury, the girls caught fire in the second set. They were playing to win and played with a ton of energy. Maddie went on an incredible topspin jump serving one that sparked much of the momentum. Unfortunately, we came up a little short and ran out of points. In our final game for 5th place, even with a few lineup changes, the girls came together to win as a team and to finish the tournament. At the end of tournaments when we don't meet our goals you can tell the frustrations that we all have...but that's how I know how much these girls care about the success of the team and not just of their own. We continue to improve essential pieces each day and you can always tell the girls are ready for more. Playing big at the right time and playing loose and free when things feel tight and uncomfortable is a next big step for us. Excited for the break head...but even more excited for our extended season starting up in May!!!

13 BLACK

After a long break, this IAM team returned and was ready to play! The first day, we were 1-2 with tight games. The girls were able to fight hard, take in teachable moments, and apply them to Sunday! For the overall weekend, Jane Mclntyre had two overpass kills, Bella Masse had X2 5 ace pins, Alannah Donath had a 5 aces pin, and Sydney Massart had a 5 ace pins. On Sunday, we were placed at the top in the silver bracket, and we went into Sunday to end this weekend off with a 1st in silver, and that’s what we did!

On the second day, we remained strong and consistent and used our strategies against teams, and it showed! We were finally hitting the gaps and trusting each other on the court. Defense started helping our hitters by vocalizing the open spots, and the girls were doing better with crossing through the ball and serving tough! Ending the tournament on a high note, I was proud of how hard the girls worked, and I value how they respect and work hard to improve. Now, to our next and last stop of the season, Indiana.

13 WHITE

13 White continues to improve greatly week after week. Coach Matt & Erin are so proud of the girls & how far they have come. The final Badger Region weekend flew by. Our first match on Saturday was against I AMs 14G team. The girls SHOWED UP this match, and played the best volleyball we think they’ve played thus far. The team chemistry was flowing & everyone was “doing their job”. The first set we took them 25-14. The girls were so excited to get this first set W. We ended up going down 15-25 in the second set, which meant we were going to 3! In the third set we really battled it out, but ended up loosing 12-15. Though we took the L, the girls were in good spirits knowing they are capable of great volleyball against older teams! The last two matches of the day on Saturday the girls won in 2. We had a pep talk before heading home, & heading into Sunday. Our first match Sunday morning was against a very large team, with their middle being 6’4. We stayed competitive and did lead in points at multiple times throughout the match, though ended up loosing. Again on Sunday we then went on to win the last two matches, both in 2. Between matches the girls had fun watching and cheering on the 13 Black team! We ended the weekend 4 - 2, which is such a great improvement for the girls. We continue to watch them thrive & improve as players. We can’t wait to see what they do this last tournament weekend in Indiana!

14 RED

Day 1 of Diggin in the Dells brought us to Wisconsin Dells High School. We started out the day HOT! Literally…it was very HOT in the gym. But more importantly, we went undefeated beating teams from Madtown, MN Select and Midwest Penguins all 2-0 to secure our spot in the semifinal match on Sunday!

Day 2 we headed over to the Dome! It was quite a different environment than the high school. It was loud and extremely packed in there! We took control of the first match vs. Infinity and were able to work on running some different sets and controlling the ball enough to execute those plays. It’s a work in progress but fun to see the team trying new and challenging things. We cruised to a 25-16 and 25-11 match win vs. Infinity and on to the Championship to face Penguins once again!

The first set of the Championship match was back and forth early. The Penguins offense came out very aggressive and we couldn’t get into any rhythm of our own. We gave away a couple strings of points down the stretch and found ourselves down 24-19, with our backs against the wall. We weren’t ready to be done though…Behind the serving of Scarlett Van Harpen and some scrappy defense, we went on a thrilling 6-0 run to take the first set 26-24! Now we were in the zone and took over finishing it 25-7 to get the Championship Win!!

Shout out to Brooke Vanden Berg for earning MVP on the weekend! She played consistently in the front and backrow and had a BIG game winning kill for us in that comeback win! 

What a great tournament win for our team going undefeated in sets all weekend and taking home Championship t-shirts!!

14 BLACK

14 Black ended Badger Power League with 14 match wins and a 3rd place finish. 2nd best win percentage of the 20 team league.  The girls had another outstanding weekend of Volleyball, football, frisbee, sliders and corn dogs.   One of our keys for the weekend was to keep our serving percentage above the 87% mark.  (90 was the sweet treat goal)   As expected the girls started  the weekend serving aggressively and finished the weekend with 87+ % serving.  Of course we get to give out #SERVEPINS: Eloise, Abbey and Addie get one and Reagan gets two.  

Does this sound familiar - Aggressive serving right from the beginning put us ahead in almost every set.  The defensive hustle allowed for smooth transitions to offense.  The serving and heavy handed hitting led to plenty of opportunities for overpass kills. Ava had 2, both Haley and Abbey had one.   

A couple other shout outs

•  Grace did a nice job as the right back DS this weekend.   Initially, Grace was a bit uncomfortable, but she took to the lessons on court and in huddles to record 19 digs as well as 5 assists.   Well Done Grace.

•  Zoe was nearly perfect from the serving line: 1 error on 39 attempts with 3 aces for the weekend #QUEEN. 

• Finally - this team makes it very hard to determine an MVP.   As always everyone has individual plays, is always hustling for the point.   This weekend two girls stood out to Jamie and I. 

Haley has shown huge improvement as a hitter for the last few weeks of practice and, on Saturday had several clutch attacks that ended rallies with points for us. She was always communicating as she was ready and available. Haley had 15 Kills this weekend.   And a huge block on Sunday to cap a great weekend.

Kylie's effort and dominance on Sunday was ridiculous. She never stopped transitioning and attacking aggressively. Showed improvements in her block each match - i know she demoralized a couple of the middles during the weekend.  Also had a team high 31 kills.

Great work MVP's Haley and Kylie. 

15 RED

It's been a long time since one of our teams have gone to the Dells for a tournament we were excited to do some team bonding and play in the dome! We were entered into the 16 Club Division and we were awarded the #1 seed overall. Mad respect for our team. We had a goal this weekend to carry ourselves as a one seed and not take that for granted. Knowing everyone is going to play their best against us we had to go into each set proving why we are the top seed.

Pool play on day one we came out competitive and continued to get more fluid by match 3 where we just dominated, terminating almost every time we had a chance.

Day Two we got re-pooled into a group of 3 and need to take 1st to make it to the semifinals. We played against North Stars and Starz. The first set vs Starz was a tough back and fourth but we got the W 25-23 and then found our groove in the next set and match.

Now we are in the Semifinals and play some familiar friends from Wisconsin Elite. Close games and tested our mental focus to finish the sets. We won 25-19 and 25-23 with an absolute clutch serve from Jessie after a timeout. She put in a short serve that caused a player to reach out and got the ace to win!

The finals was our final test and final chapter of our tournament story. We played St. Louis Crossfire 16's. The team had some hard hitters that gave us trouble all through set one. We were down most of the time and was almost out with the score or 21-24. We sided out and Ella went back to serve 22-24...

• 3 dig rally and kill by Malia 23-24

• Timeout...

• Dig then kill by Ana 24-24

• One handed dig from Ella and a one hander from Brooke, but Point Crossfire 24-25

• First try kill from Ana 25-25

• one hand dig from Malia, save from Ana... Setter dumb from Libero Brooke! 26-25

• Block from Sophie to win the game! 27-25

The team never recovered from that epic comeback as we rolled through set 2 winning the championship 25-14.

Super proud of this weekend! We are one two week break and then a big push for the next 2-3 months!!

15 WHITE

15 W had an exciting finale to Badger Region Power League this weekend in Franklin, WI. Saturday was full of some competitive play and the girls went 3-0! Some of our key contributors on Saturday included Lila Manning and Kennedy Deppert. Lila stepped in to a big role this weekend as libero for our team. Having only played DS so far this season at I AM it was definitely a big adjustment but she did incredible. For such a last minute change she handled the pressure with ease and was picking up balls left and right. Kennedy has been a constant on our team all year, but Saturday she was our go to in high pressure moments. She doesn't back down when the game gets tough and we can always rely on her to keep swinging aggressive and find open spots in the opposing team's defense. Sunday the girls went 1-2 in the A bracket, but still played very well! Our first match was against an Adversity team that we had seen many times before. We played them our first weekend of BRPL and lost in two sets (12-25 & 13-25). Even though we still lost to them this final weekend of BRPL, we took the match to three thrilling sets (27-29, 25-18, and 15-17)! Our key contributors included Emily and Emi. Emily had several nice plays at the net, aggressive swings, and strong blocks. Emi was consistent on Sunday and hitting some really sneaky shots that we had been working on in practice. All around, all of our girls played really well & 15 W showed tremendous improvement from the first weekend in BRPL!

17 RED

Our team had a FANTASTIC two days of volleyball at the last weekend of Badger Region Power League on April 5 & 6. Even down a few teammates on Saturday, the girls had their strongest start yet--going 3-0 on the day. We beat Lakes Juniors Select 18s, Wisconsin Elite 17 Red, and Southwest VBC 17 Blue. The girls had a ton of fun shopping and bonding together in the Dells after the first day of competition. 

We entered day two as the #1 seed and ready to give it our all. We started play with a fierce win over Wisconsin Elite 18 Select. In the second match, we played a new foe of JAG 18 White. While we triumphed in the first set, they took over in the second and third. While we were bummed not to be in the championship game, we vowed to end the day with a win!! The girls played a phenomenal game against Southwest VBC 17 Blue (again) and were able to win in two sets to take THIRD PLACE. We are super proud of these ladies and all the passion they bring to the game. 

Special shoutouts go to.... Sam for leading us as the only setter in our 5-1 rotation. She tallied 91 assists during the two days Taking the court by storm once again was Alayna, who had 36 kills!!! Khiah and Alaina lead the charge in the back court as our trusty defensive specialists/liberos. We are due for a restful break but then will be back in action in the Cornbelt Showdown in New Berlin during the first weekend in May.