The Badger Region Power League final weekend for the Select and Regional divisions finished up this weekend. Our 12's and 11's team finish up their season too! See how they did.
11 RED
The 11 Red team played in their final event of the season. We played in the Cream City Challenge #2 at Kettle Moraine High School in the 12's division. This step up in division was a great test for us to battle some nerves, some taller players, and receive some tougher serves, all as we attempted to incorporate a 6-2 offense that we installed over the past several practices. The coaches were confident in the girls' ability to grasp a wholly new concept, and after some practice and in-set challenges, we were able to use it for 4 of our 8 sets, and winning those 4 to start our morning. There was a specific effort made to challenge our girls even towards the end of the season, as we did at all times with skill development and the understanding of how to play the game the right way. Doing difficult things is the only way to improve...if it's not hard, you won't get better; training needs to be occurring at all times.
Overall, in this set record event (not matches) we finished 6-2, with our only 2 losses coming against a strong 12's Junior Vikings team. We lost to them 3 times this year, 2 times in our first event, and again in our last. But, those 3 losses accounted for the 7 total losses we had all year! It was a tremendously successful year for the girls, there was only 1 time all season where we really didn't compete hard!
This group of girls have set themselves up for success in the years to come as the game gets faster, the strategies become more intricate, and the competition also improves. Most importantly, they accept coaching. This last part is a testament to the unwavering support that the coaches had from the parents. It is clear that when parents and coaches have high, and reasonable, expectations for the kids, the players respond positively. When the adults in their lives let them know that they can achieve at a high level, the kids will believe it in themselves. This also breeds an environment of healthy competition, collective effort, and camaraderie; the recipe to minimize drama and foster growth. These kids really enjoyed their time together, and as Jaidyn Alexander noted in our last team discussion about the big positive things to take away from it all, " we got to meet new people!"... The coaches are thankful for that, too.
12 BLACK
Coming Soon!
12 WHITE
The 12-White team was ready to come out fighting for their last tournament of the season! We came out swinging against Jr. Vikings, but just couldn’t seem to keep momentum on our side and lost both games. This didn’t stop the girls coming out fired up for our 2nd match of the day vs. WI Premier. We really focused on our serving and was able to easily take both games with Madison earning a serving pin and Aubrey earning 2! We continued with our strong serving in our 3rd match against MVP, but our hitters came ready to play!
#Shoutout to Madison for putting it away on game point in game 1!
Winning a close game one we knew we were going to have to continue to fight game 2 which they did and took it 26-24! This brought us to our last match of the day where we faced our own 11Red team. We knew they were going to be one of our toughest matches of the day, but the girls were up for the challenge. Game one continued to go back and forth.
#Shoutout to Rory for putting up a huge block to bring us within 1 at 16-17.
Ultimately, we dropped the first set 21-25, but the girls continued stay fired up for game 2! Peyton brough us close earning a serving pin, but just wasn’t enough for us to take game 2 dropping it 23-25. The girls earned 4 serving pins for the day and Rory was nominated as our tournament MVP! We are so proud with how far the girls have come this season and are so excited to watch them continue to grow in their volleyball careers!
13 WHITE
13 Girls White went into their final Power League Weekend in Bracket A with a chance to play for the top spot! The girls started off on Saturday against an intimidating Eclipse 14-Solar team with a lot of height and strong hitters. The girls had a sleepy set 1 losing 15-25 but were determined they could still come back and win it. Set 2 started much stronger with very aggressive serving by Jovie and Bri. They combined for 11 Aces in the match earning them each a serving pin and the team a victory in set 2, 25-17! Going into set 3, the girls battled back and forth with strong defense and a big net presence ultimately coming out on top in a nail-biter 15-13 win!! The girls were very excited to start the weekend off with a big win against a 14s team!
#Shoutout to Dani for earning an Overpass Kill pin!
Going into the second match, the girls faced Wisconsin Premier 14 White. It was a much different game than match 1 that turned into some long rallies and another close fight. The girls lost a close set 1, 21-25, but knew they could do better. Set 2 was another battle with Jovie and Bri continuing their fantastic serving as well as strong attacking by Dani, Eve, Ava, and Carolyn at the net. This led to a 25-21 win to take set 2. The girls continued the energy in set 3 with all around great volleyball to win the match 15-13.
#Shoutout to Jovie and Bri for each earning back-to-back Ace pins from the first two matches of the day! They combined for 12 Aces in match 2!!
The day ended with a loss to a tough Adversity 14-1 team in two sets. However, the girls remained proud of their first two victories of the day and looked forward to day 2.
Sunday started with a matchup against a solid Milwaukee Juniors 14-Select. The girls wasted no time with a victory taking set 1, 25-17 and set 2, 25-18. Kiley C dominated in the front row with 7 kills in the match and 2 blocks. Strong setting by Emma and Hayden also contributed while Bri continued her serving domination with 5 more aces, earning her another serving pin!
#Shoutout out to Kiley C for earning an Overpass Kill pin!
Match 2 was a tough battle against Rise MKE 14's National. The girls gave them a good fight but ultimately lost the match in two. Dani and Kiley C remained tough at the net while Eve and Jovie continued to play tough defense. The weekend ended with another tough but close matchup against Southwest VBC 14s. Strong serving by Hayden and Bri continued to keep the pressure on while Kiley W and Ireland kept the ball off the floor in the back row.
13 White ultimately ended up with a 4th place finish in the 14 Regional pool of Badger Power League for 2024. The girls didn't face a single 13s team this weekend and should be so proud of themselves for competing (and winning!) against 14s teams!! We look forward to end the year on a high note at the Midwest Fiesta in Minneapolis at the end of the month
14 BLACK | 5th Place
14 Black placed 5th in the Badger Region Power League 14 select division. There were 20 teams in this tournament with the top 10 teams being very strong and competitive teams. This whole tournament the girls played amazing but coming from the first weekend to the last the amount of growth is obvious.
This past weekend we had a slow start the first day and lost our first game. We had to win our next two games to stay in the upper bracket and that is just what these girls did. On the second day we faced the JR. Vikings 14 Blue team who we beat in weekend two. Both teams were extremely scrappy but we couldn't stop their middle and ended up losing. We then faced our White team who made us work very hard to come out with a win. And lastly on day two we played 414. This was an interesting game because there was a long game delay due to the other team being out of rotation. The girls on the court were playing duck duck goose while on the bench we were playing ninja all to keep the energy alive. We ended up winning this game as well.
Overall we finished off power league 12-6. Very proud of these girls and their determination to never give up in any situation. They played great each weekend and have very obviously grown so much. Those 6 losses were upsetting but we have learned more from our losses and we did with some of our wins. There are plenty of things to work on once we get back in the gym on Monday and Wednesday and then we are off to Kentucky this weekend!!
#Shoutout to Brianna Krause for having an amazing weekend.
She had the most blocks on the team and was very consistent hitting. She also was the person who brought a ton of energy and laughs onto and off the court.
15 WHITE
This was our last weekend of Power League where we competed at Center Court. We went 4-2 for the weekend, with us ending in the silver bracket. Day 1 of the weekend we started strong and went 3-0. On day 2 we definitely struggled as we went to 3 sets in all 3 matches, just falling short in our first 2 matches. We came back in the 3rd and last game of the day to walk away with a win! Our serving was outstanding and allowed us to go on many serving runs which helped us get back on track after many slow starts.
#Shoutout to Summer for continuing to be scrappy and having many amazing touches.
Also shoutout to out middles Stella and Mia, as well as our setters Malia and Paige, for connecting so well and having some amazing kills! It was still a very fun weekend filled with lots of laughs and good volleyball played! Always so much to be proud of with these girls!
15 GOLD
The 15 Gold girls had a great last Badger Region. They went 2-1 on Saturday which kept them in the B division. On Sunday we played a 16s team that we had played 3 previous times this year, and we had yet to beat them. The girls played fantastic and we ended up getting the best of them in 3 sets! We made it to the 3rd and 4th place game where we played our 16 Gold team and ended up beating them to take home 3rd place! Our girls also set goals for themselves on things they wanted to accomplish in this tournament, and they earned themselves a few boxes of Girl Scout cookies for hitting their marks. One of these goals was 20 aces on the day, and we got 15 in our first match alone!! Very proud of how they competed and the growth that they have shown over the course of the season.
16 WHITE
Power League finals: 11-7 overall, 11th place in 16-Select
16White played at Center Court for the final weekend of Power League, The girls fought hard on Saturday but couldn't stay in a good rhythm, ending the day with a 1-2 record and dropping into bracket B for Sunday.
#Shoutout to Rylie for absolutely taking over a match on Saturday. 10 aces and 9 kills... 30% of the team's points!
Sunday was "redemption day", a chance to change our momentum and avenge some losses from earlier in the season. From the beginning, it was clear we were a different team. A massive switch in our attitude, mentality, and confidence that was awesome to watch.
First match was against Spiketown 16.2, a team that's beaten us twice this year and we've created a rivalry with. 16White came out swinging, dominating the first set 25-11 and then hanging on with a 25-23 victory in set 2. This win guaranteed us a winning record in Power League.
Next up was Eclipse 16 Solar, a team that beat us pretty handily just a couple weeks ago. The rematch was such a fun match, while we came up just short with an 18-16 loss in the 3rd set, it was high level competition with an aggressive mindset from start to finish. 2 weeks ago, Eclipse won with a +25 point differential... On Sunday it finished with a 0 differential. A huge turnaround for the girls.
The loss put us into the 3rd place match, a final redemption match vs WI Elite 15-Red. We ended the day with a convincing 2-set victory, taking 3rd in B and finishing 11th overall out of 30 teams.
16 GOLD
The girls had an amazing weekend going 5-1, we got 2nd place at the Badger region championship! This was a great step forward for them, all their hard work is really starting to show. On the first day, we faced some difficult challenges but still managed to win all three games. With only 7 players, most girls were playing the entire time which can be tiring. However, even with a shortage of players, they worked hard to the very end. Day two we started in the gold bracket winning the first two games of the day, battling back from point deficiencies and third sets! Everyone was so excited to make it to the championship match, at this point we only had 6 players. Despite playing positions they don't normally play, every girl on the court was flexible to adjust accordingly. Unfortunately, we fell short in the championship game against a strong team, but this put us in 2nd place, our best tournament yet this season!
#Shoutout to our MVPs of the tournament Lojo Hansen and Ava Ashenfelter!
Lojo was a strong hitter all weekend, being a reliable offensive outlet along with her great sets from the back row. Ava had a strong weekend playing 6-rotations both days. She had a lot of great swings and it was helpful to have a 4th hitting option with her backrow attacks! Overall we are proud of every single one of our girls who worked their butts off all weekend. Can't wait to see what comes next!
17 BLACK
17 Black played in our last weekend of Badger Region Power League at the MOSH. We went 2-4 overall for the weekend. On Saturday we had a rough start finding our groove, going 0-3 for the day. Finding ourselves in the silver bracket on Sunday, we started our day off with some strong energy and won our first match against Madtown 17 Select, 25-18 25-15. #Shoutout to Sophia Verplancke for a getting the weekend high of 4 aces for this match! The girls kept the momentum going into our second match of the day with another win over Epic 18 Gray, 25-15 25-18.
#Shoutout to Lauren Maszk for leading the team in kills with 10 kills in this match alone!
Our last match of the day was against Wisconsin Elite 17 Red. The girls fought hard but ended up falling short in this 3-set match with scores of 20-25 25-15 and 11-15. Overall, we ended placing 2nd in silver for the tournament with a total record of 11-7. The girls fought hard throughout the entire Badger Region Power League and we are so proud of the hard work they put in over these three weekends!! We are looking forward to getting back in the gym and put in some work until our next tournament the Madtown Festival.
17 WHITE
This past weekend we traveled to Franklin to finish out our final weekend in the Badger Region Power League. We started Saturday with a win over Epic 18s. Next, we faced another familiar foe in Premier 17s and lost in two hard fought sets. As the last game of the night, we faced Lakes Jrs 17s and lost a tough three set battle to end the day. We did have a ton of fun that first day, but resolved to put our game faces on for day two.
In the 18s Regional B bracket again our first match was against Milwaukee Jrs 17s, whom we had played multiple times. It was a decisive win in two and we were feeling good! We then played hometown team Wisconsin Elite 17 and were going point for point. Eventually we lost that game in three by only a couple points. We finished how we started by playing Epic 18s once again. They were determined to get a win over us, but they did not prevail, as we won in 2. We finished the weekend 3-3 and overall had a match record of 10-8 in the Power League. Both coaches are really proud of the girls for progressing each week, having great attitudes, and having FUN.
#Shoutout this week to Jenny and Audrey who consistently go for every ball that comes their way. Totally fearless!
Megan was a powerful force at the net, getting a ton of block touches. We all hope that Gretta had a fantastic birthday on Sunday!! 17 White will round out the season by playing in the Midwest Fiesta in Minneapolis on April 27-28!