2023 Tournament Recaps - Week 10

It's the start of the Badger Region Championships! The boys play at the Dale Rohde tournament and our 16 and up played at the BRC. Someone even had the best serving day in I AM history!

11 Red

11 Red traveled up to Fond du Lac this weekend to play in the Fondy Fest 12's tournament.

The first match of the day I AM played against a good Junior Vikings 12's team. I AM started off a little slow resulting in a game one loss, however rebounded with a win in game 2. Game 3 saw I AM fall behind but fight for every point, however the Vikings won game 3. Match 2 was against a very good Impact 12's team and I AM team kept the scores close, however we lost in two games. In our 3rd match, I AM took control early and won in two games. Because I AM fought for every point, they were able to secure the Silver Bracket based on points. #everypointcounts In the first match of the silver bracket, I AM played G-Force 12-1's. I AM battled in game 1 and barely lost the 1st game 23-25. I AM got a slow start in game two and fell behind 16-8 when great things began to happen. A 15 point service run with 8 aces and great pass-set-hit execution on any ball that was returned by the other team, I AM was able to secure the 25-17 win. I AM took control in game 3 and won 15-10 thanks to another 8 point service run by Charlotte with 6 aces. This put I AM in the championship match against the Junior Vikings 12-1's team that they had lost to in the first match of the day. In a back and forth battle with some great rallies I AM lost game one 23-25. Game 2 was more of the same, however I AM's aggressiveness and concentration behind the service line paid dividends. I AM had 8 aces and only missed 4 serves in game 2 and won by a score of 25-22. Game 3 saw the team maintain their confidence and aggressiveness. Tallying 6 ace's on only one error. Continuing to have 3 contact attacks, I AM battled to a 15-13 victory to secure the Silver Championship.

Things that impressed coach this weekend:

• Battling against some really good servers for good first contacts!

• Vocal confidence of calling the ball and committing to your teammates.

• Supporting your teammates during difficult times!

• Aggressive swings when the game was on the line!

Keep up the great work ladies. Now on to Badger Region!!

12 Boys

The IAM 12 boys 2023 season is officially over, but ended with a bang. I am very proud of each and every single one of these boys and how they grew over the season. Each of them had individual growth to the sport as most of them, this was the first year ever playing. We started the season rocky with missing over half our serves and passing to target wasn’t a thing. We did however split both our first matches and was happy to see what base line I had to work with. After a couple weeks of fundamental work the defense was on point, everyone made all their serves and passing to target “was” a thing. Our last tourney(Dale Rohde tourney) we brought home hardware for the facility and couldn’t be happier with how this season ended. The entire season the boys went a total of 22wins and 12 loses.

Summing up the boys:

Ames- the grit is real with this one. He dominated at the net by his tipping game and served teams off the court.

Elijah- Setting is on point and always made sure defense comes first. He keeps this up, D1 schools watch out!

Nate- He maybe quite but man does he pack a punch on the outside with his attacks. He is a year younger than anyone but don’t be fooled, this kid has a jump serve that will ace you!

Will-The heart of the team. He had great defense and would communicate better than most volleyball players I know.

Dylan- Most improved player of the year. He was hard on himself with mistakes but with hard work and determination he was a clutch player and can’t wait to see what he has to offer next year!

Gavin- Defensive player of the year. He held the Libero spot for most of the year and excelled. He popped balls up that were beyond his level and can’t wait to see what he brings to the table next season.

Sam- A right side player that made a presence on the court. His service game is what brought our team to many victories. He hit that deep line and could easily serve a team off the court.

Emmett- I’d like to give him MVP of the year. His serve was tough but most of all his presence at the net was felt by all teams we faced. He out jousted and out attacked most teams. He was our go to when it came to put the ball away.

Judah- As he always stated “he is built different”. He grew tremendously at the net and became a go to player to put the ball away as well.

Owen- He didn’t have much time on the court but his presence was needed for all these boys and was the soul of this team. He had a hardship of losing a loved one and was felt by the entire community. He always showed a positive outlook on life and can’t wait for him to progress in the future.

13 Boys

The I AM 13 boys team had another successful tournament this weekend. With a couple players missing the tournament the boys had to fill new roles. They did a great job adjusting. They had 2 great battles in pool play. Dropping to the first team in 3 games. The second match was to the eventual pool winner again losing a close match in 2 games by only a couple points. That put the team in a first round matchup against team that they matched up with well. They fought hard and ended up winning the match in a 3 set thriller. That gave them the rematch with Spike volleyball the winner of our pool. The first set the team started slow but fought back to make it close losing a close set. The second set saw the team come back and have a set point but lost a heartbreaker. Putting them in the 3rd 4th place match. In this bracket the boys once again fighting through some injuries pushed the match to a 3rd set. Losing a heartbreaker 15-13. They took home a 4th place finish which was a great feat with players missing and playing out of their comfort zone.

15 Black

15 Black spent Sunday up north playing in Fondy Dig 16's tournament. We had an opportunity to try a different rotation and the girls embraced the challenge. We started strong with aggressive serving and consistent passing to easily take the first set against Howard Suamico Inferno 16's. In the second set we had to work harder after struggling a bit with our serve receive. Thankfully a solid defense and a 7 point serving run from our Rylee (Only Ace Pin of the day) pushed us over the top to secure the victory.

Next we faced another 16's team from De Pere. The girls executed on their game plan very well in this match. No pins awarded this match, but consistent play from everyone led to a straightforward win.

In our last match of pool play, we played the other undefeated team, Midwest Penguins 16's for the right to play in the gold bracket. Oddly our best passing match of the day, however we did not earn many points on our attack. We could not overcome a very stingy defense that did not allow many balls to hit the floor. This led to a very lopsided 11-25 loss in set 1. We regrouped and were able to put up a better fight in the second set, eventually falling 18-25.

The final match of the day was the Silver semi finals where we matched up very nicely against the Midwest Penguins 15 team. We started a bit flat in the first set and struggled to get into a rhythm. The girls came back to the second set fired up to win 26-24 and earn the 3rd set. A back and forth set that was eventually won by the penguins to knock us out of the tournament.

While finishing 2-2 was not what we had hoped for, the girls competed well and continue to grow in the game. Missing a player, we shuffled the line up a bit. Cait stepped into the Middle and earned several big kills. Elyse stepped up to serve aggressively as well as having a few huge kills. Morgan played all the way around as a setter and a right side. The rest of the girls embraced the change to the line up and supported their teammates all day.

16 Red

16 Red entered the championships coming off a big tournament win at the Prep Dig Champions Cup and were seeded second overall. The first match of the weekend was against a very underrated Xtreme VBC team. The teams split the first two sets that were both very back and forth 25-21 and 20-25 before I AM took control early in the third and cruised to a 15-6 victory. The rest of the day would prove much easier with I AM cruising to two set victories over North Star 16 Select and Epic 16-black. Day 2 once again started with a bye and then a tough match up against I AM 16 Black. The Black team came to play and gave the Red team all they could handle, but the Red team narrowly escaped with victories of 25-20 and 25-23 pushing them to their second consecutive championship match this time against a very good and highly ranked Wisconsin Ice team. The first set was very close at the beginning but I AM pushed to a 6 point lead in the middle of the set. Wisconsin Ice caught fire however and stole set one 23-25. I AM came out fast in set two and had an early lead but once again Wisconsin Ice came back to make it close late but as Austin always

says “Championships go 3” and I AM closed out set two winning 25-19. Set 3 started with I AM taking a slim lead and Wisconsin Ice closing the gap until the score was 8-6 in favor of I AM and the tough serve and near perfect passing pushed I AM across the finish line winning 15-10 and earning them the 16 Club division championship! The team went 5-0 for the second tournament in a row and is really on a roll.

16 Black

Coming Soon!

16 White

Coming Soon!

17 Red

This past weekend, 17 Red played at the Badger Region Championships in Milwaukee! They started the day strong with a win over Madison Ignite 17-1s – beating them 15-6 in set three. Against CWVB 17 Black, they walked out with a two-set win, keeping the opponent under 15 points in both sets. They then faced Midwest Penguins 17 Red and defeated them in three sets – earning a place in the gold bracket on day two.

Sunday rolled around and they played Xtreme VBC 17 Adidas. They fought hard, but came up short. This gave them the opportunity for redemption in their last game of the weekend when they matched up against Milwaukee Juniors 17-1s. They played together and were able to rock out another two-set win. Overall, the team finished in 5th place, with a record of 4-1.

17 Red’s MVP for the weekend is middle blocker, Elyse Karrels. She hit around 60% and had 8 blocks on the weekend. Her consistency and energy helped the team get through every match – proving herself very valuable. An additional shoutout to Lily Oberneder and Carolyn Lippe, who each had over five aces this weekend, as well as Kate Boettinger who had her best passing weekend of the season! The team walked out of the gym with heads held high and are excited for more gameplay in April.

17 Black

Coming Soon!

17 White

This past weekend 17 white played at the badger region championships in downtown Milwaukee. The first day we had play AMAZING. Best tournament day yet this season. The girls played together, they hustled, they played hard, and they played confident. The first day we won all 3 games and went to the gold bracket. The second day wasn’t our best performance but we were very close to victory both games played that day.

Player Highlights:

Our serving was off the charts awesome for some players.

• Kaylee served 8 aces in one game.

• Liv served over 6 aces in 2 different matches!

• McKinley had one of her best hitting tournaments and was swinging confidently and aggressively.

• McKinley had a high of 6 kills.

• Teagan also had a great first day and stayed mentally strong and accumulated 6 kills in a match.

• Alexia suffered from a ankle injury last tournament but came back a blocking beast and had multiple solo blocks.

• Belle did a great job of being versatile and swung aggressively from both middle and right side.

• Lilly had some awesome right side swings for a total of 9 kills on day 2.

• Madisyn continued to be a reliable middle and consistently got kills from attacking the back corners of the court.

• Bella was libero and did a fantastic job of going after balls and having some awesome digs, two different games she had 10 or more digs.

• Jordan was a leader on the court and hustled constantly on the court to make passes work and set her hitters great sets.

Overall we continue to grow stronger and stronger. We encourage eachother. I love to see the girls support eachother on and off the court! I’m very proud of them.

18 Red

18 Red took on the challenge of being in the Open Division at Badger Region Championships. With that came a very high level of competition and needing to play their best ball to achieve big things. An exciting part of this weekend was we were finally back to full strength having all of our players and options back into the fold. Day 1 had many positives with the girls showing some high level volleyball against some great competition. Unfortunately, some opportunities we lost through the lack of finish in big moments. It's something we continue to strive for and even though it can be frustrating the girls continue to push the positivity. For Day 2, the girls fell a little short in their crossover match which then sent them to the Silver bracket. In the championship of Silver the girls played maybe their best match of the season competing in every point and finishing against a very strong FC Elite Navy team. It was a win the girls really needed, deserved, and they definitely earned it. We are hoping it is a catalyst into the finish of the season as we move towards a hopeful Nationals experience!