Off to Louisville to compete at the JVA World Challenge! 840 teams from across the country come to compete for a bid to Nationals in Florida. Our younger teams compete locally to finish up their seasons!
10 RED
The 10s team headed to the Sting Center for our final tournament. We were undefeated in pool play and won all of our matches in 2 sets! Then on to the gold bracket where we faced a tough team. We lost the first set 28-26 but battled back in sets 2 and 3 to win the match. The girls really showed determination in getting the job done in that one. In our final match for gold, we went up against another tough competitor. We played hard the first set but lost 25-20 and then couldn’t overcome the deficit in set 2.
The team took second in GOLD which is such a great accomplishment for these girls. Everyone on the team contributed and no one gave up even when we were playing from behind. I can’t say enough about this young team! This last tournament really showed how much grit and determination they have to compete. It was a pleasure to coach them and I have no doubt that they will have tons of success in the future!
#Shoutout to Charlotte LaPean for EXCELLENT serves! #servinggamepoint #ACE and to Abby Barthelemy for great passing! #passtotarget and of course to this incredible team for bringing the energy to the court all day!! #10srule #sidelinedance.
What a great way to wrap up our season!
11 RED
It was a bittersweet weekend for sure. It has been an incredible experience to work with this group of girls. They certainly improved on a regular basis and came to understand the game of volleyball on a level that most of those that they played against had not encountered yet. Once again, we won our pool at the Sting Center. In doing so, we defeated the only team that beat us at the Badger Region Championships. We were the 5th seed going into the Badger Region Championships and the victory reinforced for the coaches that we were a top 5 U-11 team in the state.
We ended our season in the Gold semifinals to a very much improved Sting United team who we had beaten 3 times previously. Their coaches shared with myself and Marlo that our team was their favorite to play because we played the way they wanted to play. It was a great match, in fact, one of their coaches said it felt like an organized "dance" when we played because of how we became efficient at utilizing 3 contacts, setters moving to the 2nd ball, hitters transitioning and adjusting their approach based on the setter's position, and then the other 5 players flowing to the play just in case. We all want the players to have fun, but there is something to having fun because you do the hard things well. This group was extremely coachable, likeable, and willing to engage in challenging tasks and expectations. Once they begin to grow more physically and mentally, they will be fine players in the coming years. It was better than I had hoped for.
I would especially like to mention the amazingly supportive group of parents that we had. I never once heard one of them yell "score's wrong!" or admonish a line-judge or official. They were supportive of the team, not just their daughter.
Lastly, I'd like to offer my one and only #ShoutOut to Mia, Raeann, Shaelee, Hannah, Paige, Emmy, Samantha, Emily, Olivia D., Olivia K., and Eva for their desire to get better each and every time they had the chance.
Attendance at practice was incredible, often times 20 minutes early. Academy night engagement was inspiring as well. They were pushed and not once did they complain! I will miss this group.
12 RED
The 12's team finished the season with a strong showing at the Adidas Youth League at Sting Center and had most wins in a tournament all year and finished 3rd in Silver bracket. This team demonstrated flexibility and fortitude as many girls took on different positions in the rotation. it was a pleasure watching the girls adapt to these changes and accomplish new feats. In addition to a good finish to the season there were too many outstanding individual plays made to mention them here.
I will nominate Play Of the Day honors to Makenna B for a one handed block. #KONGBLOCK Outstanding heads up play that really fired the team up.
Well done ladies. The continued improvement and growth in the game was a joy to participate in. Have a great summer all....looking forward to seeing you next year!!
GO I AM!
13 RED
Louisville was our end of season tournament and we played some exciting volleyball! Each day we had a 3 game match and won them all! We made it all the way to the Semi-Finals in Gold and lost to an extremely talented team. That put us tied for 3rd out of 48 teams. I can't believe the bond that was created over the course of just a few months. From shy, giggling, athletes to confident, still giggling, volleyball players!
Every player contributed with their plays which made this team a cohesive group of girls and when it came crunch time, they pushed through together! Sad that season is over but excited to see what these kids do over the summer and come back stronger than ever!
14 BLACK
This was the 14 Black's last weekend playing together as a team, and Coach Scott and Stacy couldn't be more proud of the girls! They battled through a tough first half and came through with the most exciting wins of the season. After being burned on tips last weekend, there was an extra focus on tip defense and transition last week in practice. The girls' focus showed all weekend and hardly let any tips drop! On the last day of the tournament, the team battled back TWICE from being down 0-1 to push 3 sets; a result of resiliency and support from each other. The weekend was a great capstone to a great season, and Coaches Scott and Stacy are excited to send the girls off to high school to continue their careers.
14 RED
The 14 Red team had quite the experience at the JVA World Challenge in Louisville, Kentucky. Missing one of their players to an already shortened roster they unfortunately lost one of their middles within the first handful of points on the first day to an ankle sprain. With limited options, they brought in one of their DSs to play the position of middle for the weekend.
#Shoutout to Maddie Cadieux for not only tackling that challenge head on but having a positive attitude knowing that's what the team needed. Running first tempo attacks and closing blocks on all hitters is no easy task and she did a great job.
The team went 2-1 each of the first two days to advance to the gold bracket. They rallied around each other playing tough defense, a trusting serve receive, and attacking on all serves and swings. They were able to finish 5th out of 80 teams for the weekend! They are ready to be at full strength for their final tournament, Penguin Fest, and have the goal of winning it all to finish the season!
15 BLACK
The 15s black team ended the year at the JVA World Challenge. There were a lot of great teams at the event and our team finished 3rd in the titanium division. I'm sad to see the season end as I will miss many of the characters on our team! Best of luck to everyone in their High School season.
16 RED
We finished first in the Nickel bracket this weekend. After a really tough first day the girls pulled together and came back strong. We are proud of them for the comeback, and sad to see the season end. We were so lucky to have an amazing group of girls and parents. We really hope all of them come back and play with I AM again next season!
17 RED
The 17's finished third in bronze putting the 27th out of 61 teams! The team worked extremely hard while dealing with new lineups for their last tournament, but kept composed about it all weekend. We saw some great competition and took almost each game to three sets. The team refused to give up! So proud of their effort and teamwork all season! Great group of girls that formed some close friendships through playing club.
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