Week 2 of the Power League hits and our teams in the Elite Division finish up in bracket play. We have a League Champ! Who could it be...
13 RED
For 13 Red, Badger Region Power League Weekend #2 was a weekend of many different challenges, learning experiences, but also progress. Playing up an age level and playing in the Elite Division is no easy task but the girls continued to fight the whole weekend. After the dust settled, the girls finished as the highest ranked 13s team in that division ranking 5th out of 22 teams. The losses that they had throughout this two weekend tournament only came against 14s teams and they beat many others along the way. Finishing that high while playing up in the toughest division is a special achievement. We had some bigger goals that we weren't able to achieve but it doesn't define our season. We have a long way to go and many other important moments ahead. This team continues to stick together no matter the outcome and with attitudes like that we are confident that we can achieve great things moving forward. A shout out to Molly Burg for playing many different positions and being asked to do many different things over the weekend and not to mention being successful in all of them. Most importantly, Molly is a constant positive presence for the team through her words and actions...this is something that all teams need at all times. Can't wait for Juniors President's Day this weekend where we are coming in as the #1 overall seed!
13 BLACK
This weekend we were at the RecPlex facility in Pleasant Prairie for another weekend of Badger Region Power League! Starting the tournament, we were down the middle because of a sickness so we had to be flexible and change some things around!!! Bella Masse, one of our tournament MVPs, played middle for the whole weekend! Bella’s outstanding attitude and encouragement kept the team molded together! Despite all the changes she and her teammates did that weekend, she owned her spot in the middle and gave it her all AND IT SHOWED! Ellie Held in the first matches earned a 5 aces pin, she was on fire back there! Shortly after we played… We had another one of our girls tell us she wasn’t feeling good… OUR OTHER OUTSIDE! So having to adjust everything, one of our players volunteered to play all around as an outside and middle back… Our Libero, Emma Timm. She loved the challenge and had fun with this opportunity, she also received a 5 aces pin! Following that, Emma Schwendimann also earned a pin for her joust. But after a long and late day, we were excited to return Sunday and continue what we started!
Day 2, still missing our middle, and gaining back our outside hitter we were able to defeat the team that we lost to on Saturday and fought hard to get revenge on them from the start! Taylor Kellerman, our second MVP of this tournament, proudly deserved it for her always reaching out and always wanting to do more for her teammates! Taylor has been working on setting this past week at practice and on Sunday we were able to give her a chance to have that game experience! Her hustle, consistent performance, and communication were noticed not only by the coaches but everyone watching! She also earned her first pancake pin for her insane hustle to a ball with a clean pancake and second touch on it! Kennedy in that match was aggressive and earned a pin for her joust! In our last match of the day which started at 8:45pm, we struggled to maintain consistent in the first set, but the girls fought hard and won the next two sets! Sydney Massart was then switched to play Libero in the last two sets where she led the team in that last match with 12 digs. Bella Masse earned an overpass kill during the last match of the day. At the end of the weekend, we ended with placing 3rd in the top bracket, with the majority of our competition being in the 14s age division. With another weekend of Badger Region, we are so excited to continue working hard in practice and stepping up to the challenges we will face ahead! A goal I have for the team is to have our communication become a habit!! At times, the court can get quiet, and some miscommunications happen because of a lack of communication. I want the girls to work extra hard with trying to let their words flow and get comfortable with talking naturally with each other and what they are seeing on the court during the plays because that will improve their performance and consistency! Something we will be working on in practice is picking up the donut balls in defense and learning to crash in for tips! Overall, so proud of the girls and having a team that has been so flexible and loves to accept challenges!! Cannot wait to play at our next destination … the Dells!
13 WHITE
13 White showed up this weekend and were ready to play. The girls played with confidence, and really “locked in” and played some great volleyball. There were lots of intentional plays being run, even more clean passes, and a plethora of aces. The team earned a total of 59 aces over the 7 matches! We had a lot of highs this weekend, and our record shows it. Playing in the 14s division as a 13s team in Badger Region Power League has been difficult and sometimes mentally challenging for the girls, but the girls really focused and believed in themselves this weekend earning a 5 - 2 record. Coach Matt and Erin have been harping on being aggressive at the net, and it seemed to finally click this weekend - earning 8 overpass pins as a team, as well as a Sofie earning a joust pin. Tess, one of our setters, transitioned to an outside hitter on Saturday due to one of our OH’s having other commitments, and she REALLY stepped up. WIth only two practices focusing on OH she really stepped up and took on the role well. Tess also served SIXTEEN aces. Not only did she earn herself an ace pin, but also the tournament MVP. Next up is the Mizuno Presidents Day Challenge in the Dells next weekend, and we all cannot wait.
14 RED
14 Red took home the championship in the Badger Region Power League 14 Elite division! What a fun weekend! Both our defenders Elin Winkler and Grace Wetzel stepped up big for us with consistent passing and defense in the back row. We have been focusing in practice a lot on our out of system attack and decision making in those situations and it is showing!
Day 1 we finished 2-1 beating Wisconsin Jrs. 14-1 and Midwest Penguins 14 black. We came up against a tough Milwaukee Jrs. 14-1 in our last match of the day. We struggled in set one. Then we fought back in set 2, but it wasn’t quite enough falling 23-25. We knew we might have an opportunity to face them again the next day!
Day 2 we were in a position to go for gold. And we did just that beating Milwaukee Jrs. 14 Elite and Midwest Penguins 14 black again, both 2-0.
The championship match did not lack in excitement!! We came up against Milwaukee Juniors 14-1, who we lost to in our last match on day 1. They had some very strong attackers and we emphasized making sure our block was strong. We won in 3, 25-27, 26-24, 15-11. Our blocking came through for us with 10 total blocks and was really the turning point in the match. Shout out to Brooke Vanden Berg for 5 total blocks in the championship match as she filled in as a middle. Congrats to co-MVP’s Janie Libka & Megan Zuern for an outstanding job all weekend!
This was truly a team effort though, and a great win for us!
14 BLACK
Badger Power Weekend #2 - at the wonderful Wisconsin Products Pavillion. We started the day setting a few team goals along with an individual goal for each player. Our first match against Eclipse Solar. The girls were pretty fired up as there were lots of friends on the opposing team. Strong serving and lots of hustle continue to be our standard patterns of play. 6 players served 100% in this first match. Eloise got the first block of the day a few points in to achieve the first individual goal. A good start with a 25-20 and 25-22 win.
Next was a very tough serving Southwest Volleyball team that did not make many mistakes. We battled to take the first set. Second and third sets were hard fought but could not quite close out. While frustrating losses, we started waking up the swinging arms. Sophia Hit 400 for the match with 5 kills and 1 error. Kiley was right behind with 4 kill on .300 hitting percent. It is a joy watching the connections continue to improve each set.
Last match of the day was against Madtown 13's team. Another well fought match on both sides. This match was Haley's opportunity to show off. She came out swinging early and led the team with .250 Hitting percentage. Eloise and Abbie continued to distribute the ball to all hitters. Addison earned the first ace pin of the weekend and met one of her goals. The girls hard work paid off with the 2nd overall seed in the 14 Select division.
Sunday we faced off against a tall and talented Wisconsin Elite 13's team. Thankfully we were able to get on top early and then aggressive serving, defensive hustle and a no ball drops mentality carried us through. Sophia earned an Ace pin in this match while Ava, Haley and Addison served perfect.
Second match was against the Southwest Volleyball team we had lost to on Saturday. A bit of a different story this time around. We passed well and had 18 kills as a team. Abbey started showing some offensive powers with several well placed setter dumps. Both her and Eloise dished the butter all match making our hitters look really good.
Last match of the weekend was against the undefeated Just a Game team. We fought hard, but fell in 3 sets. Ava and Sophia led the attack with 5 and 7 kills respectively. A very tough loss in which we had to work real hard to control our emotions. We have set a high bar for ourselves and I am really looking forward to this group pushing beyond this bar. We still have a lot of growth in front of us.
14 WHITE
I AM 14 White headed into the second weekend of the Badger Power League riding high with a perfect 6-0 record. Saturday was the conclusion of pool play and the goal was to finish off the pool without dropping a set. This was accomplished with relative ease as the team rolled past Eclipse 14 Lunar (25-17, 25-14) and Madtown Juniors 13-2 Select (26-24, 25-10). With a perfect pool behind them 14 White was joined by the other two pool winners for a crossover bracket. The first round opponent was OVBC 14 Purple out of Oconomowoc and the biggest challenge thus far. After a back and forth start the first set went to OVBC 25-18. The next set went the wrong direction as well with OVBC finishing the sweep 25-14. I AM 14 White started the day ranked 4th and finished the day in 3rd. Sunday was day four of the tournament and the first day of bracket play. With a 3rd seed and a rematch with OVBC in sight the mighty girls of 14 White started with a bang! Everything was clicking early as they dismantled SWVBC G13 Blue 25-6. However the team crashed back down to earth in set two along with their opponents waking up and SWVBC took the second set in a battle 28-26. 14 White found its groove early in set three and jumped out to a lead but SWVBC was super scrappy and wouldn't go down without a fight. After a tense ending the serve and offense of 14 White proved to be too much, edging out SWVBC 16-14. Next up in the semi finals was Madison Elite 14 Teal and this semi final proved to be a close and excited match with I AM Volleyball finding its groove in the 3rd and sneaking into the championship round with scores of 20-25, 26-24, 15-11. The championship for the day was the highly anticipated rematch with OVBC 14 Purple. The battles earlier in the day and the late start of a second long day saw I AM 14 White struggle again against their toughest foes and lose both sets by a score of 18-25. The weekend was filled with way more ups than downs as 14 White went 4-2 and 10-2 overall for the tournament and moved up to a second place ranking heading into the last weekend of the Power League which is April 5th and 6th. They will look to avenge their two losses to OVBC and bring home the title of Badger Power League Champions. Highlights from the weekend include 69 aces including 20 alone from Co-MVP Hayden Rech. Hayden along with her Co-MVP Alaina Friend played some excellent defense and came up with big plays when we needed them. Our defense was solid all weekend especially from the setter position. Alaina, Hayden, and Kierstyn West did a great job picking up tips and standing in to dig some tough balls. Shout out to Kierstyn for playing a sneaky good right side to finish out the day, her setting background allows her to tip and push the ball into some tough spots for the opposition. Our middles also didn't let teams get away with poor ball control by banging down overpasses. Dani Williquette had four by herself and Hannah Kelley added one. The overall record after this weekend is 18-6 which is a winning percentage of 75%! Keep up the good work!!
15 RED
The grind is real! We are back at the Power League where we snuck in as the 3 seed from our pool the month before. This lined us up to play our 16 Red team at 8am in Madison... Knowing we had a big challenge ahead we played well. We made some hesitate mistakes and the speed of 16 Red and the amount of hitters they had was too much to handle. They got us pretty good but it was fun to see us matched up. We now had to win our next to matches to stay in the Gold Bracket for Sunday!
We had Wisconsin Elite 16 Red next and it was a battle each set and we ended up going 3. In set 3 Ana picked up 3 aces and we ended with the win 16-14 to keep the dream alive!
One more match to go to stay in Gold and we face off with Madtown 16-1 who beat us the first weekend of Power League. With a redemption story ready to be written we came out hot as the underdogs and caught them by surprise. Madtown was not happy about their 1st set loss and came back and wiped us 12-25. As they kicked our buts we were just regaining our energy for set 3 :) Jumping on them this time we won 15-9! We are heading to gold!!
The energy and effort didn't come at a cost... We lost Jessie Knoblock to a sprained ankle one point before the day was done.
She is a tough cookie and will have a speedy recovery. But she will be out for Sunday :(
As the reseeding settled we now see our path has to go through Southwest VBC 16 Blue which is a new team for us. We came out firing from each hitter spot and adjusting to the lineup changes nicely. We came out on top 25-16 and 25-17. But.....
Now we face 16 Red AGAIN! We knew this time what it would really take to compete and boy did we step it up! Game 1 was swing for swing with just a few tiny runs by the 16's that gave them an edge. We lost 18-23 but saw clearly one how to score more points. Game 2 we were digging a ton, siding out quickly and made some out standing plays. Every bit of focus and energy was poured into this set and we were few points (and calls...) away for a set victory. We did manage to get Jason to call 2 timeouts! Lots of fun seeing our team from last year and our team this year duke it out. This may be the only time they play in the same division.
Last match for 3rd place was again Eclipse 16 Elite. Both teams gassed from a tough 6 match weekend put up some great rallies and left it all on the floor. Score of 26-28, 28-26, and 6-15 show that it was not easy.
We loved the challenge and are happy with 4th place. Super proud weekend!
15 WHITE
15 White was back in action this weekend for their second weekend of power league. We finished off pool play on Saturday going 3-0 which advanced us to the A bracket on Sunday! Saturday was some of the best volleyball that we have seen from these girls! Shout out to Lydia for being a beast this whole weekend. Her energy, positivity, and aggressiveness on the court really helped lead our team to victory. Also shoutout to Kennedy as she continued to be our most consistent server allowing us to go on many runs throughout the weekend. They worked so well as a team and were playing so smart when it came to both their offense and defense! We were down a middle so the girls were being thrown into different positions and lineups, but they worked even harder to fight against those odds. After a long afternoon/evening on Saturday, we were able to advance into the A bracket. Sunday was definitely a challenge as the girls were tired. Unfortunately it didn’t go our way ending the weekend 3-3. Despite the losses on Sunday, the girls seemed to have a positive attitude trying to fight to the end. Shoutout to Izzie for being a great leader and encourager on and off the court. Emily and Emmy also racked up each an over pass kill pin which were such exciting points as we had been working on those recently! There are definitely some things we took away from this weekend and are excited to have a few weeks to work on them as we have a little of a break!
16 WHITE
16 White has spent the last month winning matches comfortably, going 11-1 in our previous 2 tournaments. Power League last weekend was definitely a step up in competition.
On Saturday we played short-handed which forced multiple players to switch positions and earn additional roles/playing time. Even with all the adjustments, we managed to grind out a 2-1 finish that put us into bracket A for Sunday.
We were full strength on Sunday, but never fully got comfortable as a team. The day was full of back-and-forth matches, with 5 of our 6 sets being tied in the 20s. In our first 2 matches we'd fall behind early, and the energy burned playing behind didn't give us enough finish out the sets. Our third match we faced I AM 15Black, and this time we got to be the team building early leads. We were able to finish on a positive note in 2 exciting sets, putting us at 3-3 for the weekend.
We'll start the final weekend of Power League in bracket B. One of our preseason goals was finishing in bracket A, which we have a great chance to achieve in April. It was great to see everyone's ability to keep fighting despite not having our best form, which gave us a chance in every set. The girls showed we're capable of meeting our goals this season, but need to continue working on consistency and finding an extra gear in those high pressure situations.
16 BOYS
This past Sunday, our boys displayed incredible growth, determination, and teamwork, earning a 2nd place finish in the Silver Bracket and placing 5th overall. We couldn’t be prouder of the progress they’ve made and the relentless effort they brought to the court.
It was inspiring to see everything we’ve been working on come together. The team played with focus, energy, and true cohesion! Their communication, movement, and execution showed just how far they’ve come, and we’re excited to keep building on this momentum as we head into our next tournament on February 22nd and 23rd.
This week’s pins go to:
Serving Professional: Gabe and John – for their consistency and impact at the service line.
Pancake: Gabe – for his hustle and clutch defensive saves.
Joust: Alex - for showing dominance at the net, winning key jousts with strength and technique.
MVP: Gabe – for outstanding all-around performance and leadership on the court.
We’d also like to give a special shout-out to Zach for being a positive role model both on the bench and on the floor. His energy, attitude, and support for his teammates truly embodied what it means to be a great teammate this weekend. Way to lead by example, Zach!
Let’s keep striving, pushing, and growing—great things are ahead!
17 BLACK
17 Black had a great performance at week 2 of Badger Region Power League. We started the first day with two major wins over Adversity 18s and West Bend Juniors 18s. Then to cap out the day, we lost a thriller to Wisconsin Elite 18s in three sets. Coaches were very impressed by this squad's determination to play our game, even if we're down a few points. Major #shoutout to Taylor and Elyse this day for playing in new positions when we needed them to. Addie added points in a major way, having the most kills in each match.
Day two started on another high note with wins over 608 Juniors 17s and Milwaukee Juniors 17s. Unfortunately, we lost in a tough match to MKE Elite 17s to end the weekend. This was a day of PINS, as Elyse earned an Overpass Kill Pin for 3 dominant kills. Reese, Khiah, and Taylor all earned Serve Pins for 5+ ace matches. We've started awarding an Ice Pin when players ace a team right after they call a timeout and Molly and Taylor were able to do this for us! Alayna came back strong (after being gone yesterday) with 19 kills while playing a new position -- wow!
Per usual, Khiah was ALL OVER the back court this weekend, totalling a whopping 55 digs. Lexi and Addie led the team with blocks at 7 a piece and we're excited to see that number grow! Our setters continue to make super smart choices on the second ball and keep us competitive with their aggressive serving. Addie and Elyse tallied highs in kills with 25 each. We are so so proud of these girls this weekend and travel up to Menasha next Sunday for a fun one day tourney.
18 RED
I AM 18s Red had a dominating tournament in Pleasant Prairie at the second, and final, power league weekend this season. The team finished 2nd of 16 teams that were competing.
Saturday morning, I AM faced Milwaukee Juniors and immediately took control of the set. Serve receive was spot on and helped to set up the offensive scheme. Setters played a significant role in distributing to help create opportunities for hitters to execute. It was exciting to see many of the skills learned in practice, demonstrated during this entire match, including different hitter routes and blocking success. Servers found consistency and aggressiveness to put the other team out of system, more times than not. The final score was a quick, two setter, 25-14, 25-16.
I AM then played 414 Milwaukee and the momentum continued in another two set victory, 25-17, 25-20. Connections and camaraderie was at an all time high! The final match of the day was against a strong WI Juniors team. I AM fought hard but it was more difficult putting them out of system. The team finished 14-25 and 16-25 but did not let that deflate their day of success!
Sunday, I AM instantly picked up where they left off from the day before. They competed against Rolling Thunder right away and did not slow down. The team ran an offense that could not be stopped and hitters overpowered their defense. The final score was 8-25 and 18-25. 414 Milwaukee was the next opponent and this was the team’s third time matching up in two weekends. I AM came out a little slower in the first set but knew we were not playing to full potential. After the first set, the match was controlled in a very mature manner. 19-25, 25-17 and 15-8 was the final score.
Finally, I AM saw WI Juniors in the championship for the second time in the weekend. Defensive was reading very well and picked up on the tendencies from Juniors the day before. It was an exciting battle but I AM could hang on and fell, 19-25, 20-25, a huge improvement from Saturday’s matchup!
It was a thrill of a weekend but I AM is ready to travel to the Dells this weekend for their next tournament.