16-1

The Presidents Day gave us some opportunities to bond as a team and further understand each player’s roles and responsibilities. During the tournament we also had taken opportunities to try some differing lineup scenarios to achieve some situational play to meet game demands.

It seemed like we had a little bit of a focusing and communication issue on the first day. There was a team cancellation issue and pool realignment that perhaps further drew attention away from the day’s goals. We went in seeded as 64 but ended up loosing to Santa Cruz Shoreline and SF Juniors in toughly contested 3 set matches. We originally came out at the end as the 134 seed but then opted to take the empty 141 slot so as to allow all the girls the opportunity to play on day two by changing to the AM wave.

On day two they came out extremely focused and dedicated to the goals at hand for the day. They took on City Beach 15-3, Point Break and a Central Cal winning the first two matches in 3 sets and the final in 2 sets to obtain a day three seed of 89.

When we entered bracket play on day three the girls had to adjust to not only being seed at the top with everyone “gunning” for our spot but also needed to adjust from a 6-2 set-up to a 5-1 scenario so as to look at a differing DS lineup, in order to bolster our passing opportunities. I am very pleased with the way the girls focused and adjusted to both situations. After receiving a bye on the first round we took on and beat X-Treme 16-1 in two sets. This then matched us up against Orange Crush 16-1in the next round, beating them in 2 sets also. This set us up for a division playoff with force 16-2. They played an extremely strong hard fought first set 25-23 Unfortunately we turned around and lost a lack luster second set 4-25. But I will have to give the girls credit for being such “gamers” to pull themselves together an beat Force 16-2 15-11 to win the Regan/Bush Division.

This, I feel was very good tournament for the girls in that they showed me and themselves that they can overcome personnel issues for the idea of team unity and also “play through” a couple of team rotational problems that occurred due to minor injuries that a couple of players received on the weekend. Couple this with a lineup change they had not necessarily practiced, they remained extremely focused and I think developed a new level of confidence about themselves that will really pay-off down the stretch.

15-1

Davis 15-1 started out seeded 3rd in a 4 team pool on Saturday.  Our first match was against Xceleration 16-2, who we had faced in Qualifiers.  We were a little rusty coming out of the gates and while we did some good things as a team, we lost the match 25-19, 25-15.  Our second match was against Arroyo 14-1.  In this match, we came together strong as a team and beat Arroyo 25-14, 25-16.  The last match of the day was against Salinas Valley 16-3, where we were able to keep the momentum going and win 25-18, 25-20.  We ended the day moving up to 2nd in our pool.

Day 2 started out in a 3 team pool playing against Golden Gate Fitness 14-1.  We lost the match 25-18, 25-15.  Our second match was against Club X-treme DDS from Vacaville, who we were very evenly matched against.  It was a close one, and we lost 25-20, 25-23.  We will be facing this team again in League #1, so the girls are fired up and ready to take a win!

Day 3 placed us in the Red, White and Blue bracket.  We had a bye the first game so we were able to referee our first opponent's match.  We took the first game against Capital City 15-2, but ended up losing the match in 3 games 25-15, 21-25, 7-15.  Despite the tough loss, we re-grouped and won our next match against Central Cal Purple 25-15, 25-20.  This placed us in the Consolation Final against the Starlings 16-1 where we won 25-17, 25-21.

Overall the win loss record was 50/50 for the weekend, but that doesn't reflect the level of play we exhibited.  The girls played better than they ever have as a team and found confidence in themselves and in their team mates.  Communication on the court improved, net play was solid and our teamwork and leadership was great.  Angie Rinaldi's passing was excellent all weekend long.  Setter Taylor Noack hustled all over the court putting up great sets for the front row.  Outside hitter Jayme MacQueen led the team in all around consistent play, with tough defense, consistent serves and solid attacking at the net in every game.

15-2

February 16-18, 2008

Results TBA

14-1

February 16-18

Results TBA