Just returned from the Bayview Classic in San Fransisco. We went into the tournament seeded 11th. Our pool consisted of Delta Valley Blue 14-1 (the #3 seed), Golden Bear Blue 14-1(the #6 seed) us (the #11 seed) and NorCal Black 13-1 (the #14 seed).
A couple of things threw us off a bit right off the start... first we had to learn the California protocol. Instead of circling the court and shaking hands, the entire team had to walk to the center of the court and wave to fans, then shake hands one at a time at the net. No big deal, but the other thing that threw us was that we discovered our Libero (Sarah) wasn't allowed to serve. We adjusted the lineups quickly, sometime putting Sarah in as a Libero, and sometimes as a DS.
While we played pretty well in pool play, we followed form and ended the morning the same place as we started, 11th. We lost to the #3 and #6, and beat the # 14. The highlight of the morning was that we put 21 points in game 2 against Golden Bear (the eventual tournament champions).
After pool play, we headed off to get cleaned up for a limo ride over the Golden gate bridge and dinner at the Rainforest Cafe'. Who knew the girls cleaned up so nice!
Sunday had us against the #22, #27 and the #38. It was a bit disappointing since we anted an opportunity to move up, but we took care of business and swept pool play to maintain or seed.
Ending Sunday 11th, put us in the play-in championship bracket. (A place I have never been before!) Being the #11, we were pitted against the #5, Delta Valley Blue 13-1. Again, we played pretty well, but Delta Valley was just to much for us.
So the loss put us in the #9-#16 bracket. Our first opponent was the #13, Tandem Blue. They were a very small team, but had good ball control. We took advantage of our size and got numerous blocks and awesome kills as we went on to a 3-game win. So, still at #11, we then played the #10, Saddleback Chris. This was a real back and forth match, but in the end, we just ran out of gas and lost in 3.
So in all the games we played, we never moved from our #11 spot... we started there and ended there. While disappointed that we didn't move up, I am ecstatic that we ended #11, my highest finish ever. usually my teams end in the mid 20's to low 30's, so this #11 finish was pretty awesome.
All kinds of things go through my mind when I think about this season:
1 Power League tournament win
1 Power League 2nd place
1 Tournament Win (Oregon Juniors)
1 Consolation Win (Rose City)
1 Division Win WVC
Playing 14 Gold tough (losing 25-23, 26-24).
Without a doubt, this was the most successful team I have ever had. However, our success on the court isn't what I'm going to remember, it's the girls themselves. Whether it's Natalie spitting water all over the team at the Willamette Valley Classic; RaeChelle jumping into a spectators lap; Sarah referring to her sibling as her "idiot brother"; Dani frantically trying to remove her bandage to play; Michelle getting her shoes tied together so tight, she couldn't get the untied; RaeChelle getting a finger wag from an official; Sabrina getting blinded by the sun after an attack; or the whole team comparing belly-buttons between games... these are the things I will remember.
So, without getting too maudlin, I want to thank the girls for being who they are. They truly were a special group.
So, next up... Monday, 5:30 at the Churchill outdoor courts for a BBQ!
After that, The Webfoot BBQ at Camp Harlow, June 7th, 2:00-5:00!
Go Webfoot!
