Regionals

We were looking forward to Regionals as we were only the 2nd 14 Silver team ever to make the top 16. With that said, I was concerned because everyone in the tournament would be good, and for us to get a win or two we would have to be at the top of our game and the opponent would have to struggle a bit. Our pool consisted of:

Rose City 14 Black---------- #3 in the region
Webfoot 14 Gold------------#6 in the region
Us-----------------------------#11 in the region
West Valley Jrs 14 Black---#14 in the region

While we didn't play poorly in pool play, we didn't play all that great and our opponents played as well as I thought they would. So while we were competitive, we couldn't find a win.

Our fourth place finish landed us in Gill Colosseum on day two, with Roseburg 14 Black up first. I had never played there so I was hoping that the courts would be large, allowing us to jump serve and chase down errant passes. As luck would have it, the court we were assigned was just the opposite. On the north side of the court was a bleacher that was about 2 ft from the side line... not the best situation and while there was room to jump serve, there was an overhang at the end of the courts that was a bit distracting. Despite those obstacles we actually played better than we had the day before. Unfortunately, Roseburg played better and took the match from us, putting us in the challenge bracket (lose and go home).

The loss pitted us against Pacific 14 Black, a team that had beat us a couple of Power Leagues ago. Being the incredibly consistent team we are, we played real solid... but not exceptional and lost to them in two games.

Although the finish was disappointing, there are some positives to take away from the Power Leagues/Regionals. First, we finished tied for 15th in our Region. The last time I was in the top 16, they didn't format the Regional tournament the way they do now so in that tournament, we ended up 16th... so another "first" for 14 Silver. Second - we are the #2 team (#1 in my heart!) in our club. There were only 3 clubs that put two teams in the top 16, OJVA, Rose City and us. That speaks volumes about 14 Silver.

From a coaching standpoint, we are weak in offense. While we pass-set-hit most of the time, the hits aren't screamers that hits the floor before anyone can get to it. We're going to concentrate quite a bit over the next couple of weeks to see if we can get some of the "oohhhh" kills. (Kills that make the spectators go "ooohhhh").

Individually, the girls and boy did some really nice things. Brighton continues to do a great job alternating between a Right Side and setter/backup setter. Her consistency is really appreciated by our hitters. Brighton also jumped up into the +90% in club, serving 93% in. Evan is really starting to get consistent with the jump serves and get aces out of them. Couple that with his strong hitting, he's an offensive force to deal with. While I thought he might of missed a serve over the 2 days, the book says he served 100%. Great job Evan.

Our setters are our unsung heroes of our team. They go out and chase down errant passes all day long and continue to put balls up giving our hitters an opportunity to do their stuff. If the hitters don't thank them enough, I will. THANKS SARAH AND BRIT!!!!!

Our middles, Victoria and Alexa, continue working on hitting what's called "shot boxes". Basically they are zones on the court that either are difficult to defend or if you hit them, it will disrupt the other teams' offense. Victoria is really starting to hit them and Alexa continues to wow us with hits that come out of nowhere. You think a ball is going to drop, but Alexa comes out of nowhere to not only gets to the ball, but attacks it successfully!

Our Libero, Anna continues to get praise from other coaches. Twice after matches the opposing coach would ask me "is she a 7th or 8th grader???" (They hope she's an 8th grader so they don't have to play against her next year). The attention is well deserved and feel we're so lucky to have someone like Anna anchoring our back row. Oh, she also served 93% in. :)

Emma, Rebecca, Delaney and Sara all did a great job... not only in their roll as outside hitters, but on serve receive, defense and serving. All four of these girls lead the team in passing out of serve receive, with Delaney leading again leading the way... scoring 1.74. Emma is not far behind at 1.71, followed by Rebecca at 1.62 and Sara at 1.52. Great job girls!

So next up, the Willamette Valley Classic, Mother's Day Weekend. We'll work on offense between now and then...I can't wait!

Norm