The 14-Smack team started the final Southern California Volleyball Association Regionals Tournament right where it wanted, in the Gold division playing against the top teams in the So Cal.
According to the Coach Greg Novak: “I think the team knew that we had to fight for every point in order to stay in contention for the top 16 and it really showed in their play. We had two amazing matches to take down Starlings and Sunshine to capture second place in Saturday’s pool play and advanced to the upper bracket.”
Sunday proved to be a tougher day, but the team continued to battle and hold ground.
Novak continued, “In the first set of the day, we had top seeded Rancho Valley on their heels but couldn’t close out the game and match. We continued to step up our play in a rematch against Seal Beach, taking them to a deciding third game but came up short. Though we lost the first two matches I couldn’t be happier with the way the team played. The end result was holding seed and placing third in pool play by taking down Mizuno West in two sets.”
After an exhausting two days of pool play, the team subsequently struggled in the first round of playoffs and lost to 951 Elite.
“Lourda Weger continues to make great strides in her entire game, setters Phoebe Madsen and Allie Sundara had two great days of playing as well as holding the team together in tight matches – the entire team served tough and stepped up their defense to contribute to the successful weekend. Entering the tournament as the 26th seed and placing 13th, we had a pretty phenomenal weekend.”
“The 13-Smack team had a fantastic weekend with a 6-1 record for Regionals,” said Coach Ed Gover. “Outstanding all-around performance from Gabi Peoples. In the serving department, Brynna Hodosy inspired several come-from-behind wins with key aces in the late stages of several matches. Liana Tacconelli displayed excellent leadership throughout the weekend as the primary setter. Controlling the middle was Delany Mayfield and Adyson Colburn, while significant contributions to the team’s success were made by Francesca Engle, Kobie Jimenez, Bella Gniadek and Bridget Tmur.”
Both the 14-Smack and 13-Smack teams will head next to the Volleyball Festival in Phoenix, Arizona toward the end of June.
The 14-Blue Team finished its season with the Regionals Tournament. “Both middles played very well all weekend.” Mentioned Coach Katie Julian. “Ava Dore served tough and Dani Abams put up some good blocks. Also our opposites Quincey Kras and Ella Deardorf made some key plays in the front row and did a great job of stepping in to set when needed. Overall, it was a successful, fun weekend for the team.”
The 13-Blue team also finished its season this past weekend. “The team played some inspiring volleyball during their season-end Regional tournament. The team really put a lot of pressure on their opponents by serving tough and playing great defense both days,” said Club Director Jake Hong. “It was great to see them play so well as a team, everybody contributed to the team’s success. Soleil Hallig played great both offensively and defensively. She had some great swings on both days and really helped the team at the net. Isabel Bassi also did a great job of running the offense and setting the hitters. It really was great to see the great improvement the team has made throughout the season, and also how close they all have become as a team.”
