12Blue: Ally Mintzer (#8) swings in the middle
The 16-Blue team battled for a 5th place finish overall in Division 1 by beating Club West 16-National (23-25, 25-23, 15-13) Goldenwest 16-Asics (20-25, 25-23, 15-10) and Sunshine 16-South Bay (27-25, 25-23) in pool play and barely losing another 3-setter to Laguna Beach 15-Hava in the first round of playoffs (18-25, 25-19, 11-15).
The 16-White team, competing in Division 3, went 2-1 in pool play beating Sunshine 16-Westside and Genuine 16-Becka and losing to So Cal 16-Carmen.
?We had another successful tournament as we continue to grow and improve as a team together. We started the day with back to back wins over the first and second place teams in our pool…both really showed how our team has matured and isn’t afraid of playing aggressively in close matches,? said Coach Kat Niksto.
?Andie Dewerd stepped into the libero role for the first time this season and really provided solid back court defense. Hilary Bean continues to prove to be a leader on the court with her consistent all-around play.?
The team then lost to Long Beach 16-Runbird (22-25, 23-25) and will remain in division 3.
The 16-Red fought tough in its matches in division 7. The team finished 4th for the day losing to Club West 16-Silver (26-28, 10-25), The Club 16s (25-20, 18-25, 8-15) and beating TCA 16-White (25-17, 25-21).
?Our best match of the day was against the team that ultimately took first in our pool . The girls had incredible energy the entire game and were so encouraging and supportive of one another, it was so fun to watch!? exclaimed Coach Megan Phillips.
?Our middles, Julia Aljian, Sarah Theurer, and Camille Cotter, gave the team the spark we needed to pull off the big win with some huge blocks and unstoppable kills. Lauren Johnson was steady on offense with 18 kills for the day.?
The 15-Blue team went the distance in pool play beating all three teams in close matches (Sunshine 15-South Bay 25-12, 26-28, 15-10; LAVA 15-Brad 20-25, 25-21, 15-9; Impact 15-Kim 25-21, 26-24).
In a position to move back up to Division 1, the team unfortunately couldn?t sustain its momentum and lost to TCA 15-Black 23-25, 22-25.
?We were hoping to move back into Division 1 so it?s a disappointing result, however, it is clear that we are steadily improving as our passing average was at its highest for the season and all our hitters were consistently contributing kills on offense. Missing our starting rightside, Kamille Williams stepped in and played very strong and consistent offense all day, adding some crucial blocks as well. Outside hitters Chloe Allen and Lourda Weger traded off as kill leaders in each pool match we played,? remarked Coach K.C.Collins.
?In the playoff round, we started out strong, but somehow we just couldn?t muster the win making a few too many critical unforced errors late in the sets.?
The 15-White team placed 3rd in pool play in division 4 with a 1-2 record, losing to Beach Cities 15-Gold, beating Sports Shack 15-Larry (both in 2 sets) and barely losing to T-Street 15-Justin 25-19, 22-25, 13-15.
?The girls experienced what it was like to compete in the gold division for the first time this season. It was a positive experience as we were up in almost every match. We learned that we can compete with any team in division 4,? said Coach Jacky Yao.
The team then won the next playoff round beating Rancho Valley 15-Select 25-21, 25-28 to keep themselves from moving down.
Yao continued, ?The highlight of the tournament definitely came in the ?death match?; facing elimination, the girls played an extremely clean match and put away an athletic team in 2 straight sets. I applaud Karissa Mertens who filled in admirably for one of our starting middle blockers who was out of town.?
The 12-Blue managed to keep themselves in Division 2 and among the top 16 teams by winning the one match that counted.
The team beat T-Street 12-Mike in pool play 25-22, 23-25, 15-11, but lost to Surfside 12s and San Gabriel Elite 12s to finish third in pool. The team needed to win the first playoff one-set match to prevent itself from moving down and battled to beat Long Beach 12-Runbird 25-16. It subsequently lost the final round to Supernova 14-25.
