We faced a stiff test immediately at 8:00 AM on Day 1 with a rematch against Hot Shotz 14 Black, a team that narrowly defeated us on Day 2 of the last tournament. Despite not having one of our setters, Cambrya, and one of our defensive specialists, Alexis, the team came out fast with a 25-15 victory in the first set, showing the crowd and themselves what they are capable of when everything comes together. The next set and the decider did not go our way, however, and we ended the match with a loss.

But the girls shook it off to make the next two match-ups uneventful, winning in straight sets by double digits in each case. We defeated Juggernaut 14 Regional 2 25-10, 25-14 and High Desert 12 Regional 25-14, 25-15. Booming Aileen kills and great team serving powered us through. The fine Day 1 showing earned us a favorable seeding in the top Horsetooth bracket for Day 2.

The Horsetooth bracket featured the top 12 teams, and we drew an 8:00 AM matchup with a familiar foe, Core Values 14U Blue. In the previous two matchups, we dropped the first set before ultimately coming back to win in the tiebreaker. This time, however, the girls were ready, and won in straight sets 25-18, 25-12. Just in case there was any doubt, Jaime smashed the game-winner to add an exclamation point to a one-sided tournament victory.

Our Elite Eight match was against Hot Shotz 13 Black. Although they lacked the height of their older 14 counterparts, they had just as much skill and fight. We played extremely hard in the first set, fighting our way to a 25-18 win. The second set was an all-out battle to the end, and was one of the loudest and most raucous volleyball scenes we’ve been involved in. Even though the Hot Shotz crowd was big and loud, so was ours with the older Spikes girls joining in and pushing the noise into the stratosphere. It was so loud that it interrupted Jamie’s vestibular system, but she fought through it like a champ. Aileen fought through wrist injuries also, and we battled from down 21-24 to close it out at 27-25 on the back of some clutch Paige serving. Amazing!

That punched our ticket to a rematch with Hot Shotz 14 Black in the Final Four. We fought hard, but our serve deserted us. Despite that, we lost a close contest 22-25, 21-25 in front of another huge crowd.

Here a well-deserved cheer for the backcourt, and especially to our libero Makena, who refused to let the ball hit the ground.

We finished tied for 3rd in the third consecutive tournament but it is still a big improvement in going from a 9-team field to a 14-team field, and finally to a 22-team field. I am very proud of the composure and grit the girls showed under the highest-pressure environment the girls have played in yet. They should be very proud of their performance as well.

The girls have come a very long way since the start of the season. In the beginning, we saw glimpses of the potential of this team. In time, those glimpses grew into expectations. And those expectations, in time, will grow into revelations. The hard work is starting to pay off, and as the team’s consistency grows and coalesces into its final form, the potential is sky-high. But there is work yet to be done, mysteries to be solved, and challenges yet to be met, so the journey continues.

And a wonderful journey it is!

Coach Andy
April 17, 2023