Will You Yield?
Spikes 14-2 assembled on Oct 2 for our first practice together. As I watched the team scrimmage, I admit I was a bit dumbfounded by the high-level cohesive play I witnessed.
The First Practice
But subsequent interclub scrimmages against Coach Pasky’s 14-Z’s and Coach Amanda’s 13’s (Avalanche Havoc’s U13 Division Champion – Congrats Amanda and Team!!) revealed areas where there was much work to be done. In the intervening months, that’s just what this team did. Went to work. And when the calendar flipped to December, the individuals that had eagerly come to the gym in October had coalesced into a real team. To my eye, they were ready for their first benchmark, the first tournament, Avalanche Havoc.
This Tournament
Upcoming Tournaments
So now the stage was set. Win two matches and stand atop the podium, simple. But as the pressure builds and the level of competition ratchets up, the game surpasses mere physical skill, it becomes a test of fortitude. And the test is metered out one point at a time, with each team asking the other, “Will you yield?”
In the first test of Championship Sunday, a semi-final match against Vail 180 14U, the girls showed steely resolve, overcoming deficits in both sets to secure a place in the U14 Division Final. The backcourt refused to be beaten, with Maggie and Azi deftly handling serves and hits while Alice threw herself heroically at anything within 10 feet of her. And of course, amazing Jada provided the steady bulwark against all incoming chaos.
The Final. A matchup between two undefeated teams, CO Infinity 14-1 vs. Spikes 14-2. Infinity took the court for warmups, showing their clear height advantage with booming spikes from all hitting positions. The match got underway, and while we played with the same discipline and energy that had gotten us this far, it quickly became apparent that it wouldn’t be enough. Infinity built a double-digit lead in the first set by punishing us for any free ball we sent their way, efficiently setting up their offense for devastating kills. Infinity rolled to a 25-13 first set victory, dealing Spikes our first dropped set of the tournament. Infinity had all the answers. How would we respond?
In the huddle after the first set, the girls showed no sign of resignation. I told them we must start to attack with everything we’ve got. And Alice delivered on the first play of the second set by absolutely annihilating a kill through the Infinity defense. Abby continued her great blocking and serving, and Avery killed points with some wicked flushes from the middle. But Infinity refused to yield. Despite our more aggressive play, Infinity continued to build their lead through the middle of the set.
But that’s when Ezra arrived at the service line. Like a battleship, Ezra’s unstoppable salvos destroyed the Infinity beachhead. Halfway through the bombardment, Infinity called a timeout when the score was tied. In our huddle, I could see by the look in the girls’ eyes that we had already won. The girls had answered Infinity’s question, and the answer was, “WE WILL NEVER YIELD!” Spikes went on to win the second set 25-17 without dropping another point. The girls finished what they started in the deciding set, capped by a Havana exclamation point kill on Championship Point to win 15-12. Amazing for the soul, hard on the heart…
And so, a well-earned congratulations to all of these young ladies for an inspiring and gritty performance in their first tournament together. This team overcame a lot, not the least being missing their serving ace Ashley, who was unfortunately too sick to play. This is but the first step in a journey of 1,000 miles and there is much yet to be discovered. But it was a great first step. Thank you, young ladies, for all of your hard work and for making this tournament such an amazing moment for us all!
Coach Andy
December 18, 2023
Bracket Play
Day 2
Overall Results
1ST Place
Match Record
5-0
Final Finishes
Scores
