Ezra began our campaign on Friday morning by stuffing the first 15 points on serve straight down Core Value’s throats. What was not aced was killed off by our front court. Spikes 14-2 completed an up-tempo throttling 25-11, 25-8 in less than 40 minutes. Warm-up out of the way, Spikes continued to perform with the precision of a Patek Philippe in dismantling CO Crossfire 14-1 in the first set 25-11. Then the first dark stretch of the tournament enveloped us as we dropped the next set 24-26 but managed to gut out the tiebreaker 18-16. Now the parents were awake! In the final match of the day, we solved the Monument Elite Legacy puzzle a bit too late and dropped both sets 17-25, 23-25. The first of several matches one couldn’t help but feel we let slip away.

A lovely 10:00 AM start time greeted us on Saturday and the girls were equal to the task, taking on a very talented Mystik 14-1 team out of Durango, CO. Spikes maintained their focus and composure under pressure to send Mystik packing 25-20, 25-17. Alas, as the sun disappeared from the skies and the storm clouds built, our match victories for the tournament were done. We fought but fell to Five Star 14 Black in straight sets and took CVA 14 Navy the distance, ultimately swallowing a bitter 14-16 pill in the decider.

Our 1-2 Saturday record pushed us down into the Silver Bracket where ZVC 14 awaited us on Sunday at 8:00 AM. Down two players, the girls took Set 1 25-20, but could not prevail in the next two.

And in the blink of an eye, our tournament was done.

For our young athletes and for me, it was a season filled with breathtaking highs and sickening lows. Moments of exhilarating performance and moments of inexplicable haplessness. But on this journey of 1,000 miles, we have finally arrived at our destination, a destination shrouded in mystery until the very end. And all of us grew through experience and struggle, arriving at a higher plane with an improved version of ourselves that started some seven months ago. I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with this wonderful group of young ladies, and I now thank each one of them for the hard work and sacrifice they gave to the team and each other this season. It is truly an honor to have been their coach.

And so the sun sets on our season. But the sun also rises.

Coach Andy
May 13, 2024