15 Gold Team Tournament Recaps
Boardwalk Block Party - April 20 & 21, 2024 - Atlantic City Convention Center - Atlantic City, NJ
Overall Results: Saturday: 2-1 Sunday: 1-1 Lost in the first round of the Gold Playoffs. We finished tied for 9th out of 28 teams.
Major Team Highlights: After a month of demanding practices and renewed focus, our team came out and performed pretty well. Saturday was a bit of a struggle, but we won our first two matches and lost our third one. But our third match required some adjustments that you never want to make. One of our players ended up in the emergency room with severe pain in her abdomen. We struggled to adjust and the scores of that match reflected that. But, we did enough to make the Gold Playoffs, which is always our goal. On Sunday . . . wow . . . what a difference. We played perhaps the best volleyball of the season. It was a fun day of play and a great match to watch. Our first match was definitely a marathon match against a very good team. We played amazing!!! Unfortunately, we lost 33-31 & 26-24. So close!! But honestly, that loss felt better than any of the wins did on Saturday. That loss sent us to the consolation round and we continued to play at a very high level crushing our final opponent with ease. It was a great weekend of volleyball but an even better time together as friends and families. Player Stats:
Tournament Team MVP's: The Co-MVPs of the “Boardwalk Block Party” tournament for CAVE 15 Gold are . . . . . Ella Pistner & Ella Yablonski. Both Ellas had a great weekend tournament with us, and both deserve to be the MVP for our team. Ella P. had some medical issues that sent her to the ER on Saturday. But she came out on Sunday and played some of the best volleyball I’ve seen her play. She was very active at the net, both in attacking and in blocking. She served extremely well on Sunday and helped us get back into the game during our first match. Her level of play on Sunday, after wondering if she was going to be able to play at all, brought out an increased level of emotion from the rest of our team. Ella Y. also played an outstanding tournament. Her serve receive was spot on and her defense was fantastic. She was a solid backrow player for us, and her level of play throughout the weekend gave us all a higher level of confidence. It’s been fun watching her develop as a libero, and to see her confidence and awareness increase throughout the season. Each of these girls played really well and deserve to be MVPs for us from this tournament. Here is a look at their stats from the weekend.
|
Irish Rumble - March 9 & 10, 2024 - Spooky Nook Sports Complex, Manheim, PA
Overall Results: Saturday: 1-2 Sunday: 0-1 Lost in the first round of the Silver Playoffs. We finished 21 of 32 teams.
Major Team Highlights: Tournaments are always fun to play in; but sometimes, they can be just as frustrating. This was one of those tournaments. Despite the fact that we really do enjoy playing together and that we have a great “family” of parents and players, we were all pretty bummed with our performance throughout the weekend. We did not achieve the results that we could’ve or should’ve, and that’s the frustrating part. But, along the way, we did see some great things out of each of our players. These kids are still learning and growing; and honestly, it is a joy to be a part of that process with them. I appreciate their hustle and their never-quit attitude. We just need to start better and finish stronger. We’ll get there!! Player Stats:
Tournament Team MVP's: The Co-MVPs of the “Irish Rumble” tournament for CAVE 15 Gold are . . . . . Journie Jefferson & Julianna Myers. Both of these girls led our team and each had a pretty solid all-around tournament. Journie played much more under control this weekend, and she provided a spark for our team defensively and from the service line. She played smart and with a lot of energy. Julianna had a great tournament offensively, both with kills and blocks. Also, she did a great job of stepping in as setter for a couple of our service receive rotations. Each of these girls played really well and deserve to be MVPs for us from this tournament. Here is a look at their stats from the weekend.
|
Prez Day Showdown - February 17 & 18, 2024 - Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, King of Prussia, PA
Overall Results: Saturday: 2-1 Sunday: 0-1 Lost in the first round of the Gold Playoffs. We finished the top 16 of 32 teams.
Major Team Highlights: This was a really fun tournament with a really fun group of girls and great family of parents. It is always our goal to be among the best in any tournament; and when you make the Gold Playoffs, well, you’re among the best. We went 2-2 over the weekend, and our two match losses were both in three sets and were both very close. We just can’t get that illusive third set win. But sometime this season we will!! We made the Gold Playoffs on Sunday; and unfortunately, lost another three-set match in the first round. Our team played scrappy on defense all weekend and they never gave up. They played hard and determined. They continue to improve with the little things that help us to be successful. I was pleased with everyone’s performance this weekend, and each girl contributed in some way or another. Another reason this tournament was so fun was because we had the chance to stay over. Time spent on the court is always fun, but time spent off the court is always meaningful. We did dinner together, the girls played hide and seek together, we laughed, ate, and prayed together. What a great weekend. Player Stats:
Tournament Team MVP's: The Co-MVPs of the “Prez Day Showdown” tournament for CAVE 15 Gold are . . . . . Kylee Perry & Ella Yablonski. These two girls led the way for our team during this tournament. Kylee did a tremendous job of distributing the ball to our hitters, and Ella did a remarkable job defensively in service receive and in helping us transition from defense to offense. I often forget that Kylee is a year younger than the other girls because she plays with such confidence and ability. She works hard to improve all her skills. She serves tough, hustles after the ball and makes good decisions.--very impressive. Ella has improved dramatically from last year, and it is so fun to watch her play. I have the utmost confidence in her in serve receive, and she continues to improve at reading the opponent’s hitters and being in the right place at the right time. She is getting better at seeing things and reacting. Both of these girls played really well and both deserve to be MVPs for us for this tournament. Here is a look at their stats from the weekend.
|
MLK Kickoff Challenge - January 13-15, 2024 - York Expo Center, York, PA
Overall Results: Saturday: 0-3 Sunday: 3-0 Monday: 0-1 . . . . . lost in the first round of the Bronze playoffs
Major Team Highlights:
Our record is not an indication of how well we played. We competed very well all weekend long and only lost by a few points here and there.
On Saturday we were a few mistakes away from being 3-0 instead of 0-3. The girls played really well this entire tournament, and they worked hard and cheered well. It was a really fun time together, despite getting done so late at night on both Saturday and Sunday. (We closed up the place both nights.)
A big shout out to all the parents and fans for cheering us on and for slapping high fives to us around the court. That is such a cool thing. We did some really nice things this weekend . . . we served well and passed well. We also adjusted well, and it was fun seeing the girls begin to do the things that needed to be done. A great weekend and a great start this season.
Player Recognition:
Tournament Team MVP:
The MVP of the “MLK Kickoff Challenge” tournament for CAVE 15 Gold is Cassidy Reath. Throughout most of the tournament, Cassidy was a calming presence on the court. She communicated very well with her teammates and made sure everyone knew what their responsibility was.
Although typically she is solely a defensive specialist, Cassidy was willing to step into a front row position as an outside hitter. And she did a great job with that, and she had some good swings. She made the transition to the front row really well. Defensively she was solid, and we as coaches felt very comfortable when she was receiving serves and playing defense.
She played under control this entire weekend. Here is a look at her stats for the tournament . . . 38 service points (2nd on the team) . . . 9 aces . . . 1.90 passer rating (led the team) . . . 9 kills . . . 68 digs. Congrats Cassidy!!! This is a well-deserved honor.
Submitted by: Head Coach, Bobby Culler
Major Team Highlights:
Our record is not an indication of how well we played. We competed very well all weekend long and only lost by a few points here and there.
On Saturday we were a few mistakes away from being 3-0 instead of 0-3. The girls played really well this entire tournament, and they worked hard and cheered well. It was a really fun time together, despite getting done so late at night on both Saturday and Sunday. (We closed up the place both nights.)
A big shout out to all the parents and fans for cheering us on and for slapping high fives to us around the court. That is such a cool thing. We did some really nice things this weekend . . . we served well and passed well. We also adjusted well, and it was fun seeing the girls begin to do the things that needed to be done. A great weekend and a great start this season.
Player Recognition:
- Julianna Myers - 16 service points . . . 5 aces . . . 24 kills (led the team) . . . 7 blocks (led the team)
- Kylee Perry - 41 service points (led the team) . . . 10 aces . . . 76 assists (led the team) . . . 56 digs . . . did a great job distributing the ball to our hitters
- Ella Yablonski - 20 service points . . . 5 aces . . . 1.73 passer rating . . . 89 digs
- Journie Jefferson - 19 service points . . . 10 aces . . . 1.60 passer rating . . . 97 digs (led the team)
Tournament Team MVP:
The MVP of the “MLK Kickoff Challenge” tournament for CAVE 15 Gold is Cassidy Reath. Throughout most of the tournament, Cassidy was a calming presence on the court. She communicated very well with her teammates and made sure everyone knew what their responsibility was.
Although typically she is solely a defensive specialist, Cassidy was willing to step into a front row position as an outside hitter. And she did a great job with that, and she had some good swings. She made the transition to the front row really well. Defensively she was solid, and we as coaches felt very comfortable when she was receiving serves and playing defense.
She played under control this entire weekend. Here is a look at her stats for the tournament . . . 38 service points (2nd on the team) . . . 9 aces . . . 1.90 passer rating (led the team) . . . 9 kills . . . 68 digs. Congrats Cassidy!!! This is a well-deserved honor.
Submitted by: Head Coach, Bobby Culler