Girls weren’t challenged for most of the morning and could focus/work on techniques as well as court awareness. We ended pool play undefeated, excited and energized for bracket play. We brought energy, defense, and scrappiness to our first bracket game and won in 2 which put us in the championship for the gold bracket. Before I hand it off to Jillian for the closing, we as coaches are very proud of the focus, determination and grit they put into this friendship tournament, creating a bond that will last throughout the rest of the season…..Take it away Jillian!!
We had played them (MAC club BLACK) before, and they beat us. There was a lot of height on our opponent’s team and some big hitters. T.E.A.M. Hiki No was down to six players for the last game of the day, the championship game. T.E.A.M Hiki No was not the most intimidating team as we walked on the court. Our team looked young and decidedly short. I think that worked to our advantage. The team has some of the smartest and craftiest players in the league. Because we had so few players, adjustments had to be made. Our libero stepped out of her comfort zone and played front row, while our hitters stayed in for back row. For other teams, this may have been inconvenient or annoying, but our team took it as an opportunity to expand our skill. Our team was so tightly knit that it did not matter where we were on the court, each player trusted every one of her teammates. When we played Mac Club Black at our first PL qualifier, we had been served off the court in two sets. They had found our weaknesses and had taken advantage of them. However, this game was different. Our girls did their part and the team kept its weaknesses hidden. We played smart and hard. Every play was strategic. The tournament as a whole was a huge success. There was so much improvement and every girl stepped in and knew her part. By the end of the day, it didn’t matter that we won, we all grew individually and as a team.
Thanks Again!
Jill