I'll explain the title later.
The more things change, the more things stay the same.
That's an axiom that has become a cliche, but it describes this season, and particularly this past Calumet Regional Volleyball Invitational, to a T, to use another cliche.
I'll try to dig out from under this pile of cliches. What I mean by that is the Patriots turned over seven players from last year. Only two remain, Ally and Mandi, while the two top hitters, one of the setters, another top hitter and the libero are gone. But even with all the new players, the success continues. Tournaments CCS never would have dreamed of playing in, much less winning, five years ago but were captured by what we thought was a once-in-a-lifetime group of players the last couple of years are still owned by Calumet. Three weeks ago it was Kankakee Valley, and this past weekend the Patriots captured their own tournament for the fourth year in a row, defeated this the Crossroad Crusaders, the same opponent in last year's championship match (although this year they needed only two games.) Another "same" from last year was the last name of the MVP - Rohn.
Along with the change in the makeup of the team was the expectations. Last year, the year before, and possible the year before that, Calumet was the favorite. In 2010, the Patriots weren't even tested on their march to the trophy. In 2009, there was a little scare in the semis, but the finals were somewhat anticlimactic. Last year we thought we would roll, but the championship game was very tightly contested and we barely survived 15-13 in the third game. This year, to quote the title character, "We never think this could happen for you! Never! NEVER!" Well, maybe that is a little bit of an overstatement, but that came to mind as I was thinking about the events of this weekend, reflecting back about my thoughts during the offseason, before I saw what this team could become.
On Friday, the Patriots opened pool play against possible the weakest team in the tournament, the Kankakee Trinity Academy Eagles. Not much needs to be said about the most lopsided contest of the weekend, other than the Patriots won 21-3, 21-3. Next up was the Rivertown Patriots, a homeschool team from Grand Rapids, Michigan that used to be known as WMCAA. This one was much tougher - Rivertown ended up as the second seed out of our pool - and the girls struggled a little bit. Serve receive was a problem as it has been the last few games. CCS did get out to a 16-11 lead as their hitting and blocking was pretty good, but Rivertown scored three aces in a row, then after a Calumet hitting error, they got another ace to tie it up. A couple of Rivertown errors gave Calumet the lead again. The game ended on a block and then a kill by Ally, 21-17. Continued sloppy defensive play put CCS in an 11-5 hole to open the second the second set. An alarm of sorts must have gone off at this point, as we went on an eight-point run behind solid blocking, then after giving up a point, scored seven more in a row. They gave up another, but closed it out on a back row kill by Kaylie 21-13.
Fort Wayne Falcons White was our next opponent. Fort Wayne used to have two homeschool volleyball teams, the Falcons and the Angels, but the Angels disbanded and the Falcons got a lot of their players. They now have two teams, Black and White, essentially an A and a B team. The White teams is the B team. They were better than a lot of recent Angels teams, but not very strong. We started out slow again, as we did against Rivertown in the second set, but at 6-6, the girls went on a run again, this time 14-1. The offense was strong and everyone contributed. One point later we wrapped up set one, 21-8. The momentum and the offense continued into the second set as the Patriots ran out to a 10-1 lead. Our errors were the source of most of the points FW scored down the stretch, but the lead was never threatened in the 21-9 second set win. At 7:30 we faced Arthur-Okaw, a team we played several times last year. They lost their star from last year but were still pretty tough. I think they were a little intimidated by us as the committed a lot of hitting errors. In both sets we led 6-1 and they were both essentially over. The first set saw a lot of kills from Olivia, and the second was characterized by aces from Ally. The scores were 21-10 and 21-11. Somonauk Christian was our final opponent. They only had one loss coming in, but they must a played a weak schedule. Ally came out pounding it. At 11-2 we started making some errors, but a block by Olivia and Lee put the Patriots back on track, and they soon finished the 21-11 set win. The second set saw kills from all the hitters and a Cassie ace finished up the 21-10 second set win and the fourth straight year of perfect pool play.
Because of the success on Friday, the girls' Saturday schedule didn't begin until noon. Schaumburg, who hasn't seemed to play well against us at all the last few years were our first opponent, I'm sure to their regret. This match was not an exception. At 2-2 the Patriots scored with four straight kills. After a hitting error by Schaumburg, they called a timeout. The blocking team of Lee and Olivia stuffed one, then Ally found a hole and Lee put one down and it was 10-2. A little while later the blocking team stuffed another one for a 15-4 lead. SCS put together a mini-run of six out of seven points, but couldn't sustain the momentum, as they committed numerous hitting errors and the girls wrapped up the 25-14 win with an Ally kill. SCS kept it close early in set two. At 6-5, Olivia got a kill, Ally scored on a dink, and Olivia paired up with Stephanie for a block. Ally dialed it up here and the game was soon in hand. Olivia closed out the 25-12 quarterfinal win with kill and a nice dink.
We had heard that the Indy Silver Lightning were good, but weren't sure how good. They finished first in the their pool and beat a pretty tough Fort Wayne Falcons Black team in their semifinal, so they were pretty good. They were big and athletic, with several hitters. Ally came out on fire. She had five kills and a block in a 9-3 Patriot run to open the match. Indy called a time out to slow her down. It seemed to work. Indy scored six of the next eight to pull to within two. Then Indy bookended two net violations around kills by Ally (back row), Faith and Stephanie to break it open. After a Patriot receiving error, CCS scored five more in a row and it was a rout. Indy did get some kills later, but Stephanie finished the 25-16 with a kill. We struggled a bit to open up the second set, but it was more Indy good play rather than our poor play. Indy had four kill for their first four points, then we started having some hitting problems. An Indy ace gave them a 7-3 lead, which would prove to be their biggest lead of the match. They hit one out which Lee followed with an ace. Mandi put one down before Indy scored two of the next three. Ally took over here. Four kills plus a shared block with Mandi were part of a seven point run. Indy got their hitting going again which allowed them to get back to within one at 15-14. Ally grabbed the momentum back, and Mandi, Olivia and Faith kept it. Olivia had two kills and Mandi had one down the stretch. Faith's kill ended the 25-17 set win and a berth in the championship game.
Crossroads gave us all we could handle in our contests against us last year. They had one dominant player, so dominant that Division 1 schools are recruiting her even though she is only 16. One player that they didn't have was their savvy setter of last year. It didn't look like they had any one to replace her. However, it also looked like the big hitter, #7, was better and smarter than last year. After an opening prayer by Dan Obinger and the roster introductions the match began. Crossroads led 3-1 when Ally and Annika (#7) started trading kills. Three by Ally, three by Annika. Crossroads bracketed two hitting errors around two kills by Stephanie for four straight by Calumet. Olivia then absolutely rejected a big kill by Annika and CCS led 9-6. Errors were committed by each team. Olivia, Stephanie then Faith each scored on kills to make it 13-8. Calumet gave one up, then Ally and Annika went back at it. Back row kill by Annika. Back row kill by Ally. Kill by Annika. Dink kill by Ally. Kill by Annika. Block by Annika. Ally then dinked one out and Annika dinked one in to tie it. Kill by Ally. Kill by Ally. Kill by Annika. We had a hitting error, they had a serving error. They had two defensive breakdowns, then Ally scored two aces. Annika hit one out and the Patriots led 23-17. The Crusaders scored two in a row, the second on an Annika kill. A block by Olivia and Lee put Calumet one point away. Annika crushed one from the back row, then Crossroads scored on an ace Coach called a timeout. Crossroads then couldn't return a ball and the Patriots had game one, 25-22.
Set two pickup where set one left off. A hitting error gave us the first point, then alternating kills by Ally and Annika, three by Annika and two by Ally made it 3-3. We messed up a return, then Ally scored on a kill then an ace. Annika blocked one before Stephanie got one down, then Ally from the back row, then Olivia. Lee completed the run with an ace and it was 9-5, CCS. Annika ended the run with a back row kill but Olivia followed this with a kill then an ace. Crossroads scored the next five, including a block and kill by Annika. They hit one out, then were called on a questionable carry on a dink attempt. They scored two kills in a row to tie it up again, which Ally answered with a spike and a dink. Annika dinked one in but they served out on the next point. We made two errors to make it tied again at 16, but then they served out again. We opened up a little room with a block by Olivia followed by an Ally ace, then a beautiful block by Olivia on Annika. Another hitting error was the last point in the five point streak. Crossroads ended the run with a downball that we partially blocked but fell on our side. We couldn't return the next serve,, then we were called on a some violation on what looked like a very nice dink kill by Olivia. 21-19, CCS. Ally pushed the lead back to three on a backrow kill, then the teams traded hitting errors. 23-20. Mandi got a nice kill to put the Patriots to within one of the championship, but Annika delayed things for a bit with a back row kill. On the next point, Annika raked the net on a kill attempt, and the championship was ours. Again.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Lots of games, mostly wins
Let's see, where did I leave off? Oh yes, the Covenant Christian match. That means I only have FIVE matches to cover here. Yes, five, as in five in five days. I guess Coach was preparing the team for our tournament. Or something. Anyway I will recap the matches briefly here.
Thursday was Hebron. I only saw the first two sets - more about that later. We had faced Hebron in the Kankakee Valley tournament, so we knew what we were up against, which was a mediocre defensive team that ran their offence through their middle hitters, neither of which was taller than 5'8". We tried to help out Hebron to start the game, committing numerous hitting errors. When we weren't hitting the ball into the net or out, we were pounding it down. They scored three of their first four points on our errors; we scored our first six points on kills, which came from Mandi, Olivia and Ally. The girls actually were behind early, 4-2, but then ran off eight straight and twelve of thirteen to blow the set open. In that sequence, three straight Patriot points came from Lee kills. A kill by Ally from the back row gave CCS an eleven point lead, then they scored the last four to take set one, 25-11. The Patriots fell behind again in the second set, scored four in a row to go ahead 7-4, but then made two errors to let Hebron back into it. Hebron then got their hitting game going and trailed only 15-14. That was short-lived as they hit the next two out. Mandi was the hitting star down the stretch as the Patriot scored the last seven to win set two, 25-16. Set three was after I left, but I can report that they won 25-13. I left watching a good team dominate in person to watch a bad performance (Bears) on television. Not sure how smart that was.
I did not travel to Lafayette to watch the girls play Faith. I have been to Lafayette more times than I care to remember over the last six years, and I knew Faith wasn't very good. Not anymore, anyway. 31-29.....smh.....grumble....grumble...oops, sorry, where was I? Oh yes, Faith. CCS won the match 25-16, 25-12, 25-14. Ally had twenty kills, Cassie had fifteen assists and Kaylie had ten digs.
I did travel to the remotest hinterlands of Indiana to watch the girls in the Tippecanoe Valley tournament. This was the first time we participated in this one, and it was a pretty good one. Our first opponent was Knox. Knox falls in the Times coverage area, so this was an important one. However, it was a relatively early one for our girls, especially coming on the heels of matches on Thursday and Friday. Those are my excuses and I'm sticking with them. Anyway, the girls couldn't quite get it down and went down to defeat 25-23, 25-20. I did not get there in time for the first set but did see the second. The Patriots led early. After a Kaylie ace made it 5-2, we committed a hitting error, a defensive error and served one into the net. All we need was a net violation and a setting error and we would have covered the bases. We continued to struggle as Knox got their hitting going, eventually taking a 9-7 lead. We fought back and consecutive kills by Faith put us back up by one. Knox hit several into the net and out; we took the lead. Knox started finding the court with both their hits and serves; Knox tied it up. A bit later an Olivia kill made it a three-point lead, but then we stopped being able to return their serves, which were very good. When we did get one up, it wasn't right to the setter. On the last three, we barely touched the ball. Three straight aces capped an eight point run by Knox and they had the victory and we no longer had a chance to win.
Next up was the host team, Tippecanoe Valley. Even though Mandi was sidelined with a twisted ankle, it didn't slow the Patriots a bit. The girls had their hitting, blocking and serving shoes on, and TV seemed to not know what hit them. Before you knew it, it was 13-3 CCS. We gradually increased the lead, mainly by aces, which we got from Ally, Olivia (2) and Kaylie. Since Mandi was out, Cassie was playing front row, and she finished the 25-12 set win with a kill. TV started hitting better in set two, and the set was close throughout. Two kills and an ace put TV up 7-3. They led 9-5 when they committed a serving error. Stephane followed with a kill, then Ally got one from the back row, and Faith also put one down to tie up the game. TV went ahead again by three and kept the lead until Ally and Lee had back-to-back kills to tie it up at 15, then an Ally ace gave the Patriots the lead. Back-and-forth it went from there. TV led for the last time at 19-18. CCS scored five straight. In that sequence was a nice double block from Ally and Faith, but the best point was the last one. It was a very long volley, highlighted by a fabulous no-look (at least that's how it appeared to me) save on a scramble at the net by Stephanie. She shot her arm out and slightly behind her as she was falling out of bounds and popped the ball right to a teammate. Eventually Ally finished it with a kill, but that was the defensive play of the year so far. After a TV kill, Ally got another kill and then a block to finish the set and match, 25-20.
Last up was Heritage of Monroeville, Indiana, sort of near Fort Wayne. They were very tall. It turned out they could hit, but maybe not quite as well as they looked like they could. Their defense was solid, but at this point the girls were warmed up and had gotten a little used to the new rotation without Mandi, who Coach held out as a precaution because of her turned ankle. Ally had three kills early, leading to a 5-2 advantage. A couple of hitting and one shanked pass gave Heritage the lead at 7-6. We then righted the ship and ripped off seven in a row, highlighted by back-to-back kills by Olivia. Heritage's height came into play as they got the offensive game going and they gradually got back into the game, finally tying it at 16. Heritage gave us the next two points on errors and we never trailed again. CCS had kills from Ally, Olivia, Kaylie and Stephanie, who got the last one to close out the 25-20 victory. Heritage really had trouble hitting to open the second set and CCS took advantage. An ace from Olivia gave the Patriots an 11-5 lead and it looked like a rout. The lead eventually grew to 17-9 as the girls blocked very well while Heritage made fewer errors. CCS still led 23-17 after Cassie tipped one to a hole. Heritage then scored six straight on four kills and two hitting errors by the Patriots (LGFS!). Stephanie stopped the bleeding with a well-placed dink, then Ally got a dink kill as well to end it and the Patriots had second place.
This week it's Westville there on Tuesday (I will not be there) and then the tournament on Friday and Saturday. We are the three-time defending champions of that tournament, but there are some powerhouses coming that will make it tough. Come on out and cheer on the girls and let's make it a fourpeat!!
Thursday was Hebron. I only saw the first two sets - more about that later. We had faced Hebron in the Kankakee Valley tournament, so we knew what we were up against, which was a mediocre defensive team that ran their offence through their middle hitters, neither of which was taller than 5'8". We tried to help out Hebron to start the game, committing numerous hitting errors. When we weren't hitting the ball into the net or out, we were pounding it down. They scored three of their first four points on our errors; we scored our first six points on kills, which came from Mandi, Olivia and Ally. The girls actually were behind early, 4-2, but then ran off eight straight and twelve of thirteen to blow the set open. In that sequence, three straight Patriot points came from Lee kills. A kill by Ally from the back row gave CCS an eleven point lead, then they scored the last four to take set one, 25-11. The Patriots fell behind again in the second set, scored four in a row to go ahead 7-4, but then made two errors to let Hebron back into it. Hebron then got their hitting game going and trailed only 15-14. That was short-lived as they hit the next two out. Mandi was the hitting star down the stretch as the Patriot scored the last seven to win set two, 25-16. Set three was after I left, but I can report that they won 25-13. I left watching a good team dominate in person to watch a bad performance (Bears) on television. Not sure how smart that was.
I did not travel to Lafayette to watch the girls play Faith. I have been to Lafayette more times than I care to remember over the last six years, and I knew Faith wasn't very good. Not anymore, anyway. 31-29.....smh.....grumble....grumble...oops, sorry, where was I? Oh yes, Faith. CCS won the match 25-16, 25-12, 25-14. Ally had twenty kills, Cassie had fifteen assists and Kaylie had ten digs.
I did travel to the remotest hinterlands of Indiana to watch the girls in the Tippecanoe Valley tournament. This was the first time we participated in this one, and it was a pretty good one. Our first opponent was Knox. Knox falls in the Times coverage area, so this was an important one. However, it was a relatively early one for our girls, especially coming on the heels of matches on Thursday and Friday. Those are my excuses and I'm sticking with them. Anyway, the girls couldn't quite get it down and went down to defeat 25-23, 25-20. I did not get there in time for the first set but did see the second. The Patriots led early. After a Kaylie ace made it 5-2, we committed a hitting error, a defensive error and served one into the net. All we need was a net violation and a setting error and we would have covered the bases. We continued to struggle as Knox got their hitting going, eventually taking a 9-7 lead. We fought back and consecutive kills by Faith put us back up by one. Knox hit several into the net and out; we took the lead. Knox started finding the court with both their hits and serves; Knox tied it up. A bit later an Olivia kill made it a three-point lead, but then we stopped being able to return their serves, which were very good. When we did get one up, it wasn't right to the setter. On the last three, we barely touched the ball. Three straight aces capped an eight point run by Knox and they had the victory and we no longer had a chance to win.
Next up was the host team, Tippecanoe Valley. Even though Mandi was sidelined with a twisted ankle, it didn't slow the Patriots a bit. The girls had their hitting, blocking and serving shoes on, and TV seemed to not know what hit them. Before you knew it, it was 13-3 CCS. We gradually increased the lead, mainly by aces, which we got from Ally, Olivia (2) and Kaylie. Since Mandi was out, Cassie was playing front row, and she finished the 25-12 set win with a kill. TV started hitting better in set two, and the set was close throughout. Two kills and an ace put TV up 7-3. They led 9-5 when they committed a serving error. Stephane followed with a kill, then Ally got one from the back row, and Faith also put one down to tie up the game. TV went ahead again by three and kept the lead until Ally and Lee had back-to-back kills to tie it up at 15, then an Ally ace gave the Patriots the lead. Back-and-forth it went from there. TV led for the last time at 19-18. CCS scored five straight. In that sequence was a nice double block from Ally and Faith, but the best point was the last one. It was a very long volley, highlighted by a fabulous no-look (at least that's how it appeared to me) save on a scramble at the net by Stephanie. She shot her arm out and slightly behind her as she was falling out of bounds and popped the ball right to a teammate. Eventually Ally finished it with a kill, but that was the defensive play of the year so far. After a TV kill, Ally got another kill and then a block to finish the set and match, 25-20.
Last up was Heritage of Monroeville, Indiana, sort of near Fort Wayne. They were very tall. It turned out they could hit, but maybe not quite as well as they looked like they could. Their defense was solid, but at this point the girls were warmed up and had gotten a little used to the new rotation without Mandi, who Coach held out as a precaution because of her turned ankle. Ally had three kills early, leading to a 5-2 advantage. A couple of hitting and one shanked pass gave Heritage the lead at 7-6. We then righted the ship and ripped off seven in a row, highlighted by back-to-back kills by Olivia. Heritage's height came into play as they got the offensive game going and they gradually got back into the game, finally tying it at 16. Heritage gave us the next two points on errors and we never trailed again. CCS had kills from Ally, Olivia, Kaylie and Stephanie, who got the last one to close out the 25-20 victory. Heritage really had trouble hitting to open the second set and CCS took advantage. An ace from Olivia gave the Patriots an 11-5 lead and it looked like a rout. The lead eventually grew to 17-9 as the girls blocked very well while Heritage made fewer errors. CCS still led 23-17 after Cassie tipped one to a hole. Heritage then scored six straight on four kills and two hitting errors by the Patriots (LGFS!). Stephanie stopped the bleeding with a well-placed dink, then Ally got a dink kill as well to end it and the Patriots had second place.
This week it's Westville there on Tuesday (I will not be there) and then the tournament on Friday and Saturday. We are the three-time defending champions of that tournament, but there are some powerhouses coming that will make it tough. Come on out and cheer on the girls and let's make it a fourpeat!!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Patience
One thing you must have with this team that you really didn't need for the last few years is patience. You must wait a little longer for the point. The point is nearly as inevitable as it was, but it doesn't come as quickly. That's what happens when hitters like Faith R, Taylor, Holly and Lauren leave, and defensive aces Kaylie, Cassie, and Amanda arrive. The team is also patient. They work hard until they earn the point. They don't seem to be disappointed when the point doesn't end quickly, they just keep working. It's different, but it's still fun.
Tonight the Covenant Christian Knights came to Dyer for only our second home game. As long as I have been with the program, we have not lost to Covenant. The streak is intact after a 25-14, 25-20, 25-12 win, the fifteenth win of the year for the Patriots against only two losses.
The girls marched out to an early 8-1 lead in the first set behind two kills by Faith, a block and kill by Ally and an ace by Cassie. Covenant then stepped up their hitting which slowed Calumet a bit, but after back-to-back kills by Stephanie and Ally, CCS led by 10. We got a little sloppy and allowed Covenant to get to within seven, but kills by Mandi and Olivia followed by consecutive aces by Lee pushed the lead back to double-digits. The lead stayed about ten the rest of the game, finishing on a bad dink by the Knights.
The teams stayed neck-and-neck through most of game two. Both teams made a lot of unforced errors, primarily hitting errors by us and passing errors by the Knights. We really had a hard time hitting outside againt Covenant as they were blocking well. Neither team led by more than two until at 19-19, Calumet scored five in a row, culminated by a kill from Faith. One point later, on ball put over on the first hit, CCS was up two sets to none.
It was close early again in the third set, though not as close as set two. Calumet got an early four-point lead 8-4, after an ace by Kaylie and a kill by Ally. The gap didn't vary much until at 12-9, the Patriots ran off three straight, then a bit later seven straight, highlighted by a nice block from Ally and Lee (who was WAY off the ground). That made it 23-11. Faith, who about the middle of the second set started finding the holes, got a kill to put Calumet within one, then after an error, Ally put one down to end it.
Hebron Thursday, Faith Friday, and Tippecanoe Valley tournament Saturday. If I didn't blog tonight, I would have been too far behind to ever catch up.
8
Tonight the Covenant Christian Knights came to Dyer for only our second home game. As long as I have been with the program, we have not lost to Covenant. The streak is intact after a 25-14, 25-20, 25-12 win, the fifteenth win of the year for the Patriots against only two losses.
The girls marched out to an early 8-1 lead in the first set behind two kills by Faith, a block and kill by Ally and an ace by Cassie. Covenant then stepped up their hitting which slowed Calumet a bit, but after back-to-back kills by Stephanie and Ally, CCS led by 10. We got a little sloppy and allowed Covenant to get to within seven, but kills by Mandi and Olivia followed by consecutive aces by Lee pushed the lead back to double-digits. The lead stayed about ten the rest of the game, finishing on a bad dink by the Knights.
The teams stayed neck-and-neck through most of game two. Both teams made a lot of unforced errors, primarily hitting errors by us and passing errors by the Knights. We really had a hard time hitting outside againt Covenant as they were blocking well. Neither team led by more than two until at 19-19, Calumet scored five in a row, culminated by a kill from Faith. One point later, on ball put over on the first hit, CCS was up two sets to none.
It was close early again in the third set, though not as close as set two. Calumet got an early four-point lead 8-4, after an ace by Kaylie and a kill by Ally. The gap didn't vary much until at 12-9, the Patriots ran off three straight, then a bit later seven straight, highlighted by a nice block from Ally and Lee (who was WAY off the ground). That made it 23-11. Faith, who about the middle of the second set started finding the holes, got a kill to put Calumet within one, then after an error, Ally put one down to end it.
Hebron Thursday, Faith Friday, and Tippecanoe Valley tournament Saturday. If I didn't blog tonight, I would have been too far behind to ever catch up.
8
Thursday, September 6, 2012
A worthy foe
Tuesday night the Patriots traveled a short distance south and west to the Heritage Christian High to take on their old rivals, the Defenders. Calumet had played the Defenders every year for as long as I've been associated with the program, usually more than once a year. HHCS is a member of the ICST, so we also often see them in the state tournament. In 2007 and 2008, Heritage had the upper hand, but since them Calumet has won seven straight over Heritage. Very few, if any, of the matches were easy, however. Tonight was not an exception, to an extent.
The match started on an error by CCS, and that kind of set the tone for the game. Not that Calumet made all the mistakes; both teams contributed to the sloppy play. The teams were pretty even through the first part of the game. We were up by two a few times, 5-3 after a kill by Ally, 7-5 after a nice block by Olivia, and 9-7 after an Olivia kill. Two Heritage errors made a four-point lead, but HCHS got two kills, then a kitting error by CCS got Heritage back to within one. A combination of Patriot dink kills and Heritage errors gave CCS a 18-11 lead and they never looked back. The lead got as big as eight at 22-14. CCS made some errors, but Heritage did not get closer than five in the 25-18 win.
The score followed the same path in the second set. Calumet had a three point lead twice early, at 8-5 and 11-8, but them, primarily because hitting errors by the Patriots, the Defenders scored five in a row to take the lead. Two Faith kills and one from Ally contributed to CCS recovering the lead, 16-14. A bit later an HCHS hitting error gave Calumet a three point lead, and Stephanie got a kill and CCS led 21-17. Heritage called a timeout when the lead got to 23-18. This seemed to help, and they got a kill to break the momentum. Calumet then contributed to Heritage's cause with three hitting errors in a row. Olivia righted the ship with a kill, then after a Heritage kill they put one into the net and Calumet won set two, 25-23.
The pattern held in game three, at least early. Neither team could get any sizable lead, though the Patriots did get a couple of two point leads. HCHS blocks and kills plus Calumet errors flipped the score, and the Defenders led by two. They then made some errors, and Calumet again went back up, this time at 17-16. Ally (two) and Olivia scored kills to give Calumet a 21-17 lead, but the error bug returned and Calumet could not overcome it. Five hitting errors, the last at game point, gave Heritage the third game, 25-22.
Calumet seemed to realize that needed to step up their game as the fourth set began. Cassie started things off with an ace, and the Patriots never looked back. Defender errors and kills from Faith, Olivia and Ally led toa 7-2 Patriot lead and a Defender timeout. We made two errors coming out of the time out, but Calumet never let Heritage get closer than four. Faith really started shutting down Heritage's middle hitter, and her block at 11-7 started the Patriots on a run. Three Heritage errors started it, then kills by Lee, Kaylie and Faith followed. Heritage made some more errors, Ally and Faith had a nice double block, then Lee capped off the 13-1 run with a kill. 24-8, CCS. A mild LGFS ensued, but finally Ally put one down and the Patriots had the set and the match, winning 25-11.
A week off, then a busy week next week with Covenant, Hebron and the Tippecanoe Valley tournament. We are #10 in the Times poll and should be about sixth or seventh. Go Patriots!
The match started on an error by CCS, and that kind of set the tone for the game. Not that Calumet made all the mistakes; both teams contributed to the sloppy play. The teams were pretty even through the first part of the game. We were up by two a few times, 5-3 after a kill by Ally, 7-5 after a nice block by Olivia, and 9-7 after an Olivia kill. Two Heritage errors made a four-point lead, but HCHS got two kills, then a kitting error by CCS got Heritage back to within one. A combination of Patriot dink kills and Heritage errors gave CCS a 18-11 lead and they never looked back. The lead got as big as eight at 22-14. CCS made some errors, but Heritage did not get closer than five in the 25-18 win.
The score followed the same path in the second set. Calumet had a three point lead twice early, at 8-5 and 11-8, but them, primarily because hitting errors by the Patriots, the Defenders scored five in a row to take the lead. Two Faith kills and one from Ally contributed to CCS recovering the lead, 16-14. A bit later an HCHS hitting error gave Calumet a three point lead, and Stephanie got a kill and CCS led 21-17. Heritage called a timeout when the lead got to 23-18. This seemed to help, and they got a kill to break the momentum. Calumet then contributed to Heritage's cause with three hitting errors in a row. Olivia righted the ship with a kill, then after a Heritage kill they put one into the net and Calumet won set two, 25-23.
The pattern held in game three, at least early. Neither team could get any sizable lead, though the Patriots did get a couple of two point leads. HCHS blocks and kills plus Calumet errors flipped the score, and the Defenders led by two. They then made some errors, and Calumet again went back up, this time at 17-16. Ally (two) and Olivia scored kills to give Calumet a 21-17 lead, but the error bug returned and Calumet could not overcome it. Five hitting errors, the last at game point, gave Heritage the third game, 25-22.
Calumet seemed to realize that needed to step up their game as the fourth set began. Cassie started things off with an ace, and the Patriots never looked back. Defender errors and kills from Faith, Olivia and Ally led toa 7-2 Patriot lead and a Defender timeout. We made two errors coming out of the time out, but Calumet never let Heritage get closer than four. Faith really started shutting down Heritage's middle hitter, and her block at 11-7 started the Patriots on a run. Three Heritage errors started it, then kills by Lee, Kaylie and Faith followed. Heritage made some more errors, Ally and Faith had a nice double block, then Lee capped off the 13-1 run with a kill. 24-8, CCS. A mild LGFS ensued, but finally Ally put one down and the Patriots had the set and the match, winning 25-11.
A week off, then a busy week next week with Covenant, Hebron and the Tippecanoe Valley tournament. We are #10 in the Times poll and should be about sixth or seventh. Go Patriots!
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Three-peat
It was only three years ago that winning our tournament and Quentin Road were big deals. Winning a public school tournament was, at least to me, not even thought of. Way beyond what little Calumet Christian could accomplish. Then, when the team actually did get to play (and do well) in some big-time tournaments, I figured that when this class graduated, that would be it, and CCS would go down to being able only to contend with the weaker public school programs again. Wrong. Behind some magical defense, timely offense, and steely resolve, the Patriots powered through the Kankakee Valley tournament again, winning for the third straight year, beating the host team in the championship game as we did in 2010 and 2011.
We like to see new teams when we go to these tournaments, but the two teams in our pool were a team we had beaten already (Gavit) and another we would play later in the season (Hebron). The first game was against Gavit, who we beat at the Argo tournament to open the season. This time was a little tougher, at least the first set, but the girls got the job done. The Patriots opened with a seven-point run, with Faith getting a block and a kill, two kills from Ally, and three Gavit errors. That set the pattern for the whole game, with some good play by CCS, including a nice block by Ally on game point, adding to poor play by Gavit, leading to a 25-13 Patriot victory. Game two was a struggle. The match stayed close early on. Both teams had success hitting until a couple of Gavit hitting errors gave the Patriots a 10-7 lead. Gavit stormed back with a block followed by two aces to tie it up. CCS pulled back into the lead at 15-12. We served it into the net, then Gavit ran off four straight errors. Our errors plus some solid hitting by Gavit allowed them to get to within two, but a dink kill by Olivia stopped the streak, and Mandi closed out the 25-19 clincher on a kill off an over-pass.
The girls started flat against Hebron, a seemingly inferior opponent. A questionable call on a second-hit dink by Ally gave Hebron a 4-0 lead. Kaylie stopped this run with kill from her libero position. We seemed to have a hard time picking up their medium-speed hits, and the resulting kills prevented the Patriots from quickly getting back into the game. Finally, down 10-7, the girls scored four in a row - kill by Olivia, ace from Lee, kill by Mandi, and a back-row kill from Ally. Hebron tied it on the next point, and then tied it again at 13, but CCS took control at that point. One remarkable sequence had Ally scoring four points in row on dink kills, then after a Hebron point, threw one more in for good measure. Mandi followed that with two aces, Hebron scored one more point, and the girls had a 25-15 set win. We made a lot of errors early on in set two, allowing Hebron to stay close. The score was tied at nine when CCS took over. They scored nine in a row, including three aces by Kaylie and four hitting errors by Hebron. We made a few errors which allowed Hebron to get to within seven, but at 24-14 Olivia found a hole with a dink and we were on to the top pool.
The tournament format was such that after the first round of pool play, the teams were put in pools based on where they finished in their pool. North Judson and Kankakee Valley were the other two first place teams. North Judson was our first opponent, and they were looking pretty good. They gave Kankakee Valley a good game, and we were looking at a tough match to get into the championship.
I thought something was strange when the teams got started, and then realized their best player, #13, was not out there. Was it an injury? Discipline issue? I didn't know. North Judson appeared very listless and disinterested while the Patriots jumped out to a 13-3 lead and gradually added to it until a NJ serving error ended it at 25-10. I started asking around about their missing player, and there was some word about a car accident. We made a lot of errors early in game two to keep North Judson in it, but at 12-9 CCS North Judson started making a lot of errors of their own and we began to pull away. Two consecutive Ally aces closed it out at 25-13. We then found out the star player's close friend had just been killed in a car accident, which explained her absence and the distracted play of the remaining players. Some of our girls asked to pray with some of theirs, and the offer was gratefully received.
Once again Kankakee Valley would be our opponent in the championship game. Although this wasn't a classic bracket championship game, it would be the game that decided who took home the trophy. At the outset it looked like a championship game. Strong play on both sides - KV hitting, our defense - and few errors made for some beautiful volleyball. Neither team had greater than a one-point lead until a KV ace made it 10-8, Kankakee Valley. We caught up again, and then at 11-11, a volley took place that seemed to take ten minutes. Great hitting by KV was offset by fantastic defense by the Patriots, with Mandi digging some blasts right to the setter, as well as Kaylie and Amanda. Finally Ally finished the most exciting point of the day with a dink that found the floor. That seemed to the the turning point. At 14-13 KV served out, then Ally did one of her dinks over on the second hit when everyone was expecting a set. A back-row flat-footed kill by Ally was sandwiched by hitting errors by KV. KV took their second time out, which apparently is the "running" time out, as their coach had them running sprints from sideline to sideline during the timeout. It didn't help, as Ally pounded two more down from the back row, then moved to the front row for another two kills. On game point, Faith and Ally stuffed a KV hit - 25-15, CCS. We were sort of in control of most of the second set, but we could never get more than a four-point lead. Mandi, Olivia and Stephanie were getting more kills in this game and Faith had a nice block, but at 20-16, CCS, KV got their slide working and their six-footer began to put some balls down. We would only scored one more point, while KV had kill after kill, eventually scoring six of them in their last nine points. Through in three Patriot errors and KV had game two, 25-21. Set three would only be to fifteen, so whoever got the hot start would have a big advantage. Advantage, CCS. KV scored the first point, but a dink kill by Ally answered it. Then an ace by Cassie, a nice block by Ally and Faith and a KV hitting error made it 4-1. KV scored three of the next five on two kills and a CCS net violation which made it 6-4. The next KV serve was bad, which opened up the floodgates. Olivia followed with her most emphatic kill of the day, causing Kankakee to call their second time out. It didn't help. Stephanie scored on a dink (net violation, KV), Ally put another second hit/set to the hole in the middle of the defense, Stephanie got another dink, Ally served two aces, and a KV hitting error made it 14-4. A mini-LGFS ensued, but after a couple of points, Ally shot a set to the back corner which fell, and the tournament was Calumet's. Again.
We like to see new teams when we go to these tournaments, but the two teams in our pool were a team we had beaten already (Gavit) and another we would play later in the season (Hebron). The first game was against Gavit, who we beat at the Argo tournament to open the season. This time was a little tougher, at least the first set, but the girls got the job done. The Patriots opened with a seven-point run, with Faith getting a block and a kill, two kills from Ally, and three Gavit errors. That set the pattern for the whole game, with some good play by CCS, including a nice block by Ally on game point, adding to poor play by Gavit, leading to a 25-13 Patriot victory. Game two was a struggle. The match stayed close early on. Both teams had success hitting until a couple of Gavit hitting errors gave the Patriots a 10-7 lead. Gavit stormed back with a block followed by two aces to tie it up. CCS pulled back into the lead at 15-12. We served it into the net, then Gavit ran off four straight errors. Our errors plus some solid hitting by Gavit allowed them to get to within two, but a dink kill by Olivia stopped the streak, and Mandi closed out the 25-19 clincher on a kill off an over-pass.
The girls started flat against Hebron, a seemingly inferior opponent. A questionable call on a second-hit dink by Ally gave Hebron a 4-0 lead. Kaylie stopped this run with kill from her libero position. We seemed to have a hard time picking up their medium-speed hits, and the resulting kills prevented the Patriots from quickly getting back into the game. Finally, down 10-7, the girls scored four in a row - kill by Olivia, ace from Lee, kill by Mandi, and a back-row kill from Ally. Hebron tied it on the next point, and then tied it again at 13, but CCS took control at that point. One remarkable sequence had Ally scoring four points in row on dink kills, then after a Hebron point, threw one more in for good measure. Mandi followed that with two aces, Hebron scored one more point, and the girls had a 25-15 set win. We made a lot of errors early on in set two, allowing Hebron to stay close. The score was tied at nine when CCS took over. They scored nine in a row, including three aces by Kaylie and four hitting errors by Hebron. We made a few errors which allowed Hebron to get to within seven, but at 24-14 Olivia found a hole with a dink and we were on to the top pool.
The tournament format was such that after the first round of pool play, the teams were put in pools based on where they finished in their pool. North Judson and Kankakee Valley were the other two first place teams. North Judson was our first opponent, and they were looking pretty good. They gave Kankakee Valley a good game, and we were looking at a tough match to get into the championship.
I thought something was strange when the teams got started, and then realized their best player, #13, was not out there. Was it an injury? Discipline issue? I didn't know. North Judson appeared very listless and disinterested while the Patriots jumped out to a 13-3 lead and gradually added to it until a NJ serving error ended it at 25-10. I started asking around about their missing player, and there was some word about a car accident. We made a lot of errors early in game two to keep North Judson in it, but at 12-9 CCS North Judson started making a lot of errors of their own and we began to pull away. Two consecutive Ally aces closed it out at 25-13. We then found out the star player's close friend had just been killed in a car accident, which explained her absence and the distracted play of the remaining players. Some of our girls asked to pray with some of theirs, and the offer was gratefully received.
Once again Kankakee Valley would be our opponent in the championship game. Although this wasn't a classic bracket championship game, it would be the game that decided who took home the trophy. At the outset it looked like a championship game. Strong play on both sides - KV hitting, our defense - and few errors made for some beautiful volleyball. Neither team had greater than a one-point lead until a KV ace made it 10-8, Kankakee Valley. We caught up again, and then at 11-11, a volley took place that seemed to take ten minutes. Great hitting by KV was offset by fantastic defense by the Patriots, with Mandi digging some blasts right to the setter, as well as Kaylie and Amanda. Finally Ally finished the most exciting point of the day with a dink that found the floor. That seemed to the the turning point. At 14-13 KV served out, then Ally did one of her dinks over on the second hit when everyone was expecting a set. A back-row flat-footed kill by Ally was sandwiched by hitting errors by KV. KV took their second time out, which apparently is the "running" time out, as their coach had them running sprints from sideline to sideline during the timeout. It didn't help, as Ally pounded two more down from the back row, then moved to the front row for another two kills. On game point, Faith and Ally stuffed a KV hit - 25-15, CCS. We were sort of in control of most of the second set, but we could never get more than a four-point lead. Mandi, Olivia and Stephanie were getting more kills in this game and Faith had a nice block, but at 20-16, CCS, KV got their slide working and their six-footer began to put some balls down. We would only scored one more point, while KV had kill after kill, eventually scoring six of them in their last nine points. Through in three Patriot errors and KV had game two, 25-21. Set three would only be to fifteen, so whoever got the hot start would have a big advantage. Advantage, CCS. KV scored the first point, but a dink kill by Ally answered it. Then an ace by Cassie, a nice block by Ally and Faith and a KV hitting error made it 4-1. KV scored three of the next five on two kills and a CCS net violation which made it 6-4. The next KV serve was bad, which opened up the floodgates. Olivia followed with her most emphatic kill of the day, causing Kankakee to call their second time out. It didn't help. Stephanie scored on a dink (net violation, KV), Ally put another second hit/set to the hole in the middle of the defense, Stephanie got another dink, Ally served two aces, and a KV hitting error made it 14-4. A mini-LGFS ensued, but after a couple of points, Ally shot a set to the back corner which fell, and the tournament was Calumet's. Again.
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