Every championship, no matter the similarity in outcome, has its own characteristics. Every championship, no matter the similarities in the path to get there, has its own unique joys. For some reason, though we have done this now five times in a row and beat the same team the last three, this one was very satisfying - and a lot of fun. Maybe it was because the girls bounced back after a really rough stretch in the second set. Maybe it was just the enjoyment of watching a tough-minded team come through yet again in the clutch. Perhaps it's appreciation of sustained excellence. Whatever it was, the reaction of the people involved, especially the parents, was as if this was the first one.
Well, maybe the second.
Let my try to give you some perspective: the first championship team had my daughter on the roster. You know, the married one with the college degree who is currently working for a large CPA firm and is in the process of purchasing a house. Faith Rohn was a sophomore. In high school. Coach Carr hadn't thought about retiring. Well, not seriously anyway.
Now for some statistics. In the last five tournaments, the Patriots are 42-0. In sets, their record is 84-4. This was the first year in the streak that CCS lost more than one set. Points? 1,945 to 1,048. The Patriots have defeated twenty-seven different teams since they last lost. The team that they beat the most times? A tie between Indy Silver Lightning and Crossroads Crusaders, five times each. In addition to the three championship games, the Patriots defeated them in pool play in 2009 and 2010. They were 19-0 against teams from Indiana, 18-0 against teams from Illinois and 5-0 against teams from Michigan. Homeschool teams were victims 22 times and schools, 20. Overall the Patriots are on a 59-set winning streak. The last time they lost in pool play was in 2008 and it was the first pool play game of the tournament.
The tournament this year seemed to be more of a case of the haves and the have-nots. In my estimation there were three elite teams, four teams a notch below, and then mediocrity at best. I do my best in seeding, but with little information available about a lot of the teams and not knowing the level of competition, it can be a guessing game. Thankfully this year the three top teams were in different pools and the other four were spread around. In our pool, we had one of the second-tier teams: newcomer Christ the King, a homeschool team from Ann Arbor, MI. We cruised through the first six sets, giving up a total of 25 points. CTK was our fourth pool game. As the competition was several steps up from the earlier games, it took the girls a little while to get acclimated. They struggled with serve receive and defense in general as the Jaguars took an 8-7 lead. The Patriots righted themselves behind good hitting from Ally, Faith and Mandi, outscoring CTK 14-5 the rest of the way for a 21-13 win. Game two couldn't have been more different. Kills, aces and blocks proliferated as CCS took the game to the Jaguars, storming out to a 15-1 lead. A rare LGFS ensued, however, with the Patriots committing several error while the two big hitters from CTK regained their rhythm and put several kills down. However, at 19-10, two hits of theirs found the net and the Patriots were 8-0 in pool play. In the last pool play match of the night, the Patriots (of Calumet Christian) dominated the Patriots (of Rivertown Christian), 21-9, 21-8.
Late Saturday we found out who the bracket opener opponent would be: Indy Silver Lightning. Their young but very talented setter had gotten hurt in bracket play and the coach said that should would not be playing on Saturday. He was wrong. Their full squad would be facing us after they had defeated Heritage Hall in the first round (CCS had a bye.) Our difficulty in blocking and digging allowed the Silver Lightning to hang around, only trailing 16-13 after an ace. That was the last time it was close. Our hitting, blocking and serving picked up and the girls finished 9-1 to close out game one, 25-14. Game two followed the pattern against CTK, with the Patriots flying out to a 15-4 lead, Serve receive was again a struggle, but the game was never in doubt and the Patriots closed out the quarterfinal win, 25-17.
Fort Wayne Black, one of the three elite teams there would be our semifinal opponent, after they dispatched Heritage Christian in a very well played, exciting three-set match. Early on, our blocking was strong while Ally and Faith did some damage at the net, and the Patriots opened up an 18-10 lead. FW got their hitting going at this point and eventually pulled to within four at 22-18. Their own serving errors stopped their momentum, as the last one gave the set to CCS at 25-19. The Falcons really started pounding the ball and blocking much better in the second set. The game was even at 7 when we muffed a set and then they stuffed us twice. Shortly thereafter they ran off some kills and pulled ahead 16-10. Their serving woes kept us in the game as they kept killing their own momentum with serves into the net. CCS just couldn't get their game together. Coming out of a timeout, the team let a ball drop between them which put them down 20-13. Lauren and Faith each had a kill and a block down the stretch, but it wasn't enough as the Falcons finished with yet another kill and won game two 25-19. Game three started out with Ally crushing the ball and the Patriots moving out to a 5-1 lead. The Falcons never challenged and the game ended kill, Ally; kill, Faith; kill, Ally. 15-7 Patriots and on to the finals.
Surprise, surprise. Our old friends the Crossroads Crusaders. Big, powerful but a little uneven Crossroads Crusaders. The only non-public school team that we play regularly that gives a tough game. As mentioned in the Facebook post, they have one girl already committed to Nebraska and have won the national homeschool volleyball tournament two years running. Ally came out on fire. Two kills and two blocks in the first six points to give the Patriots the early 4-2 lead. They made some errors and we got kills from Mandi and Faith as the lead grew to 10-5. The big hits, as we knew they would, started coming from the powerful Crusaders and the pulled to with two at 11-9. The lead was three at 15-12 when Crossroads started teeing off again. Four kills by their #3 and another from the back row by #21 and Crossroads led 17-16. They led 21-18 when Ally teed off on a couple and a couple of theirs went into the net. The second one of those put CCS up 23-22 which Ally followed with a back row kill. Faith stepped up with a kill from the middle to finish off the comeback, 25-22. Game two went kind of the same way. Their two big hitters were crushing the ball, which Ally was matching nearly hit-for-hit. Lauren scored a kill which tied the game at 13, but that was the last time we would be ahead or tied in that set. After getting back to with one at 17-16 with back row kill by Ally, The Patriot wouldn't score again. Our blocking broke down as did our serve receive as the Crusaders ran off eight straight points to take the set, 25-16 and the momentum. Ally stepped though in game three. Her stuff blocks, kills and aces totaled six as CCS opened up a 10-3 lead and it looked like the Patriots would cruise in game three as they did in the semis. Uncharacteristic errors plus smart ball placement on kills and dinks by Crossroads enable them to score six straight to get to within one. A dink kill by Mandi slowed them down, but a hit past the back line followed by a kill by #3 tied it up. Faith scored on a kill, but their #21 responded with two kills take the lead. Ally scored from the back row to tie it again. A most inopportune serve into the net gave the Crusaders the lead again. Ally tied it up, but then a ball into the net gave Crossroads the game point. Ally found the floor with a kill to give CCS life, then did it again to give CCS the game point. Their #3 tied it up at 16 with a back row kill. With Ally in the back row and Faith on the bench, Lauren stepped up. Two straight middle hit kills, the second deflecting off a defender and then falling in a slow arc toward the Crusader bench with defenders vainly chasing. The ball hit the floor and the Patriots were champions once again.
And it never gets old.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Nothing lasts forever though sometimes it seems like it does and oftentimes feels like it should...
...and there is my longest post title ever.
Calumet Christian volleyball over the last four or five years exudes a certain sense of inevitability. Pretty much with the exception of Lafayette Central Catholic's tournament until this year and a few scattered regular season games, CCS wins. The sense becomes that because they have won, they will always win. Past becomes prologue and all that. So when they don't, when they don't win a tournament that they have won the last three years, it is a shock. I find myself shaking my head when thinking about what happened yesterday, as if to clear my mind of a thought, an impression that isn't quite right, not exactly accurate.
Yet there it is. CCS lost in a championship game.
Even when the Patriots were squeaking by Crossroads in the championship game of our tournament, or when we have to go to a second match to defeat Carroll Christian in the D1 championship at NACA, I each time had such a sense of inevitability that the Melinda would again be wondering to whom to give the trophy.
The strange thing about yesterday was that the girls were barely tested through the first seven sets that they played, including the first set against Kankakee Valley in the championship match. The most points they gave up to that point was seventeen. The average score was 25-13.3. They even led 14-9 in the second set against KV. Then the wheels came off. Let me quickly summarize how we got there.
There's not much creativity at KV, apparently. Same nine teams as last year. Same format. And ridiculously, the same teams in our pool as last year - Gavit and Hebron. Gavit was our first opponent and went down about as easily as they did at the Argos tournament. It was early, so our girls struggled to start, but at 12-10 the strung six points together to open up a comfortable lead which they turned into a 25-15 win. And as they have done may times already this year, after struggling early in game one, they opened up a big lead and then maintained it though the end of the 25-14 set two victory.
After a long break during which we enjoyed delicious chicken tacos (thank you Lisa!) we wandered over to the "auxiliary gym" - amazing what you can build when you have the power to tax. Hebron, former KV tournament opponent and future regular season opponent was our second pool play opponent. We have never had much trouble with them. We still have not had much trouble. Hebron did not make a lot of errors; the Patriots made almost none. There was no lull; the girls pushed the lead out to ten and then scored the last six to close out the 25-9 win. Game two was a mirror-image, as they scored the last four to close out the set and match win, 25-10.
Reseeding ensued, with the first place teams placed in one pool, out of which the champion would be determined. Griffith was the first opponent in the new pool configuration. We played Griffith last two years ago in this tournament when Griffith had a star player and were pretty good. They don't have that player anymore. They aren't very good. Better than Hebron, but not much. When Mandi scored her fourth ace, CCS led 8-0. Griffith called a time out after a "bump kill" by Ally (yes, that's for you Nathalie if you still read these) that made it 9-3. It didn't help. Calumet cruised to a 25-13 game one win. We got sloppy in the early part of game and Griffith picked up their offense. All that meant was that the game was close. The Patriots never trailed after going out in front 6-5, but the lead was only one several times and was only 17-15 when the girls took control. They served long, Faith got a kill, they fumbled a return, then Mandi and Faith stuff-blocked a kill attempt. Griffith scratched out a couple more points, but that was it and CCS was in the championship game.
Against KV. Again. For the fourth time in a row, it was KV vs. CCS for the championship of the KV invitational, as KV had also defeated Griffith. Each championship game had been competitive; the last two years the match went to three games. Each time, however, the host team always seemed to fold when the pressure was on. This year, they had a new coach, and I think that made a big difference. Strangely, the match started with one of the most one-sided sets between these two teams. Two kills by Ally and two kills by Mandi mixed in with KV hitting one into the net made a 5-4 game a 10-4 one. A series of dinks dropped for the Patriots and when KV hit one wide, the lead was up to 18-8. CCS maintained that lead and after the two teams exchanged serving errors, KV hit one long and the Patriots took game one handily, 25-15. There were no big runs in the second game, but the Patriots led early. KV caught up at 7, but the girls regained control. Faith put one down to give CCS that 14-9 lead. KV then scored five of the next six to pull within one. Calumet got the next two with a kill by Ally and a hitting error by KV, but KV followed this with two kills and an ace and tied it up. KV's two big hitters then strung together several hits that we could neither handle at the net nor the back line to lead by three. KV then served into the net and Faith and Ally and both got kills to tie it at 22. Two big blocks by KV ensued to put them on the brink and they didn't waste time, finishing us off with a big kill.
On to game three, where we beat KV the last two years (the first year was a two-game sweep). KV picked up where they left off, with several big hits. One of them came after what might have been the longest volley of the year in which we were involved, with big saves and digs by both teams. KV lead 5-2 when Ally strung together two kills and then teamed with Lauren to stuff a kill attempt to tie it up. Their #21, perhaps the best player we've seen this year (not on our team, of course). crushed one to break the tie. She and Ally traded kills, the teams traded errors and and then Faith scored on a solo block to tie it at 8. We hit one long, they stuffed us and then they dropped a serve right into the middle of the defense that no one could get a hand on. 11-8. Faith then book-ended kills around kill by KV to pull the Patriots to within 12-10. A Patriot hitting error was followed by a kill by Ally, but then they put one down to get to championship point. Ally delayed that for a moment with another kill, but just for a moment. KV scored with one more kill. We got a block on it but the ball fell on our side and that was it. KV had won for the first time in their own tournament since we have been attending. To use a phrase this Cubs fan knows very well, Wait 'til next year.
I was out of town this past weekend, so I wasn't able to attend the big matches on Friday and Saturday. Congrats to the girls for pulling out a big win against the two-time defending national homeschool champs, Crossroads Crusaders!!. It was a shame that the only place Lake Central could squeeze in a match against us into their schedule was at 10AM on the day after this match, but Coach has been trying to get them on our schedule and was not going to turn the opportunity, even if it wasn't an ideal time. It was tough to lose, but hopefully the Patriots can turn things around when they travel down to DeMotte on Tuesday to play Covenant Christian.
Calumet Christian volleyball over the last four or five years exudes a certain sense of inevitability. Pretty much with the exception of Lafayette Central Catholic's tournament until this year and a few scattered regular season games, CCS wins. The sense becomes that because they have won, they will always win. Past becomes prologue and all that. So when they don't, when they don't win a tournament that they have won the last three years, it is a shock. I find myself shaking my head when thinking about what happened yesterday, as if to clear my mind of a thought, an impression that isn't quite right, not exactly accurate.
Yet there it is. CCS lost in a championship game.
Even when the Patriots were squeaking by Crossroads in the championship game of our tournament, or when we have to go to a second match to defeat Carroll Christian in the D1 championship at NACA, I each time had such a sense of inevitability that the Melinda would again be wondering to whom to give the trophy.
The strange thing about yesterday was that the girls were barely tested through the first seven sets that they played, including the first set against Kankakee Valley in the championship match. The most points they gave up to that point was seventeen. The average score was 25-13.3. They even led 14-9 in the second set against KV. Then the wheels came off. Let me quickly summarize how we got there.
There's not much creativity at KV, apparently. Same nine teams as last year. Same format. And ridiculously, the same teams in our pool as last year - Gavit and Hebron. Gavit was our first opponent and went down about as easily as they did at the Argos tournament. It was early, so our girls struggled to start, but at 12-10 the strung six points together to open up a comfortable lead which they turned into a 25-15 win. And as they have done may times already this year, after struggling early in game one, they opened up a big lead and then maintained it though the end of the 25-14 set two victory.
After a long break during which we enjoyed delicious chicken tacos (thank you Lisa!) we wandered over to the "auxiliary gym" - amazing what you can build when you have the power to tax. Hebron, former KV tournament opponent and future regular season opponent was our second pool play opponent. We have never had much trouble with them. We still have not had much trouble. Hebron did not make a lot of errors; the Patriots made almost none. There was no lull; the girls pushed the lead out to ten and then scored the last six to close out the 25-9 win. Game two was a mirror-image, as they scored the last four to close out the set and match win, 25-10.
Reseeding ensued, with the first place teams placed in one pool, out of which the champion would be determined. Griffith was the first opponent in the new pool configuration. We played Griffith last two years ago in this tournament when Griffith had a star player and were pretty good. They don't have that player anymore. They aren't very good. Better than Hebron, but not much. When Mandi scored her fourth ace, CCS led 8-0. Griffith called a time out after a "bump kill" by Ally (yes, that's for you Nathalie if you still read these) that made it 9-3. It didn't help. Calumet cruised to a 25-13 game one win. We got sloppy in the early part of game and Griffith picked up their offense. All that meant was that the game was close. The Patriots never trailed after going out in front 6-5, but the lead was only one several times and was only 17-15 when the girls took control. They served long, Faith got a kill, they fumbled a return, then Mandi and Faith stuff-blocked a kill attempt. Griffith scratched out a couple more points, but that was it and CCS was in the championship game.
Against KV. Again. For the fourth time in a row, it was KV vs. CCS for the championship of the KV invitational, as KV had also defeated Griffith. Each championship game had been competitive; the last two years the match went to three games. Each time, however, the host team always seemed to fold when the pressure was on. This year, they had a new coach, and I think that made a big difference. Strangely, the match started with one of the most one-sided sets between these two teams. Two kills by Ally and two kills by Mandi mixed in with KV hitting one into the net made a 5-4 game a 10-4 one. A series of dinks dropped for the Patriots and when KV hit one wide, the lead was up to 18-8. CCS maintained that lead and after the two teams exchanged serving errors, KV hit one long and the Patriots took game one handily, 25-15. There were no big runs in the second game, but the Patriots led early. KV caught up at 7, but the girls regained control. Faith put one down to give CCS that 14-9 lead. KV then scored five of the next six to pull within one. Calumet got the next two with a kill by Ally and a hitting error by KV, but KV followed this with two kills and an ace and tied it up. KV's two big hitters then strung together several hits that we could neither handle at the net nor the back line to lead by three. KV then served into the net and Faith and Ally and both got kills to tie it at 22. Two big blocks by KV ensued to put them on the brink and they didn't waste time, finishing us off with a big kill.
On to game three, where we beat KV the last two years (the first year was a two-game sweep). KV picked up where they left off, with several big hits. One of them came after what might have been the longest volley of the year in which we were involved, with big saves and digs by both teams. KV lead 5-2 when Ally strung together two kills and then teamed with Lauren to stuff a kill attempt to tie it up. Their #21, perhaps the best player we've seen this year (not on our team, of course). crushed one to break the tie. She and Ally traded kills, the teams traded errors and and then Faith scored on a solo block to tie it at 8. We hit one long, they stuffed us and then they dropped a serve right into the middle of the defense that no one could get a hand on. 11-8. Faith then book-ended kills around kill by KV to pull the Patriots to within 12-10. A Patriot hitting error was followed by a kill by Ally, but then they put one down to get to championship point. Ally delayed that for a moment with another kill, but just for a moment. KV scored with one more kill. We got a block on it but the ball fell on our side and that was it. KV had won for the first time in their own tournament since we have been attending. To use a phrase this Cubs fan knows very well, Wait 'til next year.
I was out of town this past weekend, so I wasn't able to attend the big matches on Friday and Saturday. Congrats to the girls for pulling out a big win against the two-time defending national homeschool champs, Crossroads Crusaders!!. It was a shame that the only place Lake Central could squeeze in a match against us into their schedule was at 10AM on the day after this match, but Coach has been trying to get them on our schedule and was not going to turn the opportunity, even if it wasn't an ideal time. It was tough to lose, but hopefully the Patriots can turn things around when they travel down to DeMotte on Tuesday to play Covenant Christian.
Monday, September 2, 2013
I knew I left this blog somewhere.....
So, where were we? Oh yes, we left off at the end of last season, so I guess it's time to pick things up again, since apparently another season has started. So here we go.
When we last saw the Calumet Christian Patriots, they were celebrating yet another national championship at NACA, I believe the third D1 championship in a row. This was the sixth tournament championship of the year - Argos, Kankakee Valley, Calumet, Quentin Road, ICST and NACA. So of course one of the goals for the new season will be to defend the championships. But wait - we weren't invited back to one of them. It must be KV, right? We had beaten them the last three years in the championship of their own tournament, they were a public school, their coach didn't like us much? Nope, not that one. Perhaps it was Argos, where the competition was pretty weak and we didn't really fit in there. Nope, wrong again. Well, maybe it was ICST, where we had had some differences with the people that ran it and maybe they got fed up with us pointing out some unfairness in the way the tournament was set up. Nope, not that one either. Quentin Road, a tournament that CCS had been in for many years, a tournament that was our favorite to go, one in which we had some epic battles on the court but got along with the people that ran it very well - yes, that one.
Most of you know what went on with that. Essentially it boiled down to that they didn't want us winning their tournament for the fifth year in a row. Whether or not that is a valid reason is debatable(shouldn't a team be able to defend their title? should excellence be punished?); the way they told us is not. We were told that they were scaling the tournament way down, lowering the level of play because their team was very young and inexperienced. And they told us this right before the season was to start. A few phone calls revealed that every other team was going to be returning, including the team that took one set from us and the one that challenged us in the final. We were lied to. And to not tell us until the season had started and it would be very difficult to schedule anything to replace it, that makes it even more sordid. So we won't be able to see the friends that we only see there, and sadly, the tradition of skipping up the entry road is abruptly ended.
Anyway, on to the games. After an opening win over Community Baptist was accomplished without Ally, who tweaked her shoulder at camp and was kept out for precautionary reasons. The win probably could have been accomplished without the entire varsity team as the Patriots rolled 25-15, 25-12, 25-7. It was a good warmup for the first tournament of the year, at Argos High somewhere in the hinterlands of Indiana. We won easily last year and the same teams were back this year - us, Hammond Gavit, Goshen Blue Blazers and the host team. Gavit was our first and toughest opponent. The girls were completely out of sorts in the first set. Primarily due to their errors, the fell behind 12-3. Coach reluctantly put Ally in. Just her presence seemed to settle the team down. They caught them at 18 and roared past them on the way to 25-19 game win. They had no problem in the second and cruised to a 25-12 win, with Ally on the bench. Against the hosts in the second game they started slowly again but this time Coach did not put Ally in. At 17-17 they ran off five straight, then held off the Dragons in the 25-22 win. Again they had little trouble in the second game, winning 25-14. The last game against Goshen Blue Blazers was then for the win. Again they had the easier time in the second game, but this time the first game wasn't really ever in doubt. After CCS got out to a 12-8 lead, Goshen never got closer in the 25-19 win. The second was their easiest of the day - 25-11. 2013 trophy #1 was checked off the list.
The first real challenge of the year was the next game, against Merrillville. Ally's shoulder was feeling better and so she was in the starting lineup. Merrillville has always been very athletic but a little ragged in their play. This year their defense was vastly improved - just not improved enough. Game one went back and forth, with Calumet getting a small lead and the Pirates catching up. CCS eventually took a 23-20 lead and it looked like they would wrap it up. However the Pirates found the holes with a couple of dinks, and then after a CCS hitting error, pounded one down. Now the Patriots were looking at a deficit. Ally stopped their run with a kill, but then a very sharply cut kill by Merrillville was followed by a dink by CCS that dropped just wide and Merrillville, as they did last year, grabbed game one. The second game was even tighter. From the midpoint on, neither team had more than a two point lead. Eventually MHS want up 24-23, but Olivia crushed an overpass to tie it. Then it was error, CCS; kill, Ally, error CCS. But with Merrillville at game point again, Ally dinked it twice where they couldn't return it, then Faith made a big block and CCS won set two, 28-26. That seemed to get the Patriots settled. They led 6-5 in game three and never relinquished the lead, eventually taking game three, 25-19. That seemed to take the life out of the Pirates, and they made a lot of errors in the 25-12 game four clincher.
Last week the Patriots went out to Schaumburg and beat them without Ally again who was resting her shoulder. CCS did drop game one against the scrappy opponents, but won games two and three easily (Illinois plays best-of-three matches). The biggest news of the match was that Olivia hurt her knee. I wasn't at the game, but when I heard about it, it brought me back to 2009 when Kara broke her wrist in the first match of the year. Hopefully we will get good news in a couple of weeks and she can get back to playing again. Without both Ally and Olivia, the girls had a rematch against the Goshen Blue Blazers. The remaining players did well and managed to defeat the Blazers in three straight, although all of them were close - 26-24, 25-20, 25-23.
Saturday was the big day. Lafayette Central Catholic - the only tournament the Patriots have played in more than once that they haven't won, the tournament that provided the toughest competition they face all year. To set the scene, CCS is placed in by far the toughest pool (CCS, Andrean, the #4 team in Class 1A and a 4A team that beat us last year), no Olivia, and not sure at what percent Ally would be playing. Andrean would be first up. We had beaten the 59ers the last two years at this tournament. In 2011, they were one of those we defeated in sweeping pool play. Last year they were the only team we beat in pool play. We always like to beat Andrean because the NWI Times favors them and it helps our rankings. This time we faced them without Olivia, which then involved some rotation changes. This combined with the fact that it was an early morning match did not bode well for the Patriots. That foreboding was accurate. CCS did stay with them until, tied at 6, Andrean went on an 11-2 run, fueled by their good hitting and our general poor play. Andrean increased the lead gradually from there, eventually winning 25-13. It looked like the Patriots made the adjustment to Olivia's absence and did their usual turnaround from the first game doldrums they suffered from all year. They led 4-1, 6-3, 9-5 and then 13-6. We got stuck in a tough rotation for us in which we had trouble generating offense. Andrean scored six in a row. CCS pushed the lead back to five at 20-15, but then that tough rotation came around again. We couldn't generate much offense and they were hitting on all cylinders offensively. Ten straight points and the Patriots were done, 25-20, thus ending their chances to win the tournament. Or so I thought.
Loogootee, the #4 ranked team in 1A in Indiana, was up next. The closest we had gotten to winning this tournment was in 2011 when we lost in three to Loogootee in the championship. They had height; one of our middles was out. A steep, uphill climb, one would think. One would be wrong. When Loogootee wasn't hitting it into the net, they were shanking serve receives. Everyone was hitting and everyone was blocking and after a Mandi ace it was 18-6. Then they woke up. They got within two at 19-17, then within one when we went into the net on a block at 24-23. Faith finally ended the drama with a nice kill. The second game started like the first - Calumet eventually taking a 18-8 lead. No fading this time. Mandi finished this one with a kill, a 25-14 victory.
We then watched Andrean play Loogootee. It dawned on us that if Loogootee beat Andrean, those two teams and we would be 2-1 in pool play as long as we took care of business against West Lafayetee. Since there would be three-way tie, the head-to-head tiebreaker wouldn't be valid, so it would go to least points given up. Our hope then was that Loogootee would win in close games, preferably in three. We got our hope. Loogootee won in two, but Andrean scored more than twenty in both games. We quickly totaled the points to see how many we could give up yet still win the tie breaker. The number was 27. 28 and we tie, 27 and we go to the championship. 33 and we finish third in the pool.
West Lafayette, the weakest team in the pool, was our opponent. They made their share of errors, but we were playing well too. The lead gradually grew throughout the game, although when WL scored two in a row, we all held our breath. The lead was 12-4, 16-6, then 21-10. WL cooperated by putting three hits into the net over the next four points, the other coming on a kill by Ally. 25-10, and we could give up 17 in the second and still make to the championship game. The girls thought they would add drama in this game. The girls made several hitting errors and just looked like they thought they were already in. But after a dink kill by WL which gave them the lead, 9-8, Faith turned the momentum with a kill. This began a run of seven straight which turned into a 12-1 run. After one more WL score, Ally ended the 25-11 win with three blocks (one solo, two assists) and two kills. Points given up: 21. Place we would be playing for: 1st. We confirmed that with the tournament official (who was dealing with a whining Andrean coach) and then found out we would be playing the host team, #7 in 1A, Lafayette Central Catholic.
The opening game went very similarly to the first Loogootee game. Ally powered the team early, then Faith took over and the lead got up to 16-10. Their tough little (5'6"? 5'7"?) lefthanded sophomore hitter started pounding the ball and our play got a little uneven. Eventually the Knights caught the Patriots at 23. Again Faith came through. First a kill, then a nice block with Ally gave the girls the game 1 win, 25-23. We fell behind 4-1 as they came out firing. The Patriots pulled even, then stayed even with LCC to the set's midpoint. Their power game was working well, and after a block and kill they pushed their lead to 21-16. A Faith kill (sound familiar? sound like 2011?) put one down, but that was it for the Patriots. LCC finished the 25-17 game two win with two kills. Game three, which would be to fifteen, started poorly. Ally opened then scoring, but LCC answered with two kills, then a serve dropped between two CCS defenders. Another defensive lapse let to another ace. 5-1, LCC. Ally blocked a kill attempt, the got the same treatment from LCC's blockers. Ally put one down, then after a scramble we went into the net. Ally dinked one to the floor, they hit into the net, then Ally scored from the back row. Grace then stuff-blocked a Knight kill attempt and it was tied at seven. The down ref then made a call on the next point after consulting with the up ref that LCC went into the net, but the Knights answered with a nice cross-court kill. We hit one into the net; they served one into the net. They got a kill that hit our block and dropped staight down on our side. A Patriot dink attempt went wide. Faith put one down, then their #6 crushed one. At 12-10, our kill attempt got stuffed;13-10. We caught a break when then served into the net. Ally killed one to bring CCS to within one. They matched that kill to get to championship point, 14-12. Yet another Faith kill put that off for one more point. Then inexplicably they attempted a slide, which I don't think they tried that more than once or twice all match. It went into the net and the game was tied again. Lauren found a hole just over the block down the line. The final point, memorialized in video on Facebook, most of you have seen. A nice save by Cassie to pull the ball out of the net was hit hard by Ally. The middle defender got a hand on it but it went up behind and the the right of her. The attempt to chase it down was futile and the CCS Patriots were the champions of the 2013 LCC Invitational, something none of the great teams of the last four years were able to do.
When we last saw the Calumet Christian Patriots, they were celebrating yet another national championship at NACA, I believe the third D1 championship in a row. This was the sixth tournament championship of the year - Argos, Kankakee Valley, Calumet, Quentin Road, ICST and NACA. So of course one of the goals for the new season will be to defend the championships. But wait - we weren't invited back to one of them. It must be KV, right? We had beaten them the last three years in the championship of their own tournament, they were a public school, their coach didn't like us much? Nope, not that one. Perhaps it was Argos, where the competition was pretty weak and we didn't really fit in there. Nope, wrong again. Well, maybe it was ICST, where we had had some differences with the people that ran it and maybe they got fed up with us pointing out some unfairness in the way the tournament was set up. Nope, not that one either. Quentin Road, a tournament that CCS had been in for many years, a tournament that was our favorite to go, one in which we had some epic battles on the court but got along with the people that ran it very well - yes, that one.
Most of you know what went on with that. Essentially it boiled down to that they didn't want us winning their tournament for the fifth year in a row. Whether or not that is a valid reason is debatable(shouldn't a team be able to defend their title? should excellence be punished?); the way they told us is not. We were told that they were scaling the tournament way down, lowering the level of play because their team was very young and inexperienced. And they told us this right before the season was to start. A few phone calls revealed that every other team was going to be returning, including the team that took one set from us and the one that challenged us in the final. We were lied to. And to not tell us until the season had started and it would be very difficult to schedule anything to replace it, that makes it even more sordid. So we won't be able to see the friends that we only see there, and sadly, the tradition of skipping up the entry road is abruptly ended.
Anyway, on to the games. After an opening win over Community Baptist was accomplished without Ally, who tweaked her shoulder at camp and was kept out for precautionary reasons. The win probably could have been accomplished without the entire varsity team as the Patriots rolled 25-15, 25-12, 25-7. It was a good warmup for the first tournament of the year, at Argos High somewhere in the hinterlands of Indiana. We won easily last year and the same teams were back this year - us, Hammond Gavit, Goshen Blue Blazers and the host team. Gavit was our first and toughest opponent. The girls were completely out of sorts in the first set. Primarily due to their errors, the fell behind 12-3. Coach reluctantly put Ally in. Just her presence seemed to settle the team down. They caught them at 18 and roared past them on the way to 25-19 game win. They had no problem in the second and cruised to a 25-12 win, with Ally on the bench. Against the hosts in the second game they started slowly again but this time Coach did not put Ally in. At 17-17 they ran off five straight, then held off the Dragons in the 25-22 win. Again they had little trouble in the second game, winning 25-14. The last game against Goshen Blue Blazers was then for the win. Again they had the easier time in the second game, but this time the first game wasn't really ever in doubt. After CCS got out to a 12-8 lead, Goshen never got closer in the 25-19 win. The second was their easiest of the day - 25-11. 2013 trophy #1 was checked off the list.
The first real challenge of the year was the next game, against Merrillville. Ally's shoulder was feeling better and so she was in the starting lineup. Merrillville has always been very athletic but a little ragged in their play. This year their defense was vastly improved - just not improved enough. Game one went back and forth, with Calumet getting a small lead and the Pirates catching up. CCS eventually took a 23-20 lead and it looked like they would wrap it up. However the Pirates found the holes with a couple of dinks, and then after a CCS hitting error, pounded one down. Now the Patriots were looking at a deficit. Ally stopped their run with a kill, but then a very sharply cut kill by Merrillville was followed by a dink by CCS that dropped just wide and Merrillville, as they did last year, grabbed game one. The second game was even tighter. From the midpoint on, neither team had more than a two point lead. Eventually MHS want up 24-23, but Olivia crushed an overpass to tie it. Then it was error, CCS; kill, Ally, error CCS. But with Merrillville at game point again, Ally dinked it twice where they couldn't return it, then Faith made a big block and CCS won set two, 28-26. That seemed to get the Patriots settled. They led 6-5 in game three and never relinquished the lead, eventually taking game three, 25-19. That seemed to take the life out of the Pirates, and they made a lot of errors in the 25-12 game four clincher.
Last week the Patriots went out to Schaumburg and beat them without Ally again who was resting her shoulder. CCS did drop game one against the scrappy opponents, but won games two and three easily (Illinois plays best-of-three matches). The biggest news of the match was that Olivia hurt her knee. I wasn't at the game, but when I heard about it, it brought me back to 2009 when Kara broke her wrist in the first match of the year. Hopefully we will get good news in a couple of weeks and she can get back to playing again. Without both Ally and Olivia, the girls had a rematch against the Goshen Blue Blazers. The remaining players did well and managed to defeat the Blazers in three straight, although all of them were close - 26-24, 25-20, 25-23.
Saturday was the big day. Lafayette Central Catholic - the only tournament the Patriots have played in more than once that they haven't won, the tournament that provided the toughest competition they face all year. To set the scene, CCS is placed in by far the toughest pool (CCS, Andrean, the #4 team in Class 1A and a 4A team that beat us last year), no Olivia, and not sure at what percent Ally would be playing. Andrean would be first up. We had beaten the 59ers the last two years at this tournament. In 2011, they were one of those we defeated in sweeping pool play. Last year they were the only team we beat in pool play. We always like to beat Andrean because the NWI Times favors them and it helps our rankings. This time we faced them without Olivia, which then involved some rotation changes. This combined with the fact that it was an early morning match did not bode well for the Patriots. That foreboding was accurate. CCS did stay with them until, tied at 6, Andrean went on an 11-2 run, fueled by their good hitting and our general poor play. Andrean increased the lead gradually from there, eventually winning 25-13. It looked like the Patriots made the adjustment to Olivia's absence and did their usual turnaround from the first game doldrums they suffered from all year. They led 4-1, 6-3, 9-5 and then 13-6. We got stuck in a tough rotation for us in which we had trouble generating offense. Andrean scored six in a row. CCS pushed the lead back to five at 20-15, but then that tough rotation came around again. We couldn't generate much offense and they were hitting on all cylinders offensively. Ten straight points and the Patriots were done, 25-20, thus ending their chances to win the tournament. Or so I thought.
Loogootee, the #4 ranked team in 1A in Indiana, was up next. The closest we had gotten to winning this tournment was in 2011 when we lost in three to Loogootee in the championship. They had height; one of our middles was out. A steep, uphill climb, one would think. One would be wrong. When Loogootee wasn't hitting it into the net, they were shanking serve receives. Everyone was hitting and everyone was blocking and after a Mandi ace it was 18-6. Then they woke up. They got within two at 19-17, then within one when we went into the net on a block at 24-23. Faith finally ended the drama with a nice kill. The second game started like the first - Calumet eventually taking a 18-8 lead. No fading this time. Mandi finished this one with a kill, a 25-14 victory.
We then watched Andrean play Loogootee. It dawned on us that if Loogootee beat Andrean, those two teams and we would be 2-1 in pool play as long as we took care of business against West Lafayetee. Since there would be three-way tie, the head-to-head tiebreaker wouldn't be valid, so it would go to least points given up. Our hope then was that Loogootee would win in close games, preferably in three. We got our hope. Loogootee won in two, but Andrean scored more than twenty in both games. We quickly totaled the points to see how many we could give up yet still win the tie breaker. The number was 27. 28 and we tie, 27 and we go to the championship. 33 and we finish third in the pool.
West Lafayette, the weakest team in the pool, was our opponent. They made their share of errors, but we were playing well too. The lead gradually grew throughout the game, although when WL scored two in a row, we all held our breath. The lead was 12-4, 16-6, then 21-10. WL cooperated by putting three hits into the net over the next four points, the other coming on a kill by Ally. 25-10, and we could give up 17 in the second and still make to the championship game. The girls thought they would add drama in this game. The girls made several hitting errors and just looked like they thought they were already in. But after a dink kill by WL which gave them the lead, 9-8, Faith turned the momentum with a kill. This began a run of seven straight which turned into a 12-1 run. After one more WL score, Ally ended the 25-11 win with three blocks (one solo, two assists) and two kills. Points given up: 21. Place we would be playing for: 1st. We confirmed that with the tournament official (who was dealing with a whining Andrean coach) and then found out we would be playing the host team, #7 in 1A, Lafayette Central Catholic.
The opening game went very similarly to the first Loogootee game. Ally powered the team early, then Faith took over and the lead got up to 16-10. Their tough little (5'6"? 5'7"?) lefthanded sophomore hitter started pounding the ball and our play got a little uneven. Eventually the Knights caught the Patriots at 23. Again Faith came through. First a kill, then a nice block with Ally gave the girls the game 1 win, 25-23. We fell behind 4-1 as they came out firing. The Patriots pulled even, then stayed even with LCC to the set's midpoint. Their power game was working well, and after a block and kill they pushed their lead to 21-16. A Faith kill (sound familiar? sound like 2011?) put one down, but that was it for the Patriots. LCC finished the 25-17 game two win with two kills. Game three, which would be to fifteen, started poorly. Ally opened then scoring, but LCC answered with two kills, then a serve dropped between two CCS defenders. Another defensive lapse let to another ace. 5-1, LCC. Ally blocked a kill attempt, the got the same treatment from LCC's blockers. Ally put one down, then after a scramble we went into the net. Ally dinked one to the floor, they hit into the net, then Ally scored from the back row. Grace then stuff-blocked a Knight kill attempt and it was tied at seven. The down ref then made a call on the next point after consulting with the up ref that LCC went into the net, but the Knights answered with a nice cross-court kill. We hit one into the net; they served one into the net. They got a kill that hit our block and dropped staight down on our side. A Patriot dink attempt went wide. Faith put one down, then their #6 crushed one. At 12-10, our kill attempt got stuffed;13-10. We caught a break when then served into the net. Ally killed one to bring CCS to within one. They matched that kill to get to championship point, 14-12. Yet another Faith kill put that off for one more point. Then inexplicably they attempted a slide, which I don't think they tried that more than once or twice all match. It went into the net and the game was tied again. Lauren found a hole just over the block down the line. The final point, memorialized in video on Facebook, most of you have seen. A nice save by Cassie to pull the ball out of the net was hit hard by Ally. The middle defender got a hand on it but it went up behind and the the right of her. The attempt to chase it down was futile and the CCS Patriots were the champions of the 2013 LCC Invitational, something none of the great teams of the last four years were able to do.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
