Each athlete contributed to the success of the team on Saturday.

Krystle Tsuda has developed into a strong outside hitter. Krystle is known for her phenomenal defensive saves, and this weekend was no exception. She has the ability to hit the floor and pop the ball into play at a moment's notice, and did so several times on Saturday. She has a quick approach, and a fast arm swing. She has also become a strong server, and has a great topspin on the ball on contact.

Jenna DeRosier has worked all season on perfecting her approach and her arm swing. You could see how successful her approach has made her this weekend. She was putting the ball down on every opportunity the setters gave her. She has also become a smart hitter, and can decide quickly whether to pound the ball, or to place it in the court. Her serve was consistent, and she was a force at the net.

Kiana Mawae let it all loose this tournament and rose to the challenge of becoming a leader in the outside hitter position. Kiana was extremely vocal this weekend, and it made a big difference in her play, and in the play of her teammates. Kiana also broke loose with her serves, and wowed spectators with her powerful floater. She had a strong showing with her serve receive, and her passing got us out of a few tight situations.

Carolyn Green…our passing machine! Carolyn's passing and free ball transition came to life this weekend. She has had a smile on her face all season long, and I saw it get bigger as she began passing the ball right to target. Her passing in the championship match strengthened our attack, and made the difference for us offensively. I was proud that she used her hands first on the free balls, and only passed if she had to. She was also following the ball to the edge of the court, and I could hear her scream in or out to her teammates this weekend.

Shantelle Savage had another strong showing this weekend. I have a still picture in my mind of when she stuffed the Nike setter on a dump attempt. It was almost as exciting as getting to do the Roofio cheer! Shantelle has proven herself a natural leader on the court, and she is constantly talking to her teammates on and off the court. Shantelle's attack is extremely consistent, and her serves this weekend were her strongest yet. She and Jenna were both very aggressive at the net, and the two of them had several overfeeds, and redirects.

Lana Nyman took off the Libero shirt and played both left back and outside for us at Regionals. She was impressive all around. She has a strong ability to motivate her teammates with her contagious positive attitude. She is a spark plug on and off the court. She had a few opportunities to serve, and was extremely consistent. She hit some wicked down balls from the back row that blew everyone away. Like Krystle, Lana has no fear in being aggressive.

Katie Sarysz had a great defensive weekend, and has greatly improved on her ability to react to what our opponents are doing. Katie picked up several free balls that were thrown our way. She has begun to communicate more on the court, and it is enabling her to get to the ball quicker, and to get set more often. Her high reach and quick snap allowed her to put the ball down. Katie, along with the middle blockers was a force at the net, and it helped our back row players a great deal.

Daisy Martin, despite missing six weeks of practice due to a broken wrist, had an impressive tournament. Daisy is very aggressive at the net, and she was getting up in the air and attempting to block anything our opponents sent our way. She also was talking to her setters on the court, and this gave her several opportunities to put the ball down. Daisy has a natural arm swing, and her ability to reach high and follow through with her swing makes the ball cross the net with heat. She also served well this weekend, and even though I would cringe when she had to pass the ball, Daisy did not hold back, and was passing aggressively.

Haley Gorton had a strong tournament. She was getting the ball to her hitters at all costs, and we were able to attack the ball a great deal because of her efforts. Despite our back row having lapses in their passing, she was working hard at squaring up, and it made a big difference for our hitters' success. Haley did a dazzling job serving the ball this weekend. She has really worked hard on improving her serve, and you could see a big difference this weekend in both her technique and her confidence when she would go to the line.

Danielle Gilchrist has been working hard on squaring up when setting. She saw this weekend how successful our hitters are when she gets her body turned. It was most visible in the championship match. We also rely on her serve a great deal, and she dug us out of a few tight spots with her consistency and power on the serving line. She is always hustling, talking, and smiling, and she is able to lead our team through her play.

I have had one of the best seasons ever coaching this team. The girls always gave it their all, and never gave up. They have worked hard at every practice, and have impressed a very demanding coaching crew. I would like to congratulate them on their successful season, and would like to thank the supportive parents of the 12's Black. I would also like to thank Kris Mawae and Kelly DeRosier for volunteering their time and efforts to help our athletes and our club succeed.

Krystle Tsuda had a great morning. Her serves were on, and her attack was the most aggressive I have seen from her yet. Krystle also made strides in her communication on Sunday. She is making talking, and following the ball to the end line, a habit. Her positive attitude on and off the court is a true attribute to our team.

Kiana Mawae grew as an outside hitter this weekend. She is beginning to take more chances with her swing. No one could touch her down balls this weekend, and when her serves were on … the other teams did not stand a chance. Kiana's communication, no fear attitude, and her big smile, helped her teammates in several close-call / intense situations.

Katie Sarysz was swinging hard this weekend, and we saw a number of kills from her (she has begun to demand the ball vocally from her setters). She also fought hard at the net, and redirected a few tight passes. The coaches were also impressed with Katie's transition after her serve. She was picking up passes from the other team that were flying over to us because of her serve!

Haley Gorton had an impressive all-around tournament. Not only did she run the offense physically, she began to lead the team vocally. Her teammates had more attack opportunities Sunday because of her hustle and drive. Haley was aggressive at the net, and had a few great tips/dumps. She also had a good serving tournament.

Shantelle Savage was a force in both the front and back row Sunday. She had several redirects at the net, and she really worked on trying to get some of the first ball contacts from our opponents back to her setters for a three hit attack (using an overhead pass). Shantelle also had a great serve receive/defensive tournament, and because she was always talking, we were able to get out of some confusing situations.

Lana Nyman got the job done this weekend passing. Not only was her serve receive on, but her defense was awesome as well. She picked up several tips and free balls from our opponents. She also started using her hands more on the first contact. Lana took off the Libero shirt one game and played on the outside. She did a good job!

Danielle Gilchrist was serving bullets on Sunday. She was definitely in a zone, and led our team in aces. She also set well this tournament. Danielle did a great job communicating with the passers, and like Haley, started to lead the team with her voice. Danielle played great defense, and helped with free ball transitions. She and Haley really communicated well with each other, and it made our offense more effective.

Jenna DeRosier was hot on defense, and came alive in the afternoon with her attack. Jenna was hitting the floor and grabbing touches on balls that normally would have dropped. In the afternoon pool, she began reaching and snapping high. When the sets started getting on the net, Jenna was able to take an approach and annihilated several balls. She too was intimidating at the net. She was jumping with the opponent's hitters, and began to control her body more at the net on a tight pass, which enabled her to keep the ball on their side.

I am so proud of our accomplishments at our last two tournaments. Yakima was our turning point. The girls have seen their potential, and I think the upward movement in Power League is going to continue. Thank you to our great supportive parents, who continue to encourage their daughters to grow as athletes, and as young women. Good job Black!

We experimented with the line up a bit and ran Jenna as a setter in the morning pool, with Haley and Danielle. Jenna has great upper body strength, and reacts to the ball well. Remembering the rotation however is our major challenge in this area for all of our setters. All three setters did a good job for us on Saturday. They are beginning to understand the concept of taking every second ball, no matter what, as we progress throughout the season. I think Danielle even dropped her shoulder into Shantelle as she pursued one of the passes! Haley is beginning to fully extend with her set, and the result is a more hittable ball.

Daisy and Shantelle shared the responsibility in the middle for the majority of the tournament. Shantelle had 14 kills for the day. You can see her reach high and snap on virtually every attempt. Daisy greatly improved her net play, and had a few strong redirects. There is so much to learn in this position, and the middles are constantly working at being a force for their team.

Krystle and Katie had a strong defensive weekend. They are starting to read more, and are picking up more of the first ball shanks from the other team. They are also starting to talk more on the court, which is really helping the team in becoming more of a unit.

Lana is our spark plug. She is always energetic on and off the court. Her positive attitude, and her work ethic are becoming contagious, and others are following her lead. She too is reacting to the ball much better, and her passing game is becoming more consistent.

Each tournament we get more competitive, and begin doing more things correctly. We need to improve on transitioning for free balls and attacks. Mentally, we have a tough time moving from pool play, where teams rarely return serve, serve over the net, or set the ball up, to the afternoon pool where serves are tough, they return our serves, and they usually use three hits. In addition, our serving errors tend to be heavier at the end of the day (when we become physically and mentally more tired), and it can really change our momentum (seven missed serves in the 2nd game vs. Nike). I am confident however that we will move up to the Silver Division after the next Power League Tournament, and we are looking forward to seeing a few new teams in Yakima this weekend.

This tournament was a good learning experience for the girls. They faced teams that set the ball up, and they faced teams that always sent the first ball over. The girls had to figure out quickly what type of opposition they faced, and adjust accordingly. I saw a great deal of growth and hustle this weekend, and was impressed by their fire, intensity, and their happy fingers! We have been working on our team communication and our technique. In the end, these skills will help us be more successful on the court.

Our serving was key for our afternoon matches. Haley was our most consistent server this weekend, and Katie and Krystal began to put some heat on their serves. Shantelle, Daisy and Jenna shared the workload in the middle this weekend, and will continue to do so throughout the year. They were always swinging aggressively, and they each began to demand the ball from their setter. It was fun to see the three of them work so hard. We had some great passing this weekend, which allowed the three setters, Danielle, Kiana, and Haley to effectively get the ball to our hitters. The setters were running strong, and they are beginning to understand their role on the team. They are talking much more, and that is giving their teammates more confidence. However, every now and then, things got tough in the passing area. I began to send in our Libero, Lana. She would hop in and out of the game whenever she was needed. It is cool to see someone (especially at this age level) to be so energetic and to sprint on and off the court every time. I have a team of hustlers, and my D.S., Carolyn not only hustles, but also is constantly cheering on and encouraging her teammates on and off the court.

Competing in the Bronze division will allow us to grow stronger as a team and to build on our existing skills. With hard work and determination, we will earn our way to the top. This is an awesome group of athletes, and they will be a strong contender all season.

Jenna DeRosier, Daisy Martin, and Shantelle Savage did a solid job in the middle for us. They were aggressive on the attack, and Jenna had a great touch on one of her block attempts. Katie Sarysz, Krystle Tsuda, Danielle Gilchrist, and Lana Nyman all got a taste as outside hitters. Each of them are quick to the ball, and have strong arm swings. It will be a heated competition for the starting spots. Lana also starred as our libero this weekend in our final match, and along with our quick and talkative defensive specialist Carolyn Green, the two played some great defense, and had strong service reception. Haley Gorton, Kiana Mawae, Shantelle, and Danielle all took turns in the setter spot. They all have great setting abilities and are natural leaders on the court. This too will be a position that is up for battle. We will combine not only their setting abilities, but their front row attack as well to determine who will best fit the role of setter/right side hitter.

I was extremely impressed with our passing abilities this weekend. This is a great group of athletes. They are hard workers and they are eager to learn... a lethal combination at any age level. Coach Mawae and I are confident that we will be a top contender this year.

Our next tournament is Power League on January 24, 2004.