Regionals Part 3

            The championship game. It all happened really fast, we won the semis and right away we were playing in the finals. That was our 3^rd game in a row and I think the game against CIS took a lot of energy away from us. In the finals we were playing IPVA, they came in ranked 5^th and they already had proved a lot of people wrong. They beat the #1 ranked team, Adrenaline in the semis. In the first set of our match against IPVA you could tell we were a little worn out. We let them get to many runs and put ourselves in a hole. We picked it up a lot at the end and fought back to tie it at 25. The score went back and forth until IPVA ended up winning 33-31. It sucked losing that game especially with the score being that close. In the second set we didn’t have our best game, and there were just a few big points for IPVA that I think took the momentum away from us. I don’t think we gave up but I think IPVA played consistently solid throughout the whole match. Not sure what the score was but we lost the second set. Props to them for going in ranked 5^th and winning it all. It was an awesome game, and overall awesome weekend.

            I think one thing I learned from that weekend was that if you truly believe that you can accomplish something, you will, but you can’t have the slightest doubt in your mind. I also think it is important for young players to know that making a goal and working hard everyday to achieve it and accomplishing that is the greatest feeling. But once you achieve 1 goal don’t just be satisfied with that. Make another one and go work for it.

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Regionals Part 2

            First set. Very tough battle, points were pretty much back and forth the whole time. In the middle of the set I remember thinking to myself we got this. The score was very close and I think we might have been losing, but we were playing so well and I could tell everyone wanted this so bad. Despite the pressure we were putting on ourselves we stayed calm and pushed for 1 point at a time, which I think was huge for us. I think CIS went into that game expecting to win and when we started to push ahead they played more uptight, afraid to make mistakes. We won the first set 26-24. I don’t really remember any certain plays or points I just remember feeling like we were playing the best we ever had.

            Second set. It was similar to the first game, in which the score was very close the whole time. The only things I remember in this set was when I stuff blocked probably their best hitter and just the atmosphere in the gym. I can’t even explain what it felt like. There were so many people watching us and it was such a fun and intense game to be apart of. I don’t even know what the final score was but I remember winning the last point and I immediately started crying. The next 5 minutes after that was so emotional for all of us because we had finally done it. We had accomplished our team goal of making it to nationals and it was the first time I had ever qualified. I was so excited, I will never forget that feeling. After that it was time for the championship game. At Iowa regionals there are 2 bids, 1^st place gets a USA bid and 2^nd place gets an American bid. After winning in the semis we had landed a spot in the finals at regionals with a chance to get a USA bid.

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Regionals Part 1

            Regionals. A bid to nationals is on the line and you are playing close to home. A lot of tough competition and only 2 teams get their ticket to nationals. Playing in your home state means playing in front of family and friends, which might be added pressure for some girls. Regionals can be fun and stressful at the same time. My experience at regionals this year was awesome.

            This year regionals was in Cedar Falls, which is about an hour away from my house and it is also where my team practices. So it felt kind of weird waking up in my own bed on the day of a national qualifier. Usually we are 5-15 hours away. Driving to Cedar Falls on that Saturday morning I had all kinds of emotions running through me. I was more nervous than usual and I think was because I knew that that was our best bet at qualifying. In the back of my head I was thinking about last season and what went down at regionals then. Last year we were put in a tough pool the first day and ended up getting 3rd in our pool and playing in the bronze bracket on Sunday. It just wasn't a good weekend for my team, but we are a whole different team this year and I knew we could do it. I just had this feeling. I wanted that bid so bad for so long I was going to do whatever it took to get it.

            On Saturday we were put in a pretty easy pool and won all 3 of our games in 2 sets. Sunday was going to be the real test of what my team could accomplish. I was pumped and I couldn't wait to go get that bid. On Sunday our first game wasn't until 10:00 so we got to sleep in a little but and that is always good. We played Rockets 17 Black in the quarterfinals, which was our first game. In the first set we started off kind of shaky but we fought back and didn't look back from there. We won in 2 sets and now faced CIS (Central Iowa Select) in the semi-finals, and the game to get a bid. The time was finally here, playing for the bid. We were so close I could taste it. We knew this game was going to be a battle, but we were up for it and we wanted revenge because we lost to them in pool play last year. I knew a couple girls from their team from High Performance and playing them in school season and they were a very talented team. We were going to have to play our best and not let up if we wanted to beat them.

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NIKE

            This year my club is sponsored by Nike, which is by far my favorite brand. We got Nike knee pads, spandex, volleyball shoes, jerseys, warm up pants, warm up jacket, and a backpack. In order to keep our sponsorship with Nike we can’t wear anything but Nike at practices or tournaments, because if someone was to post a picture on Instagram with let’s say an Underarmour headband on we could lose the sponsorship.
          Nike volleyball shoes are my favorite volleyball shoes, so I am glad we get to wear those. I just got new ones but a lot of girls have started to wear basketball shoes for volleyball. I am not sure if they are more comfortable or what, but they have some cool designs so I might have to look in to that for next club season or maybe this school season. Nike spandex are definitely my favorite so that’s a plus too. Nike also makes some sweet socks that are CIA colors (Volt and Black) so I wear those at tournaments. I have never worn Nike knee pads before this year, but I really like them and I would definitely recommend them to other players. I really like our warm ups this year, too. We got skinny (Soccer pants) sweatpants that work really well to warm up in, and cool white zip up jackets with CIA embroidered on the front.

          For next season my team was thinking about getting long sleeve warm ups (they are called spirit jerseys) that have the big arched letters on the back. I think they would be more comfortable to warm up in, compared to our zip up jackets this year. I also customized some Nike Roshes that have my name and number on the back of them that match our colors. My team got team tennis shoes too. They are just plain black and white roshes. I have gotten some pretty sweet stuff from being sponsored by Nike, so if you have a choice I would say choose Nike :) 

Spirit Jerseys: Examples

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Most Important Things to Remember as a Volleyball Player

I have learned a lot about myself as a person and an athlete from having a passion for volleyball and following my dreams. Spending so much time working for a goal, and having that hard work pay off is the best feeling ever. I have been playing volleyball since I can remember and I have looked up to players that have gone on and played in college and even professionally. It is crazy to think that younger girls might be looking up to me as a player now. I can remember when I was that age, doubting my abilities and wondering if I could ever be as good as the players I looked up to. There were probably some times when I didn't want to stick with it, but I loved the game so much I never stopped. Throughout all of these years playing, I have figured out some things that I think are important to know as a volleyball player.

It is weird to think that I only have 1 high school season and 1 club season left, but I am so excited to be able to continue playing at the D1 level at Loyola in Chicago. I have learned so much from working towards my dream and making it become a reality, I thought I would share some of these things. I think the biggest thing I would tell younger athletes is to never give up, no matter what anyone says about your abilities. If you start to doubt yourself that is when you will not be successful. People will tell you your dreams are too big, or you will never get to where you want to be. You have to learn how to ignore these comments and focus on improving your skills and becoming the best player you can be. One day when I was watching a division 1 college match I asked myself "why can't that be me?" and from then on I knew I was going to work harder than ever to get to that level.

Trust me you will be knocked down multiple times, whether its not making a team or something someone says, but just remember to always believe in yourself. If you set a goal, no matter how high it is, I guarantee you that if you work hard every day and truly believe that you can reach that goal, you will. You can't have any doubts and you have to work your butt off, but you can do it. Don't ever give up on something you have that much passion for.

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Blocking

Blocking in the game of volleyball is a very important part of the defensive side of things. To really understand the concept of blocking you should understand the point of blocking. A lot of people think that a block is only efficient when the ball is stuffed and doesn't come on the defenses’ side of the court. This assumption is wrong. A block is used to take up space on the court, and to make the hitter attack to a certain spot. For instance let’s say that your setter is right back and you libero is left back. The other teams’ middle comes in to hit a 1, what side should the middle and left blocker take away? If you answered right back you are correct. You would much rather have your libero dig the ball than a setter. That is why blocking or taking away the right back zone will help funnel the ball to the libero. This works the same way on the pins. For example if your libero is left back and the other teams’ right side is attacking on the pin, your blockers should be leaving line, forcing the right side to hit to your libero.

Once you understand the concept of blocking then you can get into the mechanics of it. In my opinion, the most important part of blocking is making sure you are pressing your hands over the net to zone 6. If you are not pressing the ball will land in front of you on your side of the net a lot. If you are not pressing to zone 6 and the hitter is smart they will tool you, having the ball come off your hands and land out of bounds. Other important pieces to blocking are footwork and timing but you have to get a ton of reps to get those things figured out.

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Mid East Qualifier in Indianapolis

This weekend my team was competing at the Mid East qualifier in Indianapolis. MEQ is a national qualifier so if you place in the top 3 you get a bid to nationals which are in New Orleans this year.  We played in the open division against some really good teams. We weren’t really expected to do well but we did better than we were ranked. It was a three day tournament and we played in the Indianapolis Convention Center. 
The first day we were in a pool with the third ranked team overall. We played really well against them and took them to a third set. We went 0-3 the first day, which was tough but we played hard and left it all on the court. After we were done playing we went shopping in a huge mall and then went out to eat at Granite City. The second day were in a pool with another Iowa team, Iowa Rockets 17R. We hadn't played them before, but we knew they were going to be tough competition and we really wanted to win. We won the first set, lost the second set and it was going to 3. During the third set we got a couple of stuff blocks which I think really brought the momentum to our side and helped us get the W. During that game I was a little nervous because it was the first time my coaches at Loyola were watching me play since I committed there, but after the first couple of points I was all good and I think having them there actually made me play better. It was a sweet win and it helped our regional ranking for next weekend. We ended up 2-1 the second day, and overall I thought we played well.
The final day of the tournament we won our first game in 2 and then we played OP2, who got 2nd place in the open division in Omaha. They are a really good team and we didn't play as well as we could have, so we lost to them in 2. We ended up getting 33rd out of 48 in Open. I was really proud of us for never giving up and proving that we were better than our ranking. 

MEQ Website

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