The 14-2’s had their most successful showing this year at the Blaine tournament on Saturday, April 17th taking 2nd place. It was a long day starting at 8AM and finishing at 7PM. The day featured 6 matches and 17 games with many of them going down to the deciding points for the victories.
The day started against a weaker opponent from Mound View which the team handled rather easily 3 games to none. Serving was a key to the success of the girls throughout the day and their serving proved to be too much for the MV team to overcome.
The second match pitted the girls against an even weaker team from the East Ridge Athletic Association. Again serving was the key as the girls even hit 100% during the second game. The SAJO girls beat the ERAA team 3-0.
Next up was a team from White bear Lake. This was a much more evenly matched set of games and the girls recovered from a sluggish start to take the first game. Maybe the sluggish start was the result of playing weaker opponents in the first two matches. The WBL team was up to the challenge in the second game and eeked out a victory making the rubber game important if the 14-2’s were going to pull a number one seed in the tournament play. The girls started out a bit slow in the final game which was played to 15 points but came roaring back with strong serving and awesome position play. With hearts pounding they played a spirited final point to come away with the match 2-1. This victory gave the 14-2’s one of the 1 seeds in the gold division tournament.
First up in the gold division tournament was a team from the Anoka-Ramsey Junior Olympic club. After the spirited match with WBL the girls were fired up and easily dispatched of the ARJO team 2-0. Again serving was the key and proved to be too much for the ARJO team. Fine net play throughout the day was also key as the girls were really aggressive at the net.
Next up was a tough team from Alexandria. The girls started out slow going down 8-1 before starting a long climb back in the game only to lose 25-23. This comeback must have been on the minds of both teams as the SAJO girls came out firing in the second game and started 8-0 and never looked back. The girls from Alex looked a bit shocked and came out sloppy in the third and final game with serving once again a key factor in the decision. While the SAJO girls served 100% the team from Alex missed their final four serves in what must have been a disappointing end to their tournament but was another heart pounding victory for the SAJO team.
With no time to rest next up was the evil SAJO 14-1’s (just kidding! don’t hate! just adding drama). The 14-1’s played like a well oiled machine and the lifeless 14-2’s easily succumbed to the taller team making uncharacteristic mistakes throughout the match. Unlike the spirited scrimmages at practice this match seemed very subdued. Maybe it was the exhaustion. Maybe there was no gas left in the tank. Maybe there will be a next time. Who Knows. Hopefully…
Congratulations to the 14-2’s for a great showing and taking second place.
Oh Yeah. Congrats to the 14-1’s for their awesome 1st place finish as well.
