The 15 Blue team returned from their almost week-long post season tournament in Orlando late last week. Coach Dillan Bennett said, “while we finished 3-6, the tournament was a big success for our team. Losing two starting players to injury coming in meant we had to make adjustments to the lineup, and I believe our adjustments worked out to our advantage. We played our best ball of the season against some of the best teams in the country, and a lot of the girls stepped up their game to make that happen.”

On Day 1 the team went 2-1 for a 2nd place finish in their pool. They posted wins over CJV 15 Tony (25-6, 25-15) and Empowered 15 Elite Red (25-19, 25-18), before losing to the 9th overall seeded team, Asics KIVA 15 White (18-25, 17-25).

On Day 2 the team was in a 3-team pool and went 1-1 to again finish 2nd place in their pool. They beat TX Eclipse (25-13, 25-17), before losing to the 1st overall seeded team, OT 15 S-Rox Blue (25-25, 19-25).

On Day 3 the team faced the toughest competition of the tournament, and couldn’t secure a win. They went 0-3 with losses to Mizuno Sports Performance 15 Red (21-25, 20-25), Mizuno Northern Lights 15-2 (11-25, 22-25), and Mobile Storm 15U (23-25, 17-25). The 4th place finish dropped them out of contention for the championship.

On the 4th and final day, the team, especially tired from having a small team size for this tournament, lost their first match of the day to Capital 15 Adidas (22-25, 23-25) in a single elimination bracket. The team finished 29th place out of 75 teams.

Coach Dillan Bennett had nothing but praise for the members for the 15 Blue team. “Brynn Sofro, in a new role as an Outside Hitter, played well, scoring 62 points for our team with 54 kills, 3 blocks and 5 aces on the tournament. Bella Johnson scored 53 points with 37 kills, 2 blocks, and 2 aces. Danielle LaGrange contributed 47 points, with 37 kills, 8 blocks and 2 aces. In her new role, Sage Streeter stepped up to the plate and started every match for our team this week over the four-day event, and showed immense growth in her game, contributing 21 points with 13 kills and 8 blocks on the weekend. Both sides of the ball played well this week, and had spurts of greatness at times. Our defensive players in Libero Alison Minnich, and Defensive Specialists Grace Blankenhorn and Ingrid Blau commanded the back court in serve receive and on defense. Both setters in our offense had moments of brilliance, and played steady throughout the week. Ellie Gamberdella scored 35 points with 33 kills and 2 aces, while Mikayla Butzke chipped in with 7 aces, 2 blocks, and 6 kills.“