I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Jen, Curt's niece. I will be your photographer and reporter for this week in Orlando and for Nationals in Atlanta.
This morning, the 12's, 13's, 14's, 15-1's, 15-3's, 15-4's and 17's played. It was an intense morning in the gym. Many of the teams went to three games in their matches. There were a lot of big hits, strong aces and key blocks. It was really exciting! I imagine that most of the girls, after playing, went back to the houses to swim and sleep.
The 12-2's had a better day today, although they were all wiped out by the end as all of their matches went three games! They lost their first match, although it was close. But then they were able to step it up and win the next to matches, coming in 2nd in their pool. They had a million aces, Sam had six in a row against the Puerto Rico team, and Lauren had some great blocks throughout the day. Way to go 12-2's! To see some pictures from their matches today, click here.
The 12-1's won two of their matches today and lost one. However, it ended up in a three-way tie for 1st. They came out on top! This evening, they were having a great time rocking out to that same "volleyball CD". I could hear them all the way across the street! Click here to see pictures of the 12-1's from today.
The 13-1's had a hard faught day that ended not so good. They won one match and lost the other two, including some really close 3-game matches. But then, it was a three-way tie for first. They had to play 2 tie-breaker matches. They won the first and then let the second one slip away, putting them at 3rd in the pool. They played really hard and the pictures show it, click here to see them.
The 13-2's had a great day! They played people in different positions, which worked out a lot better than yesterday. They ended up beating both of the teams in their 3-team pool, putting them at first in their pool. The last match they played was another hard faught match, but they pulled it out winning 25-20 in both games. Way to go girls! To see their pictures, click here.
The 14-2's also had a great day! They won all three of their matches. To see the pictures from the 14-2's matches today, click here.
The 14-1's took second in their pool, losing in 3 games to Club Cincinatti. You can click here to see their pictures from today.
The 15-1's day was not that exciting. They won all three of their matches very easily. Hopefully tomorrow will present a little more of a challenge. To see pictures from their matches today, click here.
The 15-3's and 15-4's had very similar days. They both won one match and lost the other two, coming in third in both of their pools.
To see the 15-3's pictures from the day click here.
To see the 15-4's pictures from the day click here.
The 17-1's cleaned up house today, only letting one team score more than 12 points on them. The 17-2's won a hard faught match against the Leon Lions, but lost the other two, coming in 3rd in their pool. The 17-3's were also 1 and 2, coming in 3rd in their pool. All of the 17's teams were at the Disney Wide World of Sports today. So, unfortunatly, I do not have any pictures of them.
The afternoon was not as intense as the morning pools. Most of the teams had a fairly easy time within their pools. The 15-2's, 16's and 18's were all the teams that played this afternoon. I was told that this morning they slept in and then laid out in the sun. Lucky ducks!
The 15-2's won their first two matches from today and lost their last match. To see pictures of them from today click here.
The 16-2's went 3 and 0 as well today, beating A5 16-1's in their final match. The 16-3's also went 3 and 0 today, beating A5 16-2's in their final match!
To see the photos from the 16-2's matches, click here.
To see the photos from the 16-3's matches, click here.
The 16-4's had a rough day. They lost their matches. Click here to see the pictures of some of the games.
The 16-1's ended up in a three-team pool because of a last minute drop-out. They won both of their matches relatively easily, putting them at first in the pool. Click here to see their pictures.
The 18-2's had a great day! They were also in a 3-team pool. They played really well against Sports Performance 18-1's, but ended up losing that match. However, they were able to overcome their defeat and win their second match of the day, allowing them to place second in their pool. To see some pictures of the 18-2's from today, click here.
The 18-1's had an easy day. They easily took first in their pool by winning all three of their matches. It was difficult to get pictures of them because all they did was serve! But, I managed to get some. Click here to see them.
Overall, it was a good day! I think most of the teams were just going to head back to their houses and relax for the evening. The 18-1's were continuing their "Lost" marathon, while the 12-2's were heading out to explore Downtown Disney.