All of the pictures taken this year are posted on our photo website http://lightsphotos.ifp3.com.
There are no pictures today of any teams except the 15-1 & 18-1 teams. The 15-1's were in the Gold Championship Bracket at the Disney Complex and the 18-1's were also playing there. Everyone else was at the Convention Center.
The 15-1's had a phenomenal day. The were in the Gold Championship Bracket of 8 teams. They started off playing Milwaukee Sting 15-1's. They beat them fairly easily in two straight games. This win put them in the medal round with at least a Bronze Medal and minimum 3rd place finish. Their second match was against KIVA which is a very good team. The 15-1's handled them easily winning in two straight sets. This put them into the Championship Match! The final match was against OVA 15-1. They are a very good team. The 15-1's were never really able to get much going against them. OVA had a huge block and 3-4 girls who could hit the ball pretty well. We played with them, but never were in the lead. In the end OVA won the match in 2 straight sets and 15-1's took 2nd in the 15 Open Division. The match was broadcast on ESPN3. Alyssa Goehner, Jocelyn Youngdahl, and Kara Cousins received All American awards.
16-1's went 1-2 today. They had to win their last match to get into the Gold Championship bracket, and they lost that match to Sports Performance 16-1. They will be playing for 13th tomorrow. This afternoon they came over to watch the 15-1's play in the Championship match.
16-2's went 3-0 today. They are in the Gold Championship Bracket and will play at 9am at the Convention Center. Congratulations to the 16-2 team for making it to the Gold! I should be able to get some pictures of them tomorrow.
16-3's went 1-1 in their first 3 team pool. They then played a crossover match which they lost. After that they had to wait until 6:30 to play their Challenge match, which they unfortunately lost. This dropped them out of contention for the Gold. They will be playing for 17th place on Wednesday. This evening they went back to the house and had another round of ice baths. The girls really liked them.
16-4's had a good day today. They went 3-0 and finished 1st in their pool. They came back home and had dinner and then headed off to bed for their 9:00 am match in the convention center tomorrow morning.
16-5's had not such a good day. They went 0-3 today in play and finished 4th in the pool. It didn't help that Alexa hit her head quite hard on the floor and had a mild concussion. She is ok. They came back home had a quick dinner and also headed off to bed for a 9:00 am match in the Convention Center.
17-1's went 1-2 today. This put them in 3rd place and they are out of contention for the Gold. They spent the afternoon at the house, and also came over to watch the 15-1's play in the Championship match. Thanks girls. They will be playing for 17th starting at 8:00am at the Convention Center
17-2's went 2-1 today in their pool. This gave them the right to play in a Challenge match to get into the Gold. They lost that match to Sky High 17-2's. This dropped them out of contention for the Gold. They will play for 17th place on Wednesday at the Convention Center.
17-3's had a great day today. They went 3-0 in their pool with nobody really even coming close to beating them....except for the 26-24 and 25-23 match. They got home late, had dinner, met with Curt and then headed off to bed. They will be playing for 53rd place out of about 135 teams. They will be in the convention center for a 9am match.
18-1's played their final matches of their Junior career today in the Jostens Center at the Disney Complex. The first match was against Nebraska Juniors. It went 3 sets with the 18-1's winning the 3rd set fairly easily 15-7. They then played against Illini Elite 18-1's in their final match. They won this match in 2 straight sets. They officially finished 25th. Congratulations to the 18-1's for winning their last match and creating some great memories.
18-2's went 2-1 today in their pool. This forced a tie breaker game which the 18-2's had to win in order to advance. However in the previous match they had just lost, Elyssa sprained her ankle. This caused them to not have the attacking power they needed to win the tie breaker match, so they ended up 3rd in the pool. They are no longer in contention for the Gold. They went and watched the 15-1 team in the Championship match, and then went back to the house for dinner and a movie. Curt met with them and they tried very hard to persuade him to take them out for dinner on Wednesday as a "Italy Reunion Party".....I didn't buy it. They will be playing for 21st at the Disney Complex. Chad is happy because it is a 1:00pm game.