Day 1 of Regionals.
The Starlings arrived the night before and stayed at our usual accommodations. We arrived at Cypress College, land of the ever-present parking police.
Match 1 was versus 900SqFt-Steve. The first game was very hotly contested. Both teams played well, but some defensive breakdowns and 3 service errors cost the Starlings this game 21-25. Something happened after this game, because the Starlings couldn’t seem to muster anything in game 2 and went quietly losing 8-25. Good thing there was a long break between Match 1 and Match 2.
The coaches then had a ‘motivational talk’ with the Starlings under the purple tree. After some rest and recovery, Starlings came out ready for Match 2.
Game 1 was never in doubt. Decent serving and 6 kills with only 3 service errors had the Starlings winning over Long Beach, by the book 25-12. Our records indicated that it was 24-12, but the rules state that ‘you have to go by what’s in the book’. This was probably the first time that this happened in the Starlings’ favor. Starlings relaxed a little bit in the second game, and Long Beach was fired up to avenge the loss. A barn burner promptly ensued with 5 game points (actually Match points if the Starlings had won) going up for grabs. Starlings lost 28-26 due mostly to the 4 service errors—at least 2 on Match point for the Starlings. Game 3 was less of a barn burner, and the Starlings won 15-11, the 3 service errors making it a bit closer, but the Starlings began to tighten up their play.
The last match of the Day was versus Seal Beach. The Starlings missed 6 serves and lost 21-25 despite outplaying Seal Beach. Starlings then came roaring back in Game 2 defeating Seal Beach 25-16 with an acceptable 3 service errors. Game 3 featured quite some discussion as to the application of what constituted ‘a lift’. The Starlings however, played a very tight game and won 15-9 with only 1 service error. This left the Starlings with a 2-1 match record. However, 900SqFt lost their last match in 3 games to Long Beach, resulting in a 3-way tie for first. Starlings ended up in 3rd place because of a 4-4 game record and ended up in the Lower Division of Flight 1.
Highlights for the Day by Player:
Middle Blocker Michaela Metcalf: 10 kills and some key blocks. A very large percentage of her kills hit the ground, and quite a few others were passed out of play. Hitters on the other team were often intimidated by Michaela’s presence at the net.
Setter and Co-Captain Becca Stoffel had some great sets to the hitters for kills and some great passing. There were also some key rallies where Becca made a critical pass/save to keep the rally going. She served some high velocity serves to get the other teams ‘off system’; and added some kills to stop the opposing teams’ rally.
Libero Grace Tesdall was all over the place making diving plays to save rallies and made some key digs off very difficult hits from the opponent. There were a few great ‘extra-effort’ passes and plays made by Grace that kept the Starlings in play. A good first pass is required to run the offense, and Grace supplied plenty.
Setter and Captain Jazmine Stenger-Smith served up 6 aces and also made some key sets to hitters. True to her style, Jazmine was discussing interpretation of what constitutes ‘a lift’ or at least the consistency of the definition (this call would have ended game 3 and match 3 in the Starlings’ favor). After a negative response by the referee, Jazmine was set by Becca Stoffel and delivered a kill onto the other team’s side, adding a very appropriate exclamation point.
Brooke Nelepovitz was the serving monster on Day 1 serving 53 serves with 3 aces while serving at 90%. Brooke also added 6 kills, most of which were untouchable. Brooke did an outstanding job of directing some of her hits to empty spots and corners.
Allie Sliva was the most consistent server for Day one, serving at a very nice 95% and 14% of Allie’s serves were aces. Allie also added 6 kills to empty corners and open spots. Quite a few of Allies kills were tips to the “Black Hole”. Allie was also impressive on the back row, delivering some great passes.
Bridget Ingle did an excellent job at her first year of being a middle blocker for the Starlings. She had quite a few blocks, some touches to slow down the opponents hits, and continues to serve quality, tough serves. Bridget has great volleyball instincts and learns very quickly.
Day 2 of Regionals was at Club West, a very nice facility with many courts and a well-cared-for sports floor. There was an issue with the referees in that there were none for our flight. At least, the referees were ‘on their way’ up until the day was over.
First Match was against T-Street. The Starlings won the first game handily 25-12 despite 4 service errors (which were somewhat offset by 6 team kills). T-Street came roaring back in game 2 and had the lead on occasion, however 13 strong serves by Brooke Nelepovitz and 4 kills by Allie Sliva with only one team service error led the Starlings to a 25-22 victory.
Second Match was against High Tide. The first game gave the coaches and parents some great adrenaline. The Starlings and High Tide traded the lead for quite some time. Strong serving by Jazmine Stenger-Smith and some key kills by Becca Stoffel sealed the Starlings 25-22 victory. Game 2 was even tighter. Strong Defensive play by Libero Grace Tesdall and some blocks by Michaela Metcalf and Bridget Ingle held off the rising High Tide and the Starlings won 25-23. It was a very nice team effort with only 2 service errors.
Third Match was against Surf City. The first game was a head-scratcher. The Starlings seemed to forget how to serve, with a whopping 5 service errors in the first 15 Starlings points. More than compensating for this (thankfully!) were a team record 15 total kills! Michaela Metcalf led with 5 kills, with Becca Stoffel and Brooke Nelepovitz adding 4 each. The Starlings went on to win 25-19. Game 2 was a bit more exciting with 4 Starlings service errors, but key kills by Allie Sliva and Bridget Ingle, some diving saves by Libero Grace Tesdall, and some nice sets by Jazmine Stenger-Smith gave the Starlings a 25-21 victory. The 3-0 match record put the Starlings in the Championship round, in which they would face the top seeds of the other pool.
After about 30 minutes the Starlings where scheduled to play Temecula in the Semi-Final. The Starlings got out to a nice 6-0 lead thanks to strong serving by Jazmine Stenger-Smith. The Starlings allowed Temecula a peak at the lead but some excellent effort by the team to keep the ball in play, several diving saves/passes by Grace Tesdall, along with some key kills by Michaela Metcalf and Allie Sliva to stop a Temecula rally kept the Starlings in the lead. Brooke Nelepovitz served 4 in a row with an ace to keep the Starlings on top, and some touches/blocks by Bridget Ingle allowed the Starlings to stay ‘in system’. Game point was an excellent pass by Allie Sliva to Jazmine Stenger-Smith, who back-set to Becca Stoffel for a kill that hit the paint. Starlings won 25-20.
A short 15 minute break and the Starlings faced High Tide for the Championship. Things got off to a very rough start for the Starlings, as High Tide went up 5-0. A key kill by Bridget Ingle stopped the Rising Tide and turned the serving over to Brooke Nelepovitz, who served strong and allowed the Starlings to go up 6-5. A couple of kills by Allie Sliva and Michaela Metcalf kept the rallies going, along with many diving saves by Libero Grace Tesdall. Becca Stoffel then served 8 rockets, 2 of which were aces to give the Starlings a commanding 23-13 lead. High Tide was beginning to fight back when a nice kill by Jazmine Stenger-Smith set up Championship point. High Tide then benefitted from a somewhat close call. There was some minor discussion with the line judge, but the Starlings shrugged it off and continued to play. High Tide served and there was quite a long rally, but then Brooke Nelepovitz spotted an opening and took advantage, delivering an untouched kill.
The coaches were very impressed with the Starlings play at this very grueling tournament. The girls played well, they played a lot, they played tired, and they stuck together.
Day 2 Player Highlights.
Middle Blocker Michaela Metcalf finished Day 2 with 17 kills. Her excellent hitting and blocking lifted the team at key times.
Setter and Co-Captain Becca Stoffel finished Day 2 with 8 kills, one of which was an outstanding kill to end the semi-final game.
Libero Grace Tesdall again provided excellent defense and got quite a few floor burns from her diving saves. Liberos rarely show up on the score sheet, but they make plays that allow the offense to run.
Setter and Captain Jazmine Stenger-Smith was the highlight server missing only 1 serve the entire day, ending up with a 98% serving and 8.5% aces. Jazmine is also quite the Barrister when discussing calls with the referee.
Brooke Nelepovitz was the serving monster on Day 2 serving 54 serves with 6 aces while contributing 8 kills (the last was for the championship). Many of those kills were to wide open spots on the court.
Allie Sliva was the tipping machine for Day 2, with 14 kills, 10 of which were tips to the ‘Black Hole’. Some solid all around passing by Allie also contributed to the Starlings’ victory.
Bridget Ingle had quite a few key blocks, some touches to slow down the opponents hits, and continues to serve quality, tough serves and contributed 4 kills at key times. Bridget also served quite a few times at game and match point and reacted well to the pressure.