15 Black 

4th

(6-1)

Coming Soon!

16 Black

29th

(5-5)

Highlights for Aspire 16 Black for the weekend was finishing day 1 with a 2-1 record and moving up to the 20 seed, which earned the right to play the #1 ranked team on day 2.  After being competitive but going 0-3 on day 2 against higher seeds, Aspire 16 Black came back strong on day 3 in "flight 1 bracket" to make it to the championship match.  Areas for Aspire 16 Black to improve on is the attack out of the middle position and the setters learning how to jump sets to keep more passes tight on the net in play.

17 Black

34th

(5-5)

Hi Team,

Been thinking about this weekend and despite a rough 2nd day, I think it was just what we needed to help motivate us to work harder for Vegas and Far Westerns. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger! And I definitely think we refocused and improved after day 2 and we made the most of Sunday!

The AAU Fiesta Tournament was quite an experience for 17 Black. We played in a combined 17-18 division starting as seed 68th. We started 3rd in pool on day 1 but finished 2nd, placing us in the top 1/2 of the tournament, which was quite an accomplishment in itself. Although we moved up on day 1, we just didn't play to our potential. Overall we were 5-5 and finished 34th, 2nd in Flight 1.

Day 2 we faced a tough team and some teams that we matched up pretty well, but fell short of our goal of moving up to the top 1/4. I really think we could-a should-a, but we just weren't vibin' our defense and serving was pretty solid, but we couldn't connect enough powerful swings and missed a few blocks. All in all, it was our errors that beat us, not the opponent which means WE CAN FIX it and be better next time! Sunday night we reflected upon the day individually and as a team and got refocused for the next day. 

Day 3, single elimination bracket play and we made it all the way to the finals! Totally more confidant team than the day before, although we are never unsupportive, we were more engaged and cheering for our team than the previous day. We played teams much bigger than us but our serving and defense was too much for them and our blocking and hitting was much better than the day before.

Highlights/Stats

• Serving - 94.4% in, 2.13 Srtg. Steph had most aces with 12, Hunter had 2.56 Srtg and 5 aces, Kylie served 100%, 8 aces and 2.11 Srtg
• Receive - maybe not a highlight, at 1.69 but only a few good passes away from 1.75 which is the low end of where we should be. We had 2 players above 1.8, we really need 2 above 2.0 - more and quicker communication and quicker decision making
• Hitting - we were positive hitting, but much lower than our last tournament. Ella led with 37 kills and .023, and Kylie had the highest Hitting % with .128
• Defense was much more agile and quicker to rotate, and smart about when to run rotational vs standard. I love that we have these conversations and the team is starting to understand thy why's!
• Setting - is improving but we still need to find the middles more often. But far less doubles and lifts than the first tournament!

Thank you to all the parents for coming to support the good and the ugly! I hope you all enjoyed the trip as much as I enjoyed coaching the team! Lot's of good things happening on and off the court and many memories to be cherished!