OJVA 18's Ready for MLK Tourney

First Tourney of the year always is exciting as we will find out what we need to work on.

Play well!!!!!

Steve

12 White PL Qualifier Highlight

Well, 12 White did AWESOME!  We placed 3rd in our pool.  Lost to MAC White 23-25 & 14-25, won v. NCVBC Purple 25-16 & 25-12, and then made an amazing comeback v. NCVBC Grey (who was undefeated at the time) to win 16-25, 25-19 & 15-??.  It was so intense that I forgot to write down the score!!!!  For the 2nd set, it was 4th graders all the way!  Only one of the 6th graders was on the court.  The team had 4 pass/set/hits in the match...this was the most they had in a match all day. In the other matches they only had 1 in each (this was my goal for the day- at least 1 pass/set/hit per match).  In the last set I got everyone on the court.  They all contributed to a great WIN.  The games were all about serving.  We had a lot of aces throughout the day.  We then had a bye and had to wait for our crossover match.  It was rough.  Mt. Hood had some really tough servers and we didn't see anything like it all day, so the team had a hard time passing.  

We have some true leaders starting to emerge...those who were talking on the court (all day), going after every ball and directing others to their positions. I can't wait to see what they do in the next month!

-Coach Caryn 

14 Black Qualifier #2 Highlight

14 Black had a tough pool this second qualifier and competed against all teams (they played every match to three games!) but only beat one team in pool play giving them the 3rd seed. In our crossover match, we lost to a team we beat last weekend in pool play which was a bummer. Still, I was proud of the girls continuing to play every game to the last point and saw many awesome improvements this weekend! We transitioned into setting from the back row too and by the end of the day, the girls had it down!

We'll continue to work on rotations and putting the ball away during long rallies!

-Carly Bittner

14 Yellow PL Qualifier #2 Highlight

We all successfully hydro-planed to Salem! And once we woke up halfway through our first set, we were unstoppable!  Even though the competition was not at the level we are used to playing, we worked hard on playing "our" game and not lowering our skill level to those teams we played. Our whole team is improving with every touch of the ball! Confidence levels keep rising!  I have Nick named Hazuki 'Ace' for her crazy number of aces, Charlotte was complemented by an opposing coach for her beautiful hands when she sets, and Tia discovered her 'game face'!! I'm so proud of how they all played! We won every match in two sets. And took the cross over round quickly playing the best we played all day! 

14 Red PL Qualifiers #1 & 2 Highlight MOVIN' ON UP!!!

Day one of the new qualifier was a great opportunity for 14 Red to be tested and get in the tourney groove.  We took 2nd in our pool after a tough 3 set loss to Tillamook 14-1 and crossed over to a very good and under-seeded DSK team.  Those girls were big and took some big swings but our girls hung tough and played them very tight.  Although we didn't win the match we bounced back and won the second match.  The first day dropped us from 68 to 77, but the girls got game tough and showed how well they can really play.  What we lost in seeding, we gained in physical and mental growth.

On day 2 we came in fired up and ready to play! Tillamook, who took our 68 seed, was in our pool for the 2nd time in a row.  With the 52 seed up for grabs in our pool, the girls fought hard, avenged the loss to Tillamook with a nice win, and also took down Southside and Webfoot to win our pool.  Im not sure if they just wanted to go home early(we were in Albany for the 2nd weekend in a row), but 14 Red played a focused and disciplined match against a good Pirates team to win our crossover and head back to Portland with the highest seed in both pools at 52!!!  The team played aggressive and together and really earned their new seed! Way to go ladies!!!

GO RED!

Coach Kev and Coach Mattea

16 White 1/11/14 Club Tourney Highlight

For a group of girls that had been compiled only a few days prior to their first tournament, areas of the game that needed the greatest attention to, communication skills for example, were far better than expected. A big positive for the beginning of the year looking forward.

The girls battled their way through pool stages picking up sets off of good teams to get themselves into the silver divisional playoff bracket (a great place to be).

Nate developed her dumping skills to generate points at opportune situations; hussle plays in the back court by Daria and Rebecca helped our team immensely; Megan, Emma, and Chloe stepped up, tidying play well. Considering, when we heard the morning of, one of our usual starting players was no longer in the team.

Everyone should take away positives from these games, and also learning experiences that last the year.

Being my first year coaching girls, and having gameplay differing from adolescent males, I look forward to developing as much throughout the year as these girls.

Till next time

Kiwi Out


Stephen Stone
OJVA 16 - White

12 Blue PL Qualifier Highlight

It was  a learning and  growing day for the Blue team.  We struggled at times in pool play, but also had our team show some good growth.  In the afternoon cross-over matches, we took both matches to three sets.  Again showing growth.  Overall even though we dropped they are headed in the right direction.  Go OJVA BLUE 12's!!!!!

14 Purple PL Qualifier Day #1 & 2 Highlight

What a great start to the year!

Day 1 of the Regional Qualifier was action packed! Purple came in ranking 128 and had a good start to the day but hit a rough patch in the middle ending in a three way tie! We were able to go 1-1 in tournament play and ended up advancing our ranking to 113. Great job ladies on being able to move up 15 places.

Day 2 was a bit different for us. Due to where we placed on Day 1 our Day 2 was all about deciding rankings 113-152, so we could either stay at 113 or move down in rank. YIKES!!! No need to worry because these girls came out super energized and ready to go! I was very impressed on how they were able to keep that energy throughout the day and maintain our systems even when confronting weak opposition. We went 3-0 in pool play earning us a 1^st seed in the pool. To finish the day the girls went 2-0 against the CCVC Crushers to hold their 113 rank and taking 1^st in their division. It was a very exciting day for Purple and a great way to end Day 2 of the qualifier.

A big thanks to all of the parents for being such an amazing support system and organizing food for both days! J

It’s going to be a great season, GO PURPLE!!!!!!

Coach Lindsey

14 Gold PL Qualifier #2 Highlight

14-1 Gold team stays in Gold Division after 14 Qualifier completion

Well, we made it, but we didn't quite make the statement that we wanted to. The overall quality of our play increased from the week before, and for that we were proud of our team. Our team transitions were much smoother and our tough serving helped us a lot at times. The team did a good job of transitioning into a 5-1 offense with Taylor out sick, and Cara really did a good job setting and giving our hitters good options. We felt that Brigitte took some major steps forward this weekend also. We look forward to having all 11 players at our next two Power League tournaments!

We did a good job of taking care of our pool play, beating all three teams in 2 sets.  We had TrailsEnd 14-1, Roseburg 14-1 and Salem 14-1 Black. Unfortunately we weren't really challenged that much in pool play, so when we then faced Athena 14-1 in the first crossover and we did not compete well. We bounced back and beat Rose City 14-2 Gold in the last match of the day. So we dropped from our initial seed of #3 to #6, but stayed in the Gold division for the first Power League. That was that coaches goal for the team and we accomplished that. We still have a lot of work to do, but we are on our way! Being in Gold now means that every match will be against tough teams and at a faster speed, so we need to be prepared to compete on every point. Thankfully we have time to crank up the intensity in practice for the next 3 weeks. 

Thanks to our Team Parents who are keeping us so well fed!

Marty Mozzochi

12 Red PL Qualifier Hightlight

OJVA 12U-Red team started out as the third seed in a pool that included Athena-Gold (#2), Or NW Jr's (#14)  and the Blues (#30) and after great matches with Athena and going to a third set with Or NW JR's, we lost our serve and just plan got beat by the Blues… Coach Amber and I were proud of how the girls handled the loss with a wonderful show of sportsmanship.  That put us 4^th in our pool and in danger of losing some real ground in the seeding.  We  realized that we had some real work ahead in the afternoon rounds and with great team spirit, the girls rallied to win both matches in the afternoon cross over (despite some coaching errors).  I think the thing the girls appreciated and enjoyed the most was the Victory Tunnel and the cheers of the Gold team after our first afternoon win.  And, the Red team reciprocated after the Gold's last match… going undefeated for the day… what fun and what OJVA spirit.  This is a great team of 11 girls who truly support and encourage each other and it is wonderful to watch.  A special thanks to the parents for their support and encouragement too… Great Job RED!   coach Pat