Power League 2012

I rolled out of bed at 0600 on a cold and windy Sunday, threw down a coffee and a power bar and hit the road for Puyallup for the 8 am start. The 45 minute drive was easy on a Sunday morning and the gym was busy as 8 teams prepared for a day of battle. I stood beside my 2 best dad friends from last year until they looked my way and did a double take. Smiles and high fives all around and as the first serve from the ITVC 17's made it's way across the net I was struck with a profound sadness as it sunk in that there would be no Maddie to watch setting this day. I stayed for a couple of matches, but of course it just wasn't the same. The difference between watching a friends daughter and my own was stark. I saw these girls giving a lot up to be part of a team and exercise and play the sport they love and felt let down that we were not part of it any more. Club Volleyball Dad withdrawal has been pretty bad. No Eugene last week. No looking forward to Vegas and Reno and Spokane. No pride in success. No shared disappointment in a loss. I can't help but think this was not Maddie's best decision. But as I drove home, I realized it was her choice to make, not mine. So VB parents, please enjoy seeing your daughters play while you can and don't fret so much about the money or time or inconvenience...because some day you will wake up like me and realize that it's all gone. And you will grieve. It was great seeing my Volleyball Dad friends and I'm sure I'll be at another match down the road.

Lake Washington HS Head Coach Opening

Without going into any details, I just want to bring to everyone's attention that the Head Coach at Lake Washington High School has resigned and Maddie's team is now looking for her replacement. The new coach inherits a solid core group and a great setter. Here is the info. Please pass along to anyone who might be interested.

https://ats4.searchsoft.net/ats/app_login.shtml?COMPANY_ID=00013612

https://ats4.searchsoft.net/ats/img/00013612-4600587201-66668223.docx

Lake Washington to 2A

As mentioned in the comments, LW will be in 2A next year though it does not appear it changes anything in the regular season as we continue to play Interlake (moving to 3A), Bellevue, Sammamish (also dropping to 2A), Juanita, Mt. Si, and Liberty. Not sure how qualifying for post season play works now, but it seems strange to play 3A teams in order to qualify for the 2A tournament. Should be interesting! Full article from the Seattle Times below. More news coming out of LW Volleyball in January. Stay tuned! Maddie is enjoying her spare time by doing some traveling, painting, writing, and Advance Placement History. CVD misses watching practices and bitching about Power League rankings.

Lake Washington moving to Class 2A next year

By Sandy Ringer

Seattle Times staff reporter

 Play where you land.
That's the philosophy administrators at Lake Washington High School believe in, and the reason the Kangaroos will compete as a Class 2A school starting next fall, when a new two-year classification cycle kicks in across the state.
As recently as 2009-10, Lake Washington played as a 4A school despite 3A enrollment numbers. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) gives member schools the opportunity to "opt up" (but not down) to any classification, and that's the direction LW took in the mid-2000s.
The Kirkland school landed in 3A again during the last reclassification cycle, which began in 2010-11, and played there. But with average enrollment down about 100 students to slightly under 1,065 in grades 10-12, the school falls just under the 3A cutoff of 1,086.
Sammamish of Bellevue, which opted up from 2A to 3A in the last cycle, is also making the drop to 2A with an enrollment just under 903. But Liberty, smaller still at just under 870, will remain 3A (enrollment figures are averaged over eight months, with November figures counted twice).
Interlake, meanwhile, is forced by size (nearly 1,207) to move back up from 2A to 3A. All will continue to compete in the KingCo 3A/2A Conference with the other 3A schools — Bellevue, Mercer Island, Mount Si and Juanita, which for the second cycle in a row sits right above the cutoff line at just over 1,096.
But for postseason purposes, LW and Sammamish will be 2A.
Interlake enjoyed success playing where it landed the past two years. The Saints won the 2A state girls soccer title last month, reached the quarterfinals in football and qualified for the state volleyball tournament.
"It changed everything for their sports," said George Crowder, a longtime coach now in his third year as the Lake Washington athletic director. "What I talk about is competitive equity ... What you want to do is give kids the greatest opportunity to compete competitively at their level."
There are few changes elsewhere around the Greater Seattle area. It's status quo in the Metro League, where Franklin and Bainbridge are the only "true" 3A schools in terms of numbers but the other 12 will continue to opt up.
In WesCo, Marysville-Pilchuck and Stanwood are dropping to 3A, while Lynnwood moves up with 4A numbers. Mount Vernon will climb from 3A to 4A and will leave the Northwest Conference for WesCo, which will have 4A and 3A divisions again.
There are no changes in either South Puget Sound League 4A or 3A, but in SPSL 2A Eatonville leaves (joining the Nisqually League as a 1A school) and is replaced by Orting (currently 1A).
The WIAA officially gave schools until Dec. 20 to declare intentions to opt up, but does make exceptions. The classification numbers are not official until approved by the WIAA Executive Board next month.
Mike Colbrese, WIAA executive director, said the Executive Board is forming a committee to look into possible changes in the reclassification process regarding the length of the cycles (going to every four years instead of two, for instance) and how to count alternative school students, among other issues.

Club Volleyball: Power League Explained

I wanted to pass along this fine summary of the Puget Sound Region Power League prepared by our friends at KJ Volleyball Club. Thanks, Pirate!

http://blog.kjvbc.com/?page_id=80

Club Volleyball: Tryout Weekend Blues

I'm sitting here at 9:30 on Sunday night and remembering back to a year ago when we got the call from ITVC and had to withdraw our commitment to Blaze and how exhilarated and stressed we all were...and I know many of you are going through that same thing. How do I know? Because I've heard from alot of you! I know a few girls who are going back to ITVC as U-17's and I'm so jealous of the dads! I've been kind of moping around all weekend, and not just because my Rams got killed by the hated Seahawks. I kept thinking Maddie would change her mind even at this late stage, but to her credit, she is firm in her decision. On the other hand, I heard from another dad that one of the nearby clubs told the U-17 candidates that the cost would be $4200 and that they would only go to tournaments where they would be seen by college coaches... qualifiers and other tourneys. No power league. Now THAT got me thinking. Even if Maddie had decided she wanted to play in college but only wanted to play at a school in the Northwest, I'd have to question playing for that club. And if she had said she only wanted to play club because she loved it and wanted to stay in shape, etc. etc. I would have completely balked at paying that kind of money. On the other hand, if she was trying to land a D2 scholarship and was not limited to WHERE, them maybe that kind of club would be worth it. Tough choices when you hit U-17....all you parents with younger girls, just enjoy the next few years! But I also think that unless you have height AND talent, it's an uphill battle to play in college. You can make it if you live and breathe volleyball because I really think it would take a total commitment to succeed....and that's what Maddie always struggled with. She LOVES volleyball, but I also think she doesn't love VB to the extent that she wanted to give up as much as you have to give up to play club. Still, as I got the word  tonight that the DD's of my 2 favorite dads will be back at IT next year, I feel like the dad on the outside. I hope what she chooses to do as a replacement for Club benefits her as much as Club benefited her. Whether it's grades, or her writing, or her art....I just hope that she looks back in 10 years and still believes she made the right decision. I guess being a dad who trusts his daughter has to respect decisions, even if he thinks those decisions are not the ones he hoped she would make. But I trust her. I'm just sad.

Club Volleyball: End of the Line

Over the past couple of years, this week has been one of the most nerve racking of all. Figuring out tryout schedules, worrying about where Maddie would end up, wondering where the money was going to come from...but not this year, because Maddie has decided not to play Club. I've held off updating the blog in the hope that she would change her mind, but I guess the decision is final. I've invited her to post about what went into this decision and maybe some day she will. My armchair opinion is that once she decided she wanted to go to only to Western, and once she realized that playing college volleyball means no summers and full time dedication to the sport, she lost her enthusiasm. She wants to do other things, and I support her and love her and know she will continue to thrive. And she'll be back playing for the Kangs in 2012 and be involved with the middle school teams as well.

That being said, I'm really sad that it's over. Volleyball has been so good for her, has contributed so much to her growth as a young lady, that I wonder what can replace it. For me....well, for me it's been some of the most fun I've had as a dad. To see your daughter compete and succeed is like nothing else. I've enjoyed writing this blog and meeting so many great people. I've enjoyed watching dozens of practices and hundreds of games at high schools and facilities I never even knew existed. I LOVED getting up at 6 am to drive to Olympia. I LOVED just hanging out watching other teams during those 2 hour breaks between matches. Heck, I even loved going to Highline CC! Maddie and me...we're tight; we'll be OK forever, but volleyball has been a special bond and I'm really going to miss it.

I don't know what happens to the blog. Of course, I will chronicle next season's LWHS campaign and I'll keep everyone up to date on what is going on with Maddie. I'll always be a club volleyball dad. Thanks to everyone who reads this and who has reached out over the last few years...Stacy and Ann, you guys have helped so much.

If you stumble across this in a Google search for Club Volleyball info and make it to this post, I just want to say that I hope your daughter goes for it! Club is so awesome. They will benefit SO much. Just hold on for the ride. Love you, #11. You are one hell of a setter and one hell of a daughter. 5x5, babe.

Congrats Kameron!

A great article about a friend of this blog, Kameron McLain. Good luck at State!

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/highschoolsports/2016713536_ringer08.html

Kangs Hit the End of the Line

After an up and down season and a very satisfying post season, the 2011 Kang varsity volleyball team fell to Mercer Island 3-1. The girls ended up playing really well together as the playoffs began and had several chances to finally beat Mercer Island, but their stronger defense and dominant hitters finally wore us down. They continued on and qualified for state; congrats to both Mt. Si AND Mercer Island for making it. And so the 2011 Kangs season comes to a close with 7 seniors leaving, but leaving on a high note. My heart goes out to our Senior Libero, Katy, who played better and better as the season wore on and arguably deserves the Team MVP award in my book. She collided with another player in the 3rd game yesterday and ended up with a broken forearm. Having her make an appearance, arm in a sling, as she headed off to get the arm x-rayed was the stuff of champions. Good luck to Katy and all of the seniors in wherever life takes you.

Maddie has some news to deliver and I'll host a wrap up after the team party on Tuesday. Here's a last shot of the girls just after their season ender:

March of the Kangs Continues

I honestly did not think we would be playing volleyball into November, but the girls have simply turned it up a notch in the post season in what has become a memorable year for the Kangs. Yesterday, it was a District match vs. the winner of the Metro B league, Chief Sealth High School. The match was held at West Seattle HS in the spare gym which means the back of the bleachers were full with folks looking down and it was standing room only along the side and end lines. It was like playing volleyball in the ThunderDome for all of you Mad Max fans. (It is very cool that anyone doing a Google search for 'volleyball' + 'mad max' will someday be directed to this blog; who knew?)

The Kangs came out and silenced the mostly pro Chief Sealth crowd (though as ALWAYS we were well represented by a large group of Kang parents) by easily taking the first two games. Whether it was cockiness or a letdown or stress from the venue, we turned flat and lost a close game 3, then collapsed totally to lose game 4 and have everything tied up at 2. The crowd was going wild as Match 1 from the other side had ended and everyone was over watching our match. In a switch, Maddie started Game 5 and the team jumped out to an early 7-3 lead only to see it slip away and change hands continuously until it was all tied at 13, Chief Sealth serving. We rallied to win the point and Maddie cycled in to take the serve. Maddie is money on serves with about a 98% success rate, and true to form, she floated a warbler over the net that was not handled well by Sealth, they put up a weak attack and we got the ball back in system. After a deflection fell weakly to the floor, the Kangs had pulled off the win and lived to play another day.

The match against defending State Champ and #3 ranked Seattle Prep was almost anticlimactic. We held our own, but no way do we compete with D1 caliber players and they easily coasted 3-0. BUT, we play on with a Saturday match against Mercer Island who fell to Holy Names last night in another thriller. We have never beaten Mercer Island but the team is playing well right now. If we can hit with authority, get our serves in and play solid defense, you never know. 1 PM Saturday.

Congrats also to our friend Jessica and her Liberty team who beat our friend Ellen and West Seattle to also join the parade on Saturday. Maddie, Lark (from MI) and Jessica remain the only ITVC Blue teammates playing in the 3A tournament. Good job you guys!

A few pics:

Maddie's serve from the bleachers in the ThunderDome at West Seattle:

Another set to the outside:

Match point in Game 5 and VICTORY:

KingCo Playoff Thriller

Liberty's upset of Juanita on Thursday night helped the Kangs as we matched up against Liberty on Saturday to determine the final seedings for the District Championships to be held next week. We beat Liberty in both matches this year, yet every game was hard fought and they match up more closely than their records would indicate. True to form, we came out and took game 1, but fell in game 2. A nice bounce back in game 3 as Liberty's serves began to go awry, yet there they were in game 4 taking our non-dominant offensive attack and turning it into points of their own. And all of a sudden, a game 5! Did not want to be in a game 5 and I think the girls felt the pressure going down 12-8 as all the air was leaking out of the balloon. But alas, some awesome serves from our Senior Libero took us on a 7 point run and the match was ours. A really really big show of heart and determination. I have questioned that at times this year, but was proved wrong today and the whole team should be proud. So we move into Districts as a 3 seed and a first round match against Chief Sealth, the Metro 6 seed. They actually had an 11-2 record in Metro this year but must have struggled in the playoffs this year to drop to a 6 seed. If anyone has a scouting report, pass it along!


SET:

KILL:

2011 Lake Washington Kangs:

Volleyball Redemption and Validation

I can't seem to face up to the facts
I'm tense and nervous and I
Can't relax
I can't sleep 'cause my bed's on fire
Don't touch me I'm a real live wire.

Thanks, Talking Heads!

That was me yesterday. For the Kangs of 2011, a win over Bellevue in the loser out first round of the Kingco Conference playoffs makes the season a complete success, a loss means an end to a season of up and down play and unmet expectations....and the game against Bellevue where we were the 4 seed and they were the 5 seed, started out poor with a win by Bellevue that really required digging deep by the girls to reclaim what they deserved and earned. So dig deep they did, taking the next 3 games and advancing to play Mt. Si (the number 1 seed) and earning a place in the District Championships, a place this team has not been in for many a year. (Last year, we got bounced by Liberty in this same loser out game).

My congrats to Bellevue, who made great strides from last year and played with much heart. Maddie has played Club Volleyball with 3 of the girls on that team and they are all wonderful young ladies. So Jesse, Alex, and Meghan...we got you this year but you will all be back and even stronger next year.

In the other game, our friend Jessica and the Liberty team took on Juanita and upset them in 5 games to also earn a spot in the Districts. Hooray! We will play Liberty on Saturday at 3 PM to determine the 3rd or 4th seed from Kingco as we play the Metro Division next week. Liberty lost to Mercer Island in the 2 seed vs. 6 seed match and we lost to Mt. Si...and lost pretty good. I think the girls were a little 'off' knowing that not too much was on the line, but Mt. Si has such strong talent (including the League MVP OH and 2 other First Team players, that we just cannot really compete. They get to everything, their hitters elevate and smash the ball and they can block with the best of them. So #1 Mt. Si plays #2 Mercer Island and we play #6 Liberty to determine final seedings before heading to Districts. It would be great to beat Liberty and take the 3 seed.

Anyway....very proud of the girls for getting the job done vs. Bellevue. Good job to our parents who consistently show up even to away games (have I mentioned that we have the greatest parents of all the teams?!!). And also, good job on winning the Team Sportsmanship Award for 2011. It's very cool to be winners AND good sports!

2011 Kangs: Playoff Bound

I guess the route you take is unimportant as long as you make it to where you want to go. The seedings for the 3A tournament were decided Monday (as pointed out by the guest comment from the last post) so we played our final regular season match against a Juanita team that did not have their all-state setter (although I bet she would have played with a playoff spot on the line). Juanita was a team that really struggled this year. They have a great setter and a great OH but no depth whatsoever and we easily swept them last night to lock up the 4th seed, albeit with a losing record overall. The Kangs improved their win total to 6 games this year, one better than last year, and we head to the playoffs on Thursday for a game against Bellevue, who really made strides this year. It's a game we should win, but Bellevue has confidence after beating us a week ago. A win in that first match would extend the season by a week as we would actually make the district playoffs, which would indeed mean it was a successful 2011 campaign. Lose, and we go home. Here's to the Kangs having a successful Thursday and beyond, and good luck to all the girls playing in the post season!

The Week That Was Redux

The week that was....frustrating. The gals suffered a crushing defeat at home against Bellevue on Monday that completely muddied the 3A playoff picture. After completely dominating the first game, it's as if they though to themselves "hmm...Bellevue...no need to keep the pressure on" and they began shanking serve receives, pushing balls over the net, dealing with out of rotation penalties and untimely coaching mistakes, and generally forgetting that you have to put away inferior teams. I told Maddie after the game that while the loss was brutal, what was important was how they came out and played AFTER the loss, and they came out and dismantled a very overmatched Sammamish team on WED. Maddie had about 30 successful serves and 15 in a row at one point; it was a match they should have dominated, and they did. One more game against Juanita on Monday and then we wait and see if we're invited to the playoffs. Sad to know the season is winding down.

The Week That Was

The week that was....well....mixed. Monday started off nice with a visit to Snoqualamie Brewing with a Kang dad and some family friends. There is no excuse whatsoever to not visit SB while at an away game at Mt. Si! The Kangs took advantage of a lethargic start by Mt. Si to win game 1 and thoughts of an upset actually crept into my head but game 2 was business as usual. We were down by 12 in game 3 and staged a valiant comeback to make it close, but ended up losing that and game 4 for a final of 3-1 Mt. Si. Their height and our poor D did us in. Wednesday night saw us out in East Renton as we faced a frustrated Liberty team. One of Maddie's club teammates is on the team and her dad explained that they went into the season with high hopes but have never gotten it together. We beat them at home 3-0 but the games were all close and indeed we lost the first game but went on to play well enough to win the next 3 and solidify our place i the playoff hunt. Great news for the Kangs as we got our best OH back who has been sidelined the whole season with a sprained ankle. Rusty vs. Mt. Si but much more consistent and confident in game 2. Good to have you back, DH! Maddie is playing well and we move into the home stretch with 3 straight home games to wrap up the regular season. Enjoy your weekend!

Hitting Bottom

Up 2-0 vs. Interlake last night and ended up losing in 5 after going to 14-14 in the final game before one of our Senior captains served it into the net. I felt actually sick to my stomach last night, but I'm glad I didn't try and update the blog at that time. The bitterness was exposed. Maybe I take it more seriously than the girls and coaching staff does; if so, I need to let go a bit. I'm just sick of being in a losing program and no one seems to want to do anything to change it. I don't think it's wrong to put your best players out there full time. I better wrap this up now because it's all coming back. As ashamed as our coaches and girls should be for that effort, the girls and staff at Interlake should be proud because their girls never gave up and never gave in and learned what it's like to feel pride in an accomplishment. Sigh....

Hanging Tough in Mercer Island

The team came out flat tonight vs. MI, and before Maddie even cycled in, the Kangs were already down 15-3, but Maddie reeled off 7 straight to get the kindling lit. (Please note the first ever CAMPFIRE metaphor while discussing HS volleyball in this blog). Game 2 was closer, but our severely lacking defense seemed unable to return any serves, and when they did, the setters were out of position or the hitters were pushing it over, and against a fundamentally solid team like MI, the resulting kills went mainly unchallenged. Much like our previous match at Juanita, the girls rallied and took a game, but poor defense again dashed any hope of winning the match. Still, it was not a debacle against the 6th ranked 3A team.

A special shout out to Carly W. from MI who is not only a fine setter, but a classy young lady as well. You have the respect of me and Maddie and we're pulling for you to go deep in the playoffs (unless it's against the Kangs)! I might even support a 6-2 offense if you and Maddie were on the same team! :)

Important home match against Interlake this week...we really need a win against someone other than Bellevue, Liberty or Sammamish to get a better seed in the playoffs.

The Fine Line between Good and Mediocre

Had a solid if uninspired 3-0 vs. Samammish to put us nicely in contention to take sole possession of 4th place in KingCo with a win against a struggling Juanita team. They are a team that has lost their coach and although they have a superstar setter and a solid OH, they are not surrounded by much. Sadly, we came out and made the same mistakes that have plagued us for years (and plague many a team, I'm sure). Bad serve receive. Most serves were greeted with a shank or a poor pass to the setter. Our hitters were OK if not a bit inconsistent, but poor passing often resulted in sets that had our gals simply pushing balls over the net, and once JF set to DM it was all over. We came back to win Game 2 in an absolutely awesome OT game where the Kangs finally looked HUNGRY...but it all fell apart in the next 2 games with those unforced errors and weak offense. We really should have won this match and it's probably the most disappointed I've been with the team this season. We beat the Bellevue's and Liberty's and are beat in turn by the MI's and Mt. Si's, which is probably right...and that leaves Interlake and Juanita where we need to win. And we just don't. This team has never won a match we shouldn't have won and that is really frustrating. Oh, Club Volleyball Dad has lots of ideas, but is not one to get involved with coaching suggestions. It seems our philosophy is to play everyone. Juanita runs a 5-1. Just sayin. Doesn't get any easier next week with MI and Interlake...sigh...we just really needed that match last night. I gave up a trip to see a bunch of friends in Denver because of the KingCo playoffs...now I'm not so sure I should have. But as much as I rant in this blog, I don't put it in Maddie's face; I made a conscious effort to not even mention the match to her this morning on the way to school and I could tell from her mood that she would have exploded had I brought it up...so tip to Club Volleyball Parents: sliiiide into game critique conversations. :) Have a nice weekend, everyone.

Bellevue Blowout

I guess tonight I experienced what it's like to be a parent at Mercer Island....blowing out the other team is not really THAT satisfying. This match was so lopsided, it was over before any of the girls even broke a sweat...still, it wraps up a good week for the Kangs and a tough and impressive week for Maddie, who played sick both nights. Dad is proud the way she sucked it up. Had a nice time visiting with a few more Club dads who have DD's on the Bellevue team. I feel for them. Anyway, off to Sammamish on Monday where a win puts us at 3-3 in league...but then away games at Mercer Island and Juanita may bring us back to reality. Good job Kangs; it is important to beat the teams you SHOULD beat and set yourself up to steal one you shouldn't.

Bizzare Doings at Juanita HS

Juanita volleyball coach abruptly fired

Posted by Sandy Ringer

Teena Bambolo was fired as Juanita's head volleyball coach Monday, hours before the Rebels played a KingCo 3A/2A match against Mount Si.
"It was sort of an administrative decision," athletic director Steve Juzeler said Tuesday. "We're not going to give any more information than that. We wish Teena well."
Emily Price, the varsity assistant coach, is serving as interim head coach, according to Juzeler.
Bambolo, who was in her 10th season as head coach, said she was surprised by the abrupt meeting Monday with Juzeler and two other Juanita administrators. She was told her contract was terminated, given a final check (for the entire season) and asked to turn over her facility keys.
"It took all of five minutes," she said. "Ten years, and it took five minutes. They said their decision was final and I didn't get to explain myself. . . . I don't believe I've done anything in my 10 years at Juanita that would warrent termination. What I care about is my name and reputation which right now has been tarnished."
Bambolo is proud of the progress she made with the program, pointing out the team went 0-16 her second year as head coach and last season finished 11-3 in conference play to place second behind unbeaten Mount Si.
Juanita was 2-2 in league play under Bambolo, then Monday lost 3-0 to Mount Si to fall to 2-3. She said she sent a text to players that afternoon wishing them luck in the match and for the rest of the season.
Bambolo didn't want to go into details about the possible reasons for her termination, but did speculate "disgruntled parents" played a role. Plus, a starting player had quit the team last Thursday for what Bambolo described as a "difference in coaching philosophy."
That player returned Monday after Bambolo's termination and played in the final two sets against Mount Si after sitting out the opening set.

Hmmm....

Ups and Downs

Where did the week go? After Wednesday's day of recovery for Maddie and a loss to Mt. Si, the girls played a team from Alaska in a 'friendly' on Thursday. Of course, CVD was waiting for game time over at the Black Raven when the ex calls and says "Oh, the game started at 5:30." So I had another Wisdom Seeker and sulked...but not for long because Saturday was the Jamboree over at Juanita with 16 or so teams from all over competing to see who would be standing at the end of the longest tournament ever! It was like being in Spokane with an hour off then play, then ref, then play, then off for two hours....sadly, Devo was playing at Redhook and I was called away to what turned out to be a great night of 80's new wave in a complete downpour. But in a way, it was more special.

On to last night where we all reconvened at LWHS to welcome Liberty in to the house and catch up with IT teammate Jessica and her cool parents. I sat on the Liberty side, much to the chagrin of the Liberty parents and with Jess' dad watched a very close match that saw each game decided by just a couple of points. Jessica played a nice middle and Liberty won the first game, but in the second and third games, Maddie ran off 10 and 5 serves in a row to help the Kangs win their first league match of the season, 3-1. Maddie had 17 assists in a 6-2, again making me wish for the old 5-1 and a power OH, but it was nice to see a win. Great hustle by the girls after coming out a bit flat. On to Bellevue tomorrow and a hope that we go to 2-3 in league.

Another scare from Maddie yesterday as she woke up with a very sore throat. Some zinc and a pep talk from dad got her through last night, but she digressed over night. Of course, we were worried about strep because she had it last year, but it's just a little inflammation and the doc said she would be good to go tomorrow!

With pal Jessica from Island Thunder and Liberty HS post game:

Getting ready to serve at the 2011 Jamboree: