After taking the runner-up spot in Indy, our 16P team was invited to play in the Battle for the Arch in St. Louis, MO. Going in as the virtual unknown and seeded near the bottom, the girls turned in their best sustained performance since March. 11 of the 14 teams in the 16-18's division had earned bids to Nationals, including three open teams.

Power had the good fortune to be able to play each of them which was worth the trip alone. On day one, the team played to a 3-2 record and advanced to the eight team gold grouping. In the am pool on day two, we went 2-1 including a inspiring three-set win over KC Power, a team that has won three open qualifiers in 2009 and is ranked #5 in the country. After three teams tied at 2-1, we drew a one-set tie break against the open-qualified and defending National Champion Iowa Rockets. The girls came up big again and won 15-13 to advance them into the upper gold bracket, where they lost to eventual runner-up and host Rockwood Thunder, another open division team.

Overall, the team finished tied for third and advanced the cause for West Bend Power as a legitimate national presence. To view all results, check out battleforthearch.com.

Coach B.J. Royes Honored by USA Volleyball

B.J. Royes was selected by USA Volleyball to receive the 2009 Youth and Junior Olympic Volleyball Division Service Award for Outstanding Male Coach of the year. This is B.J.'s tenth year with the club and is the fifth year he is taking a team to Nationals. B.J. has also had a distinguished High School coaching career, having taken West Bend West to the State Tournament in 2004 (2nd place) and 2006 (3rd place). Many of coach Royes's players have gone on to play at the collegiate level. Congratulations B.J. on the award and thank you for your dedication to the West Bend Power program.

Three West Bend Power Teams are Heading to Miami for the USAV Nationals

16-Purple, 14-Purple and 13-Purple all have earned bids to the 2009 Junior Olympic Volleyball National Championship Tournament in Miami. 16-Purple will be competing in the National Division, while 14-Purple and 13-Purple will be competing in the American Division. Congratulations to the players and coaches for earning the honor to represent the Badger Region at Nationals. In the last four seasons, a total of 10 West Bend Power teams have qualified for Nationals.

Dominating Performance by 12-Black in Their Final Tournament

A great finish to a great season. 12-Black team wrapped-up their season with a dominating performance at the Block Party Finale Tournament in Waukesha. It seemed every aspect of the team’s game was on including: serving, passing, setting and hitting. Every player on the team made significant contributions to this final tournament win. 12-Black outscored their opponents by a margin greater than 2:1, meaning more than doubling the score of their opponents overall. Coaches Amy and Alyssa did a great job with the team on skill development and getting the girls to play well as a team.

13 Purple shows “Power Pride” at Mid-East qualifier (5th Place Finish!)

In their first attempt at a national bid, 13 Purple journeyed to Columbus Ohio for the Mid-East qualifier. The team showed amazing poise as they entered their first round of play against very tough (and much larger!) opponents and took the first two matches without losing a game. Day-one ended late in the evening with a tough 3-game loss against a hard-hitting Michigan Elite team.

Early the next morning, the intensity multiplied as their day-two opponents continued to bring harder hitters and taller blockers. But let me tell you… this team DOES NOT GIVE UP! Incredible digs and intense “stare-downs” brought them an opening match win in 2 extremely hard-fought games (both going 25-23) against an Xtreme team from Texas. This momentum carried them into the final match without a loss for the day where they fell after a tough 26-24 loss against an Ultimate Gold team. However, they did what they needed to do to keep them in the gold bracket for the final day.

The opening match-up was against a Texas Tornado team that was tearing-up everyone they met – with most opponents scoring less than 15 points. Once again the 13’s showed their heart, desire and “Power Pride” and looked the Tornado’s in the eye (yup, more stare downs!) and shocked them by winning the opening game 25-23. The tall Texas girls (were they really 13?) rebounded to take game two and force a third game battle that ended with Power putting it all out on the court to send the tornado’s spinning-home early with a 16-14 win and giving the players, coaches and parents a game they won’t soon forget! The weekend ended with a heart-breaking loss to the Rocket City volleyball club, but our 13’s placed an amazing 5th out of 52 teams!

Super Job Ladies!! “1-- --3-- --W - B - P”!

Results from the First Week Of the Badger Region Championships

15-Purple finishes first in the Open Division and 14-Purple is first in the Club Division, both teams were undefeated throughout the two day tournament. 12-Purple and 12-Black both competed in the Open Division. 12-Purple placed 9th with a 4-3 winning record. 12-Black placed 10th with their second win over Sting Black this season. 13-Purple also competed in the Open Division. They had a tough first round of pool play with two close losses to the #2 and #4 finishing teams. Those were the only two losses they had, finishing 9th with a 4-2 record. 14-Black competed in the Club Division. They just missed the upper bracket with a close 3-set loss in the first round of pool play, ultimately finishing 22 out of 37 teams with a 3-3 record. 15-Black started the day off by winning their pool in the first round. In round two, they ended up in a 3-way tie for first. A single 15 pt playoff set was used to determine Gold, Silver or Bronze bracket. 15-Black lost the set 13-15 and that pushed them all the way down to Bronze. They finished 15th out-of 42 teams with a 5-2 record and had defeated the #5 and #9th finishing teams. They also played nearly 5 hours straight on Sunday without any breaks.

All the teams played hard, looked good and had fun. It was a good weekend.

More Detail on the 15-Purple's BRC Win

In sports the only thing that is certain is uncertainty. The 2009 Club Volleyball season started with the uncertainty of whether the 2009 15 Purple team can match or better last year’s 14 Purple team’s accomplishments. Last year’s dream season culminated in a first place in Silver bracket (ninth overall) in the American Division of the Junior Olympic National Tournament. While the team had a strong core of returning players, there had to be questions of how the team would gel with several new faces up front.

Well, if the season so far is any indication of things to come, that highest finish at the Junior Olympics is in danger of being eclipsed by this outstanding squad of girls and their coaches. Since their second place finish at the start of the season in a 16s tournament in Oshkosh the team has finished number one in the subsequent 5 tournaments, 3 of which were also at the 16 age level.

The most recent first place finish in the Badger Region Championship Open Division against high-caliber teams was the most impressive. This was the coming out party that the coaches, players and families had been waiting for all year. They handled their opponents in business-like fashion in Saturday’s four-team pool. On Sunday it was clear that this team had come to play, with all positions executing well. The coaches made sure the focus was always on the “next match” and the girls responded by storming through the 3-team pool to reach the Gold bracket. While they were tested early in a 3-game match in the quarterfinals, one had the feeling that this team would not be denied. The momentum carried through the semifinals and Championship where they closed out each match in two games.

Well done Girls, Coaches and Fans! Let’s keep that momentum going into Minnesota and beyond!

16 Purple takes 2nd at the Mid-East Qualifier

Earns a bid to Junior Olympic Nationals in Miami!

Thirty-nine four-team pools and 155 opponents. That’s what stood in the way of our 16-Purple team as they headed into the Mid-East Qualifier. It was a daunting task and making it into the championship match would mean that our girls would have to win four matches in Sunday’s 32-team single elimination Gold Bracket.

Day one went smoothly as the girls went undefeated. Day two netted the same results, except with much improved play. These results (6-0) sent us into the final 32-team Gold Bracket.

Our first opponent was the (5-0) TX Tornados. This was a tough team that offered a lot of resistance, but eventually went down in two close and exciting sets. Our next opponent, also from Texas (San Antonio Heat), resulted in a two set sweep. Our quarterfinal match was against a solid and athletic team from Iowa (Platform Elite) and was a well-played match that resulted in our ninth match victory.

On to the final four and another Texas team from the Houston area, Brazos Valley. This was a well-balanced and aggressive team that was the best defensive team that we have seen all season. After losing set one, we fought back to win the next two to advance to the championship match.

Our final opponent would be Nike Six-Pack from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They were an aggressive offensive-minded team that really challenged us up front. After a slow start in game one, we rebounded to tie the match at one set apiece. Six Pack took game three 15-12 leaving us 10-1 for the weekend, with a well-deserved bid to Nationals.

The 2nd place finish ties our previous club best finish at a National Qualifier, matching the efforts of the 2007 14-Purple team. This team has now earned national qualifying bids at three consecutive national qualifiers. We could not be more proud of the girls!

Power 12 Purple Enjoying a Successful Season

12 Purple got off to an uncertain start in their first tournament, Penguin Fest, January 10th, placing 3rd in Gold, but they came back big, with TWO back-to-back tournament wins! They showed they were really connecting as a team when they took first in gold at the Fond du Lac Open January 17th and celebrated another first in gold victory at the Power Challenge series in Wisconsin Dells on February 28th. At the Dells tournament, the girls stepped up their game with some fantastic ace serves and great passing to be undefeated the entire day, beating out Wisconsin Juniors and Hartford Eclipse.

On March 3rd, 12 Purple participated in their first 13s tournament. The girls fought hard to take first in their pool taking them to the semi finals, where they lost to Raytown 13-1s, finishing in 3rd place gold. Nice job ladies! Keep up the great work!

16-Purple Finishes Strong 4th in 18's Badger Tour

Our 16-Purple team wrapped up the Badger Tour (18's Division) this weekend with an overall fourth place finish in the 32 team field. They finished with a 9-3 overall record and the final day included wins over Penguins 17-1 and FC Elite 18-1. No other 16's teams finished in the top 24 so the team has much to be proud of after this performance.

The 16's begin their national qualifying season this weekend as they travel to Indianapolis to take part in the Hoosier Mid-East Qualifier starting on Friday, March 6th and concluding on Sunday, March 8th.

12-White Takes Second at Fond du Lac Open

That’s right, our 12-3’s team took second out of a 6-team tournament field. Many of the other teams in the tournament were other clubs 1’s teams. 12-White, also known as the Developmental Team, made it to the finals of the Fond du Lac Open on February 21, ultimately losing to Club Break-out in the gold championship match. The developmental team is designed for younger players and players not sure about making a commitment to a full regular season. The developmental team plays for about half the regular 12’s season and has only four tournaments.

The 14-Purple Team has Enjoyed a Very Exciting and Successful Season so Far!

With six tournaments under their belt, Lauren and Mel have led the girls to the Gold Championship Round in ALL six tournaments. Four of the six have resulted in 1st Place Gold Championship Wins: Titan Invite, Green Bay Fest, Power Challenge Series and the latest tournament win this past weekend in the Madison area - Capital Cup Series.

The team is excited to be preparing for the Badger Region National Qualifier later this month ,,,, Good Luck at the Badger Region Tournament! Congratulations to Lauren, Mel and 14-Purple Girls for all their hard work and success so far this season!

13 Purple Continues to Roll

As the weeks of the 2009 season roll on, the 13 purple team continues to improve and progress. The hard work in practice has been paying off as the winning ways of January have continued right into February where the first two weekends brought 2 more tournament championships!

The teams started the month by traveling to Pleasant Prairie to compete in the Juniors Freeze Fest tournament. The team quickly showed that they play at a higher level than their pool play opponents and they went into the quarterfinals without losing a game. They rose to the challenge of better teams and more exciting matches in the playoffs, however, which ended with a very exciting 3rd game championship match and their 2nd tournament championship in a row!

Never one for standing still, Coach Hasse had the girls in Whitewater the next weekend for the UW-Whitewater open. They opened the tournament with a lot of confidence, but dropped their first match to the River City Dragons in 3 games. The early defeat woke them up, however, and they finished the rest of the tournament without losing another game (Pump it up! Go Hey? Go Hey?). The day was topped-off by a re-match with the Dragons in the Championship where they left no doubt who the better team was winning convincingly in two games to bring home their third championship in a row.

Keep-up the hard work, girls!!!!

12-Black’s Come from Behind Victory

It was a shaky start for 12-Black at the Green Bay Fest on February 1. The team struggled in pool play and things seemed to be getting worse when one of the setters, Olivia was injured. Natalie the middle hitter had to step-in as setter, and she did a fine job. The team got in their groove during bracket play, coming out in the semi-finals with a solid performance and victory against a very tall and physical Lakeshore Storm. In the championship match, Green Bay Power took the first game with some strong serving. In game two, again Green Bay jumped to an early lead on serving but this time the girls were able to work their way back for a win. Game 3 was looking bad after the first rotation, with 12-Black down 0-9 in a game only to 15. However, two side-outs later, Molly’s consistent serving (including a few aces) brought the team back to only a 9-10 deficit. During that rally the team responded to Green Bay’s attacks with their own. Both sides were playing very well, with exceptional passing, setting and hitting. The game stayed within a one point margin until West Bend Power finally pulled ahead for an 18-16 victory. The championship match win was particularly sweet for the girls given Green Bay had 2 boys on the team who were both very good players.

13 Purple Shows Impressive Start to the Season

The 13-purple team has started the 2009 season with two impressive outings. Their first competition as a team took place in North Aurora Il on January 4th at the Asics Mikasa Series tournament. They hit the ground running as they went undefeated through the tournament before falling in the championship to take a 2nd place. Despite the great first outing, the 13’s were not happy with 2nd place. They hit the gym hard and showed-up in the Dell’s on January 14th ready to take charge of the Power Challenge Series. The only 13 team in a pool of all 14s, the only true POWER team dominated each team and went 10-1 earning a first round bye in the playoffs. The team turned it up even more in the playoffs to dominate the competition and came home with their first championship of the season.

16-Purple Kicks-off Their Season in the Dells

The 16-Purple team opened their season last weekend in Wisconsin Dells playing in the Badger Tour 18's Division. The results were very good as the girls went 4-0 in first round pool play, featuring a couple of exciting three game match wins. One of those victories included coming back to win a game that we started with a 10-1 deficit. Apparently taking an early lead and forging ahead is rather boring to these girls! That said, the performance overall was very solid for the first outing of the season. They are looking forward to getting back to day two of the Badger Tour in a couple of weeks. The day's most memorable moment came in our final match when RS Lindsey Gosh took one past the block and down the line for an exclamation point kill. Ask her about it for more details!

18-Purple also went undefeated in the first day of the Badger Tour.

A Wonderful Start for the 14 Purple Team!

They headed into their first tournament with high hopes and tons team spirit. Parents in the stands were witness to spikes, back sets and strong hits on the court ,as well as, tons of support from the coaching duo on the side lines. 14 purple went undefeated throughout the entire day, winning every match in 2. It was a great day for all when the team made it into the championship round on their first tournament of the season, ultimately winning First in Gold in the Oshkosh Titan Invite. Way to go 14 Purple!!! Congrats Lauren and Mel!!!

18-Purple Starts the Season off in Winning Fashion

Congratulations to 18 Purple for their championship win in the gold bracket on January 11^th. We got off to a rocky start with both of our setters getting lost and arriving just in time to start our first match with seconds to spare. The girls showed continued improvement with each match they played and they jelled well as a team. It was fascinating to watch and the crowd and parents were cheering their hearts out. We look forward to more success in the future. There were many highlights. Our defensive specialists (Caitlin, Kim & Stacy) played their hearts out with diving, passing and tracking abilities that just awed the crowd. Our setters (Sammi & Brianna) ran plays with authority. We had our middles (Hannah & Mary) nailing balls between the 8 & 10 foot line and our hitters (Erika, Elissa & Kelly) hitting shots and blocking up a storm. Elissa hit the ball so hard that it landed between the knees of the defender and stuck there for game/match point… it doesn’t get much better than that!

----------------------------------------------------

Congratulations to Alissa Straub (last years 18-Purple and this years assistant coach for 12-B) for being named "Libero of the Year" in the Wisconsin Collegiate Conference. Alissa plays for UWWC in West Bend where she was also named 2nd team All Conference and was ranked third on the WJCAA All State Region III Team.

Congratulations to Melissa Jansen (who was on last years 18-Purple) and UW Milwaukee for qualifying for the NCAA Division I championship tournament. UWM was the only Div 1 school in Wisconsin to qualify. UWM earned their bid by winning the Horizon Conference Tournament. UWM had a difficult first round match that they ultimately lost against #9 Illinois in Champaign IL. For more details go to the UWM Panther website: uwmpanthers.com

Also, congratulations to Katie Reimer (last years 18-Purple) and UW Oshkosh for making it to the quarterfinals of the Division 3 NCAA championship tournament.

About

info@westbendpower.com

Assignments

Tournament Directions

BadgerRegion

Platinum and

Gold Sponsors

Wash. Co Deputy Sheriff's Association

Other Sponsors

Links

Badger Region

Division I

UW-Madison

UW-Milwaukee

UW-Green Bay

Marquette

Division III

Wisconsin Conference