H2 Illinois West 14 Black Finds What’s Been Missing

Last weekend at the Show Me Kansas City Qualifier April 13-15, the girls finally found what they have been missing for the last few weeks. After the roller coaster of emotions and loss the girls have felt the last few weeks, they finally found the cohesion they needed for the weekend. This weekend was one for the books! The girls knew this tournament was going to be one of the toughest they had seen all season. The last few weeks we seemed to have been missing something, we seemed to have been missing something more than just execution. On the first day, the girls couldn’t quite get passed the top team in our bracket which was coast. It wasn’t until something really switched the second day, the girls were playing more for each other instead of just for themselves. I don’t know if it was the team dinner we had the night before or the fact that all of the girls were hanging out with each other instead of breaking off into groups during breaks or at the end of the day. Whatever it was, it worked, I hadn’t really seen them play so much for each other than I did that day! The girls really together on their huddles and picked someone up when they started to get down on themselves. The Black team really played with the most passion I had seen all season against Memphis Sting. The girls were taking more swings and making demanding calls they normally wouldn’t have done during previous tournaments. Kate Conway and Maddie Vieth really led the front row when it came to swing while Kloi Karban and Addison Rode led the blocking in the front row. Allison Woolbright and Lexie Hays took over digs in the back row. Leah Kaburich made great timed dumps and Lilly Evans with her huge blocks and kills, both turned the tide in our favor. Rayna Hunter brought the heat the last day after we had a quick heart to heart. We may not have come out in the top tier of teams but I think we gained something much greater than wins. The girls finally found what it was truly like to be a team. The girls were working for every single point for their teammates, they wanted to win for each other. The girls really started to take control of the huddle and we started to see new leaders voicing their efforts to get the rest of the team going. Like I said before, this tournament may not have resulted in huge win but they found what they were truly looking for all season. I cant wait to see the girls to continue in this stride of teamwork next weekend in Greenville!