Archive for category: Uncategorized

Two weekends in a row, the Cardinals have brought home the bling!  They traveled to Greenville over Easter weekend and after taking 1^st in pool play the Cardinals beat St Charles Xplosion and St Charles Stars in playoffs to get to the final match.  18 Cardinal took on Rockwood 18 White in two sets for the championship.   “We are so proud of these girls!  We have a player out with an injury and the girls have all stepped up to make the necessary adjustments to continue the success of this team!  What a fantastic group of athletes” says Coach McBride.   18 Cardinal will travel to the Show Me Qualifier in Kansas City this weekend to compete for a national bid.  Good luck ladies! 

With only two days of practice and coming off their Illinois middle school season, the H2 14 National squad won its first tournament of the season this past weekend!  Great job ladies!  Go H2!

Courtesy of Maureen Redig, Champion Shot Sports Photography

H2 Saint Louis 16 Cardinal came to Denver determined to make a statement and win a National Qualifier. They were excited to have everyone back on the court after several team members were sidelined with injuries.  Going into the first game of pool play on Friday, they looked a little shaky while running a 6-2 and dropping the first game 19-25.  Head Coach Michael Loyd switched to a 5-1 for the next game, and the girls immediately found their groove, winning the match in 3 … they would go on to win the next two matches in two sets each.  The girls were excited to be 3-0, but they knew the next day was pivotal to move them on to Gold. 

 Day two was an early morning pool, but the girls were ready once again to represent St. Louis!  They took the next two matches in two against OK Charge and Arrowhead X Factor.  The next match against Aspire Black was the make it or break it match.  Lose and they would play a challenge match in the evening for 1st place, breaking a 3-way tie.  Win and they would advance to GOLD on Sunday and be top 16.  H2 was on their toes and won the first set 25-22. But Aspire fought hard and won the next set 18-25.  Coaches Loyd and Owens encouraged the girls before the 3rd set, to play clean and aggressive volleyball.  The girls were hungry and won the final set 15-12.   6-0 on the weekend!

The motto going into Sunday was 8, 10, 12 & 2, which were the game times to get to the championship game.  “Every girl on the team played their best volleyball, said Coach Loyd.  From blocks to hits, to passes to sets, everyone brought their A game!”   The first match(8) against Johnson National was intense, but H2 pulled out the win in 2 sets, 25-15 and 30-28.  The atmosphere and crowd were electric as other teams from St. Louis came to show their support for H2 in the semifinal match 2 (10) against the Colorado Jrs.    The Jrs. had height and were quick on their feet, and they took the first set, but not without a fight from H2 pushing it to 24-26.  Half way through the second set H2 was down 10-16.  But they were relentless and kept digging deep.   After a side out,  H2 went on a 9 point serving run led by OH Danielle Waedekin and had several huge blocks by MB Nzingha Clarke and RH Abby Fishbeck to take the lead. The 3rd set was a tremendous victory; after being down 6-12, they came back to win the set 15-13!  “Coach just kept telling us to control what we can on our side of the net, said libero Kameryn Bellinger, and we did!”  The girls were ecstatic!   Final 4!

Match 3(12) unfortunately ended the run for H2 as they lost to CVA Colorado (Crossroads Champions) in two sets, 14-25 and 20-25.   Match 4 (2) determined the 3rd place winner, and sadly, the girls couldn’t pull out the win and lost to the River City Jrs in two sets, 19-25 and 20-25.  However, in the end, their tremendous showing – top 4 out of 100+ teams, was nothing to be sad about at all.

“It was such a special weekend for these girls being that none of them had ever competed on such a huge stage,  said Coach Loyd.  Now we have our eyes set on Indy.”

H2 14 Black finished the day undefeated in match play to secure their second win of the season in a row.  The girls adjusted to the level of play well and were able to keep the tempo of the matches in our control. Defense definitely wins championships and boy was there some D!  Great job girls, your hard work is showing and the smiles on your faces make everyday worth it!

16 Crush, fresh off of a second place finish last weekend, turned up the heat again at Mineral Area College Invitational where they completed a 10-0 Run to take 1^st in Gold and to complete its second Gold Championship in as many tries at Mineral Area.

Coach Deb Charleton & Crush took charge in the first match and never looked back.  Club Director Geoff Davis was on the bench with the squad this weekend and was thrilled at the energy on the court.  “These girls are a model of unity and effort. They have so much fun together, they show tremendous support of each other and they show a tremendous amount of poise on the court.  It’s clear that many of these young ladies could play volleyball well into college if they wish.” And it’s clear that all the parents have just as much fun supporting their champions!

Only once showing signs of trouble, they let one opponent get a 9 point lead, then showed the tremendous poise in coming back to not only win, but they let no other team even get close to them for the rest of the day.

“I hope to get the opportunity to spend more time with these girls during the rest of the season.  They are truly fun to watch and I look for continued great things out of this group.”

Check out video clips below:

13 Cardinal finishes in a 3-way tie on day 1 then goes on an 8-0 run to the Silver Championship!

Check out the video below of point 27 and Championship Point!

After getting off to a slow start, 15 Black fought hard to finish 2nd in pool play, which placed them in the Gold Bracket.  Its first match opponent was Team Momentum 14 Navy, and they won with excellent play by everyone.  “Our girls would just not let a ball drop on our side of the net without every possible effort,” said coach Schroeder.  The next match placed 15 Black against St. Louis Heat 15s.  They took us to three well fought games, but we won out in the end.  With that win 15 Black was in the GOLD MATCH FINAL against South County Angels.  We put up a good fight, but finished second in the end.

17 Cardinal brought home the Bronze Bracket Championship  in Power League this weekend. The girls struggled with some plays on Saturday and found themselves in the Bronze bracket Sunday. They were more composed and played their best winning the medal on Sunday.

Congratulations!

16 Cardinal competed in its first tournament in its age division this past Saturday. They looked great as they cruised to the championship at the Rec Plex Classic in St. Peters. 16 Cardinal went a perfect 10-0 on the day!

Congrats to 14 Cardinal for taking First Place in the Silver Division at the HP New Years Classic!

Hubba Hubba!

H2 13s on a nature hike doing the early morning hours.  The girls spent the weekend at Pere Marquette Lodge, where through a series of role playing, and 2 on 2 pairs interaction, they developed a cohesive team spirit and setting fourth their goals for the season!

They also had the pleasure of seeing some of the Moms in the Hit play (MY Parents are weird, but we love them anyway!)

Thanks to all those great volunteers who help shepherd them back and forth as well as provide us with some great dinner and breakfast!

Our final open gym before tryouts will take place tonight at Ritenour High School from 7-9:30.  Join us as you get ready for this weekend!

Price $10. Click here register for open gym sessions.

Tryouts 15’s-18’s

15’s Friday Nov 18th from 7pm-9pm at Ritenour High School

16’s Saturday Nov 19th 11am-1:30pm at Ritenour High School

17’s Saturday Nov 19th 4pm-6:30pm at Whitfield High School

18’s Saturday Nov 19th 8am-10:30am at Ritenour High School

Price $20 per athlete. Click here to pre-register for try-outs.  Download Gateway’s registration & waiver form and bring to tryouts.

St. Louis, Mo. – Alex Hess (née Chartrand), a long time stand out volleyball player in St. Louis, and former CYC 181 Green assistant coach has joined the staff of H2 Saint Louis  as head coach of its 17 Black (National) Team for the 2011-2012 season.

Alex has over 12 years of competitive playing experience. She spent her high school years playing for the Nerinx Hall Markers and the St. Louis CYC Volleyball Club. In college, Alex split her time playing for the University of Missouri Racquetball Team and Mizzou’s Women’s A Club Volleyball Team, helping lead the latter to a 2nd place finish at nationals. Alex also spent a year coaching the Women’s B volleyball team while recovering from ACL surgery.   

“Alex has the ability to walk you through the process of taking a player to a greater awareness and understanding of the game of volleyball, and she does it with the energy that is the hallmark of the H2 Saint Louis brand of volleyball,” stated Michael Loyd, assistant club director.

Hess credits a large part of her success to Josh Lauer, her former club coach, for pushing her to be her very best and helping to foster a passion for the game that still exists in her today.

“I believe positive communication and a focus on the fundamentals is key to the development of the entire athlete. I can’t wait to share my knowledge and love of the game with a new group of dedicated athletes,” Hess stated. “H2 Saint Louis has done a tremendous job in growing its program, and I consider myself fortunate to be able to play a role in the club’s future.”

H2 Volleyball’s Jaden McBride is ready to return to the court.  Are YOU ready? 

Join us this weekend for the start of our open gyms beginning with 11’s-14’s. 

Open gym 11’s-14’s

Sun Oct 9^th 5:30pm-8:00pm at North County Recreation Center

Sat Oct 15^th 6:30pm-9:30pm at JCCA (St Louis Jewish Community Center, 2 Millstone Campus Dr., St. Louis, Mo  63146)

Sun Oct 16^th 6:30pm-9:30 pm at JCCA (St Louis Jewish Community Center, 2 Millstone Campus Dr., St. Louis, Mo  63146)

Tues Oct 18^th 7:00pm-9:30pm at JCCA (St Louis Jewish Community Center, 2 Millstone Campus Dr., St. Louis, Mo  63146)

Price $10 per session or $25 for all 4 sessions.  Click here register for open gym sessions.

Tryouts 11’s-14’s

14’s Sat Oct 22nd 8am-10am at Whitfield High School

13’s Sat Oct 22nd 11am-1pm at Whitfield High School

12’s Sat Oct 22nd 2pm-4pm Whitfield High School Big Gym

We won’t be able to offer an 11’s team.  We are very sorry for the inconvenience!

Price $20 per athlete.  Click here to pre-register for try-outs.  Download Gateway’s registration & waiver form and bring to tryouts.

With high school volleyball starting this week in full swing, many H2 faces can be found competing on the court. 42 of our incoming Freshmen and Sophomore girls made their high school teams. 20 of those 42 made their Varsity squad. 12 made Junior Varsity and 10 made their Freshmen squad. What an accomplishment! Leading the pack is Incarnate Word Academy with 9 of our H2 girls representing their teams this year. Congratulations ladies! H2 is proud of you all.