H2 17 Columbia Crimson battled through adversity to finish second this weekend at the Sunflower Slam. With 3 teams in the top 25 of the region among the competition, the day was already set to be challenging. However, when setter Jayde Peters went down with a concussion the road only got more difficult for the girls.
6’4 middle Michaela Wright and 6 rotation opposite Alexa Stegemann stepped up to run a 6-2 offense that catapulted the 17s into the championship match against ICT Mavs. Thanks to the help of 15 year old setter Jada Oldham and 16 year old setter Veronica Allison the 17s were able to battle out 3 sets in the championship without the services of 4 regular team members.
Head Coach Coleman Lee said that he saw girls step into roles and leadership positions that may have been somewhat new and unknown prior to the tournament, but overall the tournament provided the team with success as well as a much needed learning experience which resulted in a newly found team unity and strength.
Next up for the Columbia 17s is the 18s Division at the H2 tournament in Highland, Illinois.
