MAVA 12 Blue Second in Dayton President?s Cup
February 16, 2010
The girls from 12 Blue overcame a lot of adversity to finish second in the Dayton President?s Cup over Valentine?s weekend. The weekend record of 7-1 is impressive enough, but consider their schedule on Saturday.
Playing the first two matches of the day, Cincy Classics Red and Michigan Elite 12-1 were quickly handed straight set losses.
Then the fun began, after reffing the third match of the day, the team was to have a break from 11am until 6pm. The day was running a little long and the first assignment of the evening was to referee beginning an hour later at roughly 7:15pm.
Two more matches followed with 12 Blue victorious against The Academy of Cleveland and NKYVC 12 Tide. The Girls were tired from their day that began with a 6:45 am wakeup call and ended with a quick dinner and bedtime around 11:15pm.
Sunday saw the completion of pool play with a 9 am match against Legacy 12 Tornado. The result was a three set victory. Bracket play began with an easy victory over Legacy 12 Wave, setting up a semifinal match against NKYVC 12 Tsunami. The first set was back and forth with NKYVC pulling out a 25-20 victory. The second set saw 12 Blue jump out to a commanding lead and cruising to a 25-15 win.
The final set showed just how this team fights. Down 7-13 and hopes fading, MAVA 12 Blue closed with 8 straight points to advance to the Gold Bracket final against Cleveland Volleyball Company 12 Black. This would be another thriller, with CVC winning the first set 23-25 and 12 Blue blowing them out 25-8. The third set proved too tough for the girls, after falling behind 1-6, and 6-9, a quick saw the Sharks tie the score at 10. CVC took command with a 3 point run and led 10-14 when 12 Blue battled back once again to 13-14. This time there was not enough magic for the girls to pull out victory, losing 13-15.
Second place in the Presidents cup is an achievement to be proud of in itself. But, to overcome the scheduling gaps and quick turnaround in the first overnight tournament of the year, the Girls of 12 Blue showed they are not only physically tough, but mentally tough as well. Their season record is an outstanding 20-2, with the Central Zone Championships on tap for next weekend.
Go Mava, Go MAVA Go!!!