South Carolina Grand Prix was host to 194 great teams including nine Advantage teams. The level of play was very high, similar to Showdown in the Smokies. Some of the best competition we will find outside of qualifiers.
17 Teal
A short-staffed weekend for 17 Teal with three of our eleven being out, but, I really appreciated the effort the eight that we had consistently showed this weekend with some playing in different and expanded roles! I thought we made really nice adjustments within matches, for example, we exploited the 3/6 against one opponent running a rotation defense really nicely. We’ve got quite a bit of time before AAUs so we’re having everyone come up with something they really want to focus on and improve before our final tournament of the season. Looking forward to seeing the clips of what the girls want to work on!
17 White
17 White showed heart this weekend in the SC Grand Prix. Most impressive were the quick implementation of adjusting to being down one of our dominant players. We had to adjust our quick offense and slow it down a little which put a bit more pressure onto our pins, going up against better set blocks. Our pins were up for it and overall had sound offensive decisions!
17 Black
This weekend was full of talented teams as we played a few tough matches to start the weekend. Serve receive and service pressure carried us on day one. Special shout out to Emily Burnett for going on a 19-point service run in the final match of the day!! Day two was full of very entertaining volleyball but unfortunately ended in two long three set matches. There were lots of positives to take from the weekend as we look towards Nationals!
16 Teal
In our first game on day one, our serving was very solid. We were able to nail some short serves and really take the other team out of their offense. We left our three team pool one and one and took our crossover match to three, unfortunately losing a competitive third set. But, in that match, we did an incredible job handing overpasses, blocking, and attacking out of system. Some standout performances this weekend included Julia with a 0.846 hitting percentage with no errors and Cammy with 20 kills and hitting a 0.567! One month til AAU, let’s get back in this gym and prep!
16 White
16 White had a fantastic weekend in Spartanburg finishing 3-2 only losing to the division champion and a host team. We made strong adjustments and a lot of success attacking by everyone. Both middles scored at will and Ashley Hinton had quite a few showtime kills almost denting the floor.
16 Black
The SC Grand Prix was another tournament where some of our girls had to play different positions and they adjusted great, again! One pin had to play middle and one DS had to play outside. We also had our setter return after being out ill for a month. Nevertheless, the girls adapted and stepped up to the challenge. We had some really great hustle plays made by everyone which allowed us to finish 2nd in bronze on day two! We’re so proud of 16 Black for showing heart and playing together this weekend. Looking forward to refining our skills over the next month to end the season strong at AAUs!
15 Teal
From Meghan, “I loved seeing the girls’ blocking really come together this weekend; they were strong and precise!” 15 Teal has really been making strides with their intentionality in getting behind the ball in defense. It seems like every weekend we have some really great plays but it’s always a little highlight for these girls when we get a facial, so shoutout to Tamari for our this weekend! We’re sad this season is coming to an end, but looking forward to growth in these next few weeks before going into AAU.
15 White
15 White came in ready for redemption!! The girls did some team bonding that made them truly feel connected and built up that trust, which translated fabulously onto the court. We got a better understanding of pregame preparation and came in ready to fight! We couldn’t win every single one but we definitely enjoyed it a lot more once we got some kinks out the way! We really played as a team this weekend.
15 Black
15 Black saw a ton of really good competition this weekend. Early in the weekend we had a tough injury but these girls really rallied together. Ilani said, “I’m so proud of these girls stepping up to play in new and expanded positions.” This weekend, Maya Lyven really stepped into the huge role we needed her in and was a very efficient scorer. On to AAUs!
