Northern Lights Central
4/14/2007 12:06pm
All right, so here is the current lowdown on our Sting teams in Minneapolis this weekend. Round 4 should be wrapping up for everyone. Beginning with Sting 12 Gold
they are sitting nicely at 2-0 in pool play including a nail biter 3 set first match against in-state River City 12-1's; 26-24, 23-25, 15-10. Sting 12 Black is also
off to a fantastic start in their first big qualifier outing and are also sitting at 2-0 so far and doing it convincingly to this point. In the 14's Sting 14 Black is holding
on to their number 1 seed quite well at 2-0. They may be the number 2 seed in their pool but at 2-0 Sting 14 Gold is in the drivers seat going into their final match of day 1 as they
will play the number 1 seed (pool) who has one loss so far. The bigger news of the morning may be the fact that they haven't even come close to a 3 set match yet. This could be ground breaking territory for them.
A day one with no 3 set matches.......
In 15 Open Sting 15 Gold is also the number 2 seed in their pool and they also enjoy a 2-0 match record so far. They survived a not so exciting 3 set
match against Front Range 15 White; 22-25, 25-9, 15-9. It will be perfect match record vs. perfect match record in their final match of the day to decide who switches position in the overall
seeding.
Sting 15 Black does not play until 3:00pm
UPDATE - 2:20pm
Over for most, still going for one, one more yet to compete. Despite 15 Gold still playing in pool play we can say that so far the NLQ has been a very successful day
for Sting teams. Both Sting 12 Gold and Sting 12 Black went undefeated today. Not to be outdone, Sting 14 Gold and Sting 14 Black also went
undefeated on day 1. Sting 15 Gold should be finishing up their final match of pool play shortly while Sting 15 Black should be entering the facility as I type
and making their way to their court to begin their day one.
[Sting 15 Gold finished pool play as this was being updated. They lost their last match of pool play; 17-25, 20-25.]
Day 1 record(s) for Sting teams:
Sting 12 Gold: 3-0
Sting 12 Black: 3-0
Sting 14 Gold: 3-0
Sting 14 Black: 3-0
Sting 15 Gold: 2-1
Sting 15 Black: 3-0 updated 9:40pm
UPDATE - 4:20pm
Sting 15 Black came out strong in match number one beating Minnesota Select 15-2's; 25-15, 25-15.
UPDATE - 6:20pm
Finally, an update. It seems like court 1 is a little behind schedule. 15 Black posted their second vicotry of the tournament by beating Club Elite 15 Blue; 25-7, 25-16. They are scheuled to play their final
match at 8:00pm but chances are they are running about an hour behind.
UPDATE - 9:40pm
Ding ding ding ding.....Day one of the NLQ is over. Sting 15 Black kept things rolling into and out of their final match tonight versus Kirkwood 151 (MO); 25-18, 25-18. The stages are set for day two.
Beginning with the little ones Sting 12 Gold will take the court at 8:00am tomorrow morning. On court 33 12 Black finds themself as the number two seed in a pool that looks a lot like home with
Penguins 12-1's and River City 12-1's along with one team from Minnesota. They will take the court for their first match at 9:00am. In 14's Sting 14 Gold enters the day as the number 2 seed in their pool
giving them the 9:00am match as well while Sting 14 Black will begin at 8:00am. In 15 Open, 15 Gold is the number 3 seed in their day two pool but that also gives them the earlier start time
at 8:00am. Sting 15 Black retains their number one seed overall and begin play at 8:00am. Everyone is in the morning tomorrow which should make for a lot of updating....when yours truly is at home.
It's a big day tomorrow. There is a lot of tournament left and anything can happen. Good Luck everyone and keep things moving upwards.
Day 2
Things started off as close as it can get with Sting 15 Gold this morning as they lost their first match in two; 23-25, 26-28 against the number one overall seed, Northern Lights 15-1 (MN). In 15 Club Sting 15 Black
kept their winning streak alive in two sets. They will play again at 10. In 14 Club 14 Black began shakey and regrouped to in that match in 3 sets; 21-25, 25-19, 15-4 versus IPV 14 Navy (IA). Sting 12 Gold
won their first match in two sets against Iowa Rockets; 25-17, 25-16.
Sting 14 Gold and Sting 12 Black are scheduled to play their first matches roughly 10 minutes ago (as of this update) so there are no results to report for them just yet. I'm off to practice....more later.
UPDATE - 7:13pm
I know it's a long wait but here is the final run-down for Sting teams this morning. In the 12 Club division, the little wheels of Sting 12 Gold are still spinning along going into the final day of play.
They were flawless once again going 3-0 in pool but they found themselves in another nail biter of a 3 set match. This time against Omaha Wave 12 Ice. The scores of that match were 25-21, 21-25, 16-14. Talk about even! They will
begin their final run towards the Gold Medal and a bid tomorrow at noon. Sting 12 Black hit some bumps today and finished fourth in their pool. Because of how well they did on day one, they are still in the running for
the Silver Division Championships.
Sting 14 Black continues with a great match record at 6-0 and they will take the court tomorrow morning at 8:00am and four matches away from the Championship match and that much closer to upgrading the American bid
they currently have. 14 Gold found themselves in a pool that didn't know which end was up. 3 teams tied for second place meaning there were some tie breakers to be played. Sting 14 Gold came out strong in the
first tie-break match against Front Range (CO) who they had beaten in 3 during pool play. They won that tie-break match 25-21. That placed them into the second tie-break match against Nebraska Elite. It's another match that
went down to the wire and unfortunately our girls came up just short, losing 24-26. They will march in the Silver Division tomorrow morning beginning at 9:00am.
In the 15 Club division Sting 15 Black ended the day taking second in pool play. That spelled Challenge Match for them. Win it and stay alive, lose it and you are out of the running. They got it done in 3 versus
club fusion 15 blue; 22-25, 25-16, 15-5. They begin their run in the morning at 8:00am.
The BIG news of the day......Sting 15 Gold HAS A BID but it wasn't easy getting there. They finished the day going 2-1 in pool play. Of course, someone else also went 2-1 in pool play which meant it was time
for a playoff. They were going to face KC Extreme (MO) once again. When the two teams played in pool play, it was a tough 3 set match that found 15 Gold on top; 22-25, 25-18, 15-11. Now they would have to play them again.
They won the tie breaker 25-16 to secure a place in the final Gold Pool to be played tomorrow. Coming into the tournament, two of the teams in 15 Open already had bids (KC Extreme was one of them). The other already qualified
team is in the final four which means the other three teams will all recieve their bids in 15 Open. Tomorrow it's all about bragging rights. Congratulations Sting 15 Gold!
Whew, what a day! Great job everyone, keep those heads high and keep on battling tomorrow.
Match Play record(s) after day two:
Sting 12 Gold: 6-0
Sting 12 Black: 3-3
Sting 14 Gold: 4-2*
Sting 14 Black: 6-0
Sting 15 Gold: 4-2*
Sting 15 Black: 6-1
*Does not include tie-breakers
UPDATE - 10:20pm
Yours truly did not know Sting 15 White was also in attendance this weekend up in Minneapolis. For that oversight I apologize. Here is how they have been doing over the last two days. They began the tournament as the 37th ranked
team overall and the number two seed in their Day 1 pool. On Day 1, they finished the pool with a 2-1 record....and so did two other teams placing them in a 3 way tie for first place. All three teams were still tied with a match
percentage of .667%. The next step is to look at game percentage. The number one seed edged out the other two so they slide into first place automatically. This placed Sting 15 White in a tie-break match versus Fort Wayne Kaepa 15 Black.
They went on to win that match with a score of 25-19.
Day 2 was a very tough, very even pool for 15 White as all but two matches in that pool went three sets. They found themselves at 2-1 once again and once again there was a tie for first place. This time it was between them, the number three
seed in pool, and Lions 15 Red, the number one seed in the pool. For the second time, 15 White was tied in match percentage but fell short on game percentage and took 2nd again. They weren't out of the woods just yet. They still had a challenge match
to be played at 6:00pm. They found themselves playing against Southwest MN Juniors 15-1 and pulled it out in a three set match; 25-17, 17-25, 15-12 to stay alive in the Gold bracket on the final day!
Sting 15 White will take the court tomorrow morning against Nebraska Elite Dynamite for the first round of Gold playoffs.
Their overall match record for the first two days of the NLQ is an impressive 5-2! Nicely done ladies.
Day 3 - IT'S MONDAY!
9:35am
Nothing can mess up one's perception of time like a National Qualifier (and just wait until Nationals). Leave on a Thursday, get up there and think it's a Friday....Now we have a qualifier that began on a Saturday and
is ending on a Monday. I'm not even up there and I kept thinking yesterday was Saturday. At any rate, the teams have begun their final push to the Gold and here is where things are standing.
Sting 12 Black won a 3 set match against Iowa Rockets; 25-22,22-25,15-7. That sent them to the Silver Division semi-finals which are being played right now. Sting 12 Gold doesn't play until 11:00am.
In 14 Club Sting 14 Black won their first match of the day against SMV 141 (MN); 25-17, 25-19. From this point out they may face nothing but Wisconsin teams as they (hopefully) move through the bracket as 3 of the 4 teams remaining in the top half of the Gold
bracket are all from the Badger Region. There is one other Badger Region team in the lower half that are also still alive. They will play FC Elite 141's (Appleton) next. Sting 15 Black also won their first match of the day beating SPVB 15 Frosh (IL); 25-14 and eeking out set
2 25-23. That has to be an especially gratifying win for all involved as SPVB 15 Frosh is the team that knocked them out several weeks ago in the first round of playoffs at the Mid East Qualifier. It's always fun to return the favor and chances are these two teams aren't done
battling yet. Meanwhile in the upper half of the 15 Club Gold bracket, Sting 15 White lost their first round match to Nebraska Elite Dynamite (number 4 overall); 25-13, 25-19. Still a great run for 15 White!
Sting 15 Gold and Sting 14 Gold should be on the courts as this is being typed for their first rounds of the day.
UPDATE - 9:55am
Sting 14 Gold came out on top of round one in the Silver Division this morning beating Northern Lights 141; 25-17, 25-12. They are likely on the court right now for the finals and will face off against club fusion. Still no word or scores reported on 12 Blacks 9:00am match or
Sting 15 Gold and their first match of the day but I suspect those scores will be in shortly.
UPDATE - 10:05am
Sting 15 Gold dropped their first match today in two. Although they have their bid, everyone still fights hard for that medal. Nothing from the 12 Black just yet.
UPDATE - 10:25am
Finally we have some news to report for Sting 12 Black and their run to the Silver Division Championship. They beat Sky High 12 Black; 25-12, 25-11. They will face Northern Lights 121's for the finals. That match
will be played at 1:00pm.
UPDATE - 10:35am
The 14 Open Silver Division Championships have been decided and Sting 14 Gold ended the tournament with a convicing win; 25-11, 25-14 over club fusion, a team they lost to at another recent qualifier (I can't keep any of them
straight any longer). Congratulations on a strong finish! That win places them 5th overall at the NLQ.
UPDATE - 11:00am
The 10:00am match results are beginning to trickle in. Sting 15 Gold lost their second match this morning and it doesn't appear to be very pretty. They lost to Northern Lights (MN); 13-25, 10-25. Nothing yet from 15 Black and 14 Black.
UPDATE - 11:10am
Sting 14 Black won their quarter finals match against FC Elite; 25-21, 25-14. They will play their semi-finals match at noon.
UPDATE - 11:20am
Another set two squeeker by Sting 15 Black as they won their quarter-finals match in 2 sets against Club Elite 15 Black(IL); 25-15, 26-24. They will begin their semi-finals match at noon. There is going to be an awful lot of action at noon today. Stay tuned.
Sting 12 Gold, Sting 14 Black, and Sting 15 Black will all be taking the court at the same time for their semi-final matches of their respective Gold Divsions.
UPDATE - 1:41pm
Things are finally beginning to wind down for Sting teams up at Northern Lights. Soem of the news isn't very good for our teams in the semi-finals. Sting 14 Black lost to a familiar rival, West Bend Power 14 Purple. They lost in two sets with scores of 25-18, 25-16. They will play for
3rd place at 2:00pm. In 15 Club things didn't go much better as Sting 15 Black lost their semi-finals match to Fort Wayne Kaepa 15 Blue; 25-16, 25-21. They will also play their 3rd place match at 2:00pm. Sting 15 Gold went 0-3 today in their Gold pool but they still
walk away with a bid.
In better news, Sting 12 Gold won an exciting 3 set match against next door rival Midwest Penguins 25-20, 16-25, 16-14 to move into the finals where they will face off against Front Range (CO). Sting 12 Black should be in the process of playing for the Silver Division Championships
at this moment.
UPDATE - 2:55pm
At long last there is a result to report for Sting 12 Black. They lost their Silver Division Championship match to Northern Lights 121; 25-15, 15-25, 11-15. It is still a great run for the team as they take 8th in the tournament!
UPDATE - 3:17pm
STING 12 GOLD HAS A BID! There is only one way for a 12's team to get that bid at a National Qualifier and that is to win it all, and they did it! They beat Front Range 12 Pink in 2 sets; 25-15, 25-19 to become the Northern Lights
12 Club Champions! CONGRATULATIONS 12 GOLD! You guys did awesome!
UPDATE - 3:26pm
Sting 14 Black lost their third place match to Northern Lights 142 in 3 sets; 22-25, 25-20, 15-7. That puts them at 4th place overall and ending their National Qualifier season with a very impressive 2nd and 4th record. We have one team
left playing and that is Sting 15 Black who is also playing for 3rd place. Those results should be forthcoming as that match was scheduled to begin at 2:00pm.
UPDATE 3:40pm
It's finally over! Everyone is done playing! Sting 15 Black ended the tournament with a big win securing 3rd place at the NLQ! They beat Nebraska Elite Dynamite in two sets; 25-23, 25-18. Nice way to end the tournament ladies. Great job on a great run!
All in all it was a great tournament for Milwaukee Sting. We had two more teams walk away with bids this weekend which is always a very good thing. Figure in that of the seven teams we sent up there all of them landed in the top ten and five of them in the top five.
It was a very good weekend for Sting and to think the event is far from over. Next weekend nine teams from Sting will make the same trek to Minneapolis for week number two of the Mizuno Northern Lights National Qualifier.
Great job to everyone who competed this weekend. Everyone had great runs. They can't always end the way we would like them to but that's the way it goes. Each team has a lot to be proud of in their quest for a bid and medals. Good Luck to everyone competing next weekend!
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Yes, believe it or not there is life outside of volleyball and we have some other worldly news to share with everyone. At 10:03 am last Wednesday morning Colleen and Pat Houk became grandparents for the third time!
Hi this is Leah Dutkiewicz reporting from the 18-Black team. I just wanted to talk about our trip to Indiana for the Hoosier Mideast Qualifier.
The few weeks prior to the tournament we were having a hard time coming together as a team, but we knew we had it in us and just had to figure
out how to show it on the cout. In the beginning of the tournament, we made a team goal...to lose all of our voices and of course win!!!!
we were seeded only 28th in the whole tournament. We won our first two
matches and lost one, a nail biter, making us second in the pool. We could have gone on to blame everyone about a substitution error that cost us that
match and just given up...but no, not the new Sting 18-Black. We already started having scratchy man-voices to let that happen! On Sunday, we knew we
had to play five hard matches to win the tournament. One by one, our team screamed for victory. The championship came. We lost by two points each game.
Yet, the parents were so happy they still took our picture at the end. We got an american bid!
silverware in two minutes to celebrate her "birthday". She was supposed to share it
with the whole team, but once she threw her face in it, we got the entire restaurant to cheer her on! The next day, Jillian had problems fitting in her uniform
but we got through it. One more favorite memory was when Lauren Hintze screamed, “You’re getting dominated!” to a team that had beaten us a week earlier. One of
our most exciting matches was defeating FC Elite 18-1s. Prior to this tournament, we had lost three matches and won one against them. Coming in, we knew we had
to defeat them to defend our name and to get a bid to nationals. We learned that Corey’s favorite word is “poop”. Doc’s favorite words are “gerbil” and “sherbert”.
Jillian’s favorite word is “food”. However, at the end of the tournament, none of us could say these words because we lost our voices!!
