Many thanks to our parent photographers:
Mrs. Yee, MVP17 Chaperone
Mr. Fowler, MVP 15 Chaperone
Mr. Seeley, MVP15 Parent
http://picasaweb.google.com/scout4321/BoysJONationalsAustin2010#
http://picasaweb.google.com/gseeley81/BestofMVP152010#
Friday, July 9, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Nationals - Return Home
Today most of the team flew home together, with the exception of Kevin, who drove home with his dad after the jersey trade last night, and Brandon, who stayed longer to cheer for his older brother on MVP17.
At the airport, some of us were more than happy to get a last taste of Salt Lick before going home. Some others tried Schotzsky's sandwiches, which we did not get a chance to stop at during our stay in Austin. This was going to be our lunch on the plane.
This was a great ending to a great season. Coaches and parents were so proud of our players who had worked hard all season to get the team to this point. Remember, at the beginning of the season, we had lost a high-caliber Libero and had to train a new one. Four of our starters were new to the club and had never played club before. We had some new tall basketball players that we had to teach the game of volleyball to. We had some old players that were learning new positions. And we still had some lofty goals to meet.
Our goal at the beginning of the season was to earn a bid to play Open at Nationals this year, and we accomplished that, even with our starting setter Philippe missing most of East Coast, and Justin having to step up to his new role of setter.
Our goals at Nationals were:
1. to win at least one match (okay, one small step first...)
2. to win which ever bracket we ended up in
3. to improve our standing at the start of the tournament
and... yes, we accomplished all our goals! Not only did we win one match, but we ended up with a winning percentage (7 wins - 6 losses), we won Flight 2, and we moved from #21 to #19 in ranking. Way to go MVP15!
Coaches will be working on the action photos that Mrs. Yee took of our team. Please check back on the blog in a few days so we could post the link to the photos. Coach Phil will also put up the finals of Flight 2 on YouTube and post the link here. Everyone on the team played in this match and contributed to the win, so parents please check it out on YouTube!
Have a great summer everyone! See you all in the fall.
At the airport, some of us were more than happy to get a last taste of Salt Lick before going home. Some others tried Schotzsky's sandwiches, which we did not get a chance to stop at during our stay in Austin. This was going to be our lunch on the plane.
This was a great ending to a great season. Coaches and parents were so proud of our players who had worked hard all season to get the team to this point. Remember, at the beginning of the season, we had lost a high-caliber Libero and had to train a new one. Four of our starters were new to the club and had never played club before. We had some new tall basketball players that we had to teach the game of volleyball to. We had some old players that were learning new positions. And we still had some lofty goals to meet.
Our goal at the beginning of the season was to earn a bid to play Open at Nationals this year, and we accomplished that, even with our starting setter Philippe missing most of East Coast, and Justin having to step up to his new role of setter.
Our goals at Nationals were:
1. to win at least one match (okay, one small step first...)
2. to win which ever bracket we ended up in
3. to improve our standing at the start of the tournament
and... yes, we accomplished all our goals! Not only did we win one match, but we ended up with a winning percentage (7 wins - 6 losses), we won Flight 2, and we moved from #21 to #19 in ranking. Way to go MVP15!
Coaches will be working on the action photos that Mrs. Yee took of our team. Please check back on the blog in a few days so we could post the link to the photos. Coach Phil will also put up the finals of Flight 2 on YouTube and post the link here. Everyone on the team played in this match and contributed to the win, so parents please check it out on YouTube!
Have a great summer everyone! See you all in the fall.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Nationals - Flight 2
Today was the final day of competition. We ended up in Flight 2 due to our poor performance yesterday. But today is a new day. We want to win our bracket today.
We played Rolling Thunder in the semi-finals. This team was not as tall as some other teams, but they played very good floor defense. We beat them in 3 sets.
For the finals we met HPSTL Navy for the third time in this tournament. We had lost to them on the first day, beaten them on the second day, and now we met them again.
Because this team had lost to us on the second day due to great plays from our middle blockers, they adjusted well to playing our team, and crushed us the first set. We needed to make some adjustments during the second set, and with Kevin getting a good rythm at opposite, we were able to put Paul at outside. We were down by 4 points and clawed our way back to win 25-23. This adjustment worked so well that we decided to keep Paul in as outside to replace Ricci, Kevin as opposite, Adam still as the other outside, and Ricci as the Libero. Henry came in as the backrow specialist for Paul, and Justin came in the back row for Adam. Philippe did a good job mixing up the sets, and we pulled off a win at 15-13 on the last set! What a win! It felt so great to win the flight and end on a high note.
Here is our winning team picture with the team plaque. Can you see what is different about this picture?
Some of the boys walked around to bargain and make their trades. Some found out it was harder than they thought to make a good trade.
We played Rolling Thunder in the semi-finals. This team was not as tall as some other teams, but they played very good floor defense. We beat them in 3 sets.
For the finals we met HPSTL Navy for the third time in this tournament. We had lost to them on the first day, beaten them on the second day, and now we met them again.
Because this team had lost to us on the second day due to great plays from our middle blockers, they adjusted well to playing our team, and crushed us the first set. We needed to make some adjustments during the second set, and with Kevin getting a good rythm at opposite, we were able to put Paul at outside. We were down by 4 points and clawed our way back to win 25-23. This adjustment worked so well that we decided to keep Paul in as outside to replace Ricci, Kevin as opposite, Adam still as the other outside, and Ricci as the Libero. Henry came in as the backrow specialist for Paul, and Justin came in the back row for Adam. Philippe did a good job mixing up the sets, and we pulled off a win at 15-13 on the last set! What a win! It felt so great to win the flight and end on a high note.
Here is our winning team picture with the team plaque. Can you see what is different about this picture?
Now came the fun part of Nationals: jersey trading. The boys laid out their jerseys like vendors at a flea market.
Some of the boys walked around to bargain and make their trades. Some found out it was harder than they thought to make a good trade. 
.
.
.
But in the end everyone was happy with their trades. Here is a picture of their best trade. Samuel, who loved to trade with the Puerto Ricans, has gone from "Chuky" (last year's bag pack) to "Migue" (this year's jacket.) You can now call him Chuky Migue.
Finally the boys had enough of the jersey trade and we took them to Chick-Fil-A for dinner. At dinner, all the boys presented a signed golden volleyball to Coach Phil. What a thoughtful gift! It put tears into Coach Phil's eyes.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Nationals - Day 3
Today was an important day. We were in a 4-team pool. Coming in first puts us in Silver, second in Bronze, third in Flight 1, fourth in Flight 2. We had Adversity (which we have beaten yesterday), SPVB, and HPSTL Gold (their top team).
Well the day did not start out so well. We went to lunch at Furr's, an all-you-can-eat place near the hotel, but the food was not so good and none of the boys ate that well.
Then we were completely flat against Adversity, our first match at 4pm. We barely won the first set, but couldn't get it together and lost the match in 3.
After a short break the boys ate some snacks and watched the 17s match. We then played Sports Performance, a taller and better hitting team than Adversity. We switched to a 6-2 line up to avoid their outsides hitting over Philippe, and as a team started playing much better. Even though we lost the match in 2, we were competitive against them, as shown by the scores 25-23 and 25-21.
Our last match was against HPSTL-1, who were the top team in our pool. They were a strong and tall team, and we struggled in returning their tough serves. We still hustled and played hard, but lost in the end. Even then, the scores were competitive, 25-16 and 25-19.
Everyone was disappointed, understandably. After such a high yesterday, we all felt bad for having dropped to the bottom flight. Our friends Pace, RVC, and 7 Cities are going to fight each other in Bronze. Eden and High Intensity, which we had both beaten earlier in the tournament, are in Flight 1. We are going to meet Rolling Thunder tomorrow morning, and if we win, will play in the finals of Flight 2.
Even dinner didn't work out. We were going to pick up sandwiches at Subway, and even though they told us they closed at 10pm, they did not answer their phone when we finished at 9pm. Having doubt whether they are still open, we walked to another restaurant, Champions. There, we waited a long time just to get the menu, and then an even longer time to get our food.
Tomorrow is another day. No matter what happens tomorrow, we will learn a lot from playing Open this year. We now know we can stay with a lot of these teams if we are able to focus and play our game. We need to be able to keep our intensity up not for just one match, or one day, but sustain several days, because everyday counts. We have shown flashes of greatness and great playing abilities, and with hard work, practice, and experience, we will become a more consistent and resilient team. Keep working hard, MVP15!
Well the day did not start out so well. We went to lunch at Furr's, an all-you-can-eat place near the hotel, but the food was not so good and none of the boys ate that well.
Then we were completely flat against Adversity, our first match at 4pm. We barely won the first set, but couldn't get it together and lost the match in 3.
After a short break the boys ate some snacks and watched the 17s match. We then played Sports Performance, a taller and better hitting team than Adversity. We switched to a 6-2 line up to avoid their outsides hitting over Philippe, and as a team started playing much better. Even though we lost the match in 2, we were competitive against them, as shown by the scores 25-23 and 25-21.
Our last match was against HPSTL-1, who were the top team in our pool. They were a strong and tall team, and we struggled in returning their tough serves. We still hustled and played hard, but lost in the end. Even then, the scores were competitive, 25-16 and 25-19.
Everyone was disappointed, understandably. After such a high yesterday, we all felt bad for having dropped to the bottom flight. Our friends Pace, RVC, and 7 Cities are going to fight each other in Bronze. Eden and High Intensity, which we had both beaten earlier in the tournament, are in Flight 1. We are going to meet Rolling Thunder tomorrow morning, and if we win, will play in the finals of Flight 2.
Even dinner didn't work out. We were going to pick up sandwiches at Subway, and even though they told us they closed at 10pm, they did not answer their phone when we finished at 9pm. Having doubt whether they are still open, we walked to another restaurant, Champions. There, we waited a long time just to get the menu, and then an even longer time to get our food.
Tomorrow is another day. No matter what happens tomorrow, we will learn a lot from playing Open this year. We now know we can stay with a lot of these teams if we are able to focus and play our game. We need to be able to keep our intensity up not for just one match, or one day, but sustain several days, because everyday counts. We have shown flashes of greatness and great playing abilities, and with hard work, practice, and experience, we will become a more consistent and resilient team. Keep working hard, MVP15!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Nationals - Day 2
This morning the boys enjoyed some free time at the hotel, while coaches P&T went to the convention center to watch MVP18 play in their single elimination round of Flight 1. Samuel, Ricci and Philippe woke up early to go cheer for the 18s. Unfortunately MVP18 lost to the Puerto Rican and finished 26 out of 36 teams. Not a good finish for this normally high-achieving team. However Samuel noted that this could be a good thing, if MVP15 could finish higher than his brothers' team, then he would be pretty happy. :-) After the 18s lost, we were able to watch Bryan play, then a little bit of Jason's match.
Finally we got our food. The boys were famished, and the food out of this world, so lunch, which started so late, ended very quickly.
For lunch we caravaned to Driftwood, a city 30 minutes from Austin, to a place called Salt Lick BBQ. Coach Thanh found this restaurant from doing research on the web, and the 17s (who have our John) are heading there right from the airport for lunch. So of course MVP15 "had" to go there too so we could meet up with John. :-)
Here is a picture of us meeting up with John and the 17s at the Salt Lick restaurant. Good thing the weather was gorgeous, and the people friendly, because the wait was an hour long!
Finally we got our food. The boys were famished, and the food out of this world, so lunch, which started so late, ended very quickly.
We finally got to the convention center to begin Day 2 of Nationals. We were in a 5-team pool (again!) In our pool were HPSTL Navy (who beat us on Day 1), High Flyers, High Intensity (who beat us at East Coast), and Adversity Elite.
The boys played awesome, and we went undefeated and came in first in our pool today! It must be the extra yummy BBQ lunch! The team blocked incredibly, passed impeccably, served with little error, and hit well. To Samuel's mom: Samuel would like you to ask him about the match-winning kill he had today.
All this made Coach Phil wonder if we should go to Salt Lick again tomorrow...
We ended really late tonight. Thanks to the parents and our chaperone, the team got dinner picked up and served at the hotel so the players could shower and rest for another day tomorrow.
Tomorrow we will be in a pool of 4 teams. First place from this pool goes to Silver, second place goes to Bronze, third place goes to Flight 1, and last place goes to Flight 2.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Nationals - Day 1
Today was the first day of competition for MVP15. We had the afternoon wave, which meant we did not start until 3pm today (and did not end until 9pm tonight!) We were in a 5-team pool: Ka Ulukoa (from Hawaii), Eden (from NY), Ultimate, and HPSTL (High Performance St. Louis).
Thanks to our chaperone Mr. Fowler and dad Guy, the boys spent their free morning catching Toys Story 3 (parents should be happy to hear that the matinee showing only cost $5! Yaye!) Except Adam, who went to church with mom without complaint (double Yaye!)
Coaches P&T took care of picking lunch up at Rudy's, a BBQ place right out of a gas station. (We heard great reviews of this place and had to check it out.) As you can see, the sign says "Worst BBQ in Texas," but all the reviews raved about their food.
Boys and parents enjoyed their lunch. Coaches were just hoping it wouldn't weigh them down this afternoon...
Thanks to our chaperone Mr. Fowler and dad Guy, the boys spent their free morning catching Toys Story 3 (parents should be happy to hear that the matinee showing only cost $5! Yaye!) Except Adam, who went to church with mom without complaint (double Yaye!)
Coaches P&T took care of picking lunch up at Rudy's, a BBQ place right out of a gas station. (We heard great reviews of this place and had to check it out.) As you can see, the sign says "Worst BBQ in Texas," but all the reviews raved about their food.
The restaurant was so thoughtful: it packed plates, ustensils, napkins, a box of ice, cups, ice tea, even a picnic-style table cloth! With the help of moms Jill and Mary, the food was expertly laid out like a buffet.
Boys and parents enjoyed their lunch. Coaches were just hoping it wouldn't weigh them down this afternoon...
Finally, we arrived to the Convention Center. Our first match was against the Hawaiian team. Coach P tried the double substitution line up, where our setters played in the back row only and our opposites (Paul & Kevin) played front row only. Things didn't work out as we hoped, and we got crushed in the second set.
After a break in the schedule, we picked back up with a match against Eden. We had not been able to beat Eden this year, losing to them at East Coast in the third deciding set by only 2 points. This time we really wanted to beat them. We went back to a 5-1 with Philippe setting, and as everyone settled down and played their game, this time, we beat Eden in 3 sets. This was a great accomplishment for the team, as this was our first win in Open.
The Eden/Ultimate/HPSTL matches were played back to back. Justin set in the match against Ultimate. Then Philippe set in the match against HPSTL. We had our chances against both teams, but could not pull it off.
At any rate, by beating Eden, we moved our ranking today from #21 to #17! Excellent! Tomorrow is a new day.
Since we ended so late, we ordered pizza from a pizza joint highly reviewed called Home Slice Pizza. Coaches P&T picked up the pizza and salad while the boys went back to the hotel to shower. The video of today's matches was replayed as the boys had dinner.
Tomorrow, John will arrive with MVP17 and their chaperone. The boys will have a relaxing morning before we head out to meet John and the 17s for lunch. Our match will begin at 3pm again tomorrow.
Nationals Austin - Arrival Day
Most of MVP15 have arrived today. The flight was uneventful.
The team dinner was at El Borrego De Oro, an authentic Mexican restaurant not too far from the hotel. The house specialty, Birria Plate, lamb chops, was awesome! (Several parents ordered this, but the boys were not so adventurous and stayed with more familiar mexican fares.)
After dinner, the team drove to the Embassy Suites to meet up with Bryan. For those who were not with the team last year, Bryan was our MVP14 Libero. He moved back to California this past year. He was very excited to see his old teammates again. The new Libero, Henry, and the old Libero, Bryan, had a nice welcoming hug for each other.
From the Embassy Suites, it was a short walk to the Congress Avenue Bridge Bat, where a big crowd was gathered at dusk to watch the bats take flight. This was one of those to-do's in Austin. Unfortunately, we did not see large columns of bats emerge. Only a few here or there. Boo! The boys still had a chance to hang out and catch up with Bryan, before the team gets busy with the play schedule.
The team dinner was at El Borrego De Oro, an authentic Mexican restaurant not too far from the hotel. The house specialty, Birria Plate, lamb chops, was awesome! (Several parents ordered this, but the boys were not so adventurous and stayed with more familiar mexican fares.)
After dinner, the team drove to the Embassy Suites to meet up with Bryan. For those who were not with the team last year, Bryan was our MVP14 Libero. He moved back to California this past year. He was very excited to see his old teammates again. The new Libero, Henry, and the old Libero, Bryan, had a nice welcoming hug for each other.
From the Embassy Suites, it was a short walk to the Congress Avenue Bridge Bat, where a big crowd was gathered at dusk to watch the bats take flight. This was one of those to-do's in Austin. Unfortunately, we did not see large columns of bats emerge. Only a few here or there. Boo! The boys still had a chance to hang out and catch up with Bryan, before the team gets busy with the play schedule.
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