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Volleyball team hosts tournament

     The team is mostly self funded by the players.
    “Through fund raising, we are able to get new players and more funding to go to new tournaments,” coach Denise Lockard said about the reasoning behind hosting the tournament.
    Seven teams showed up to play in the tournament. Washtenaw Community College’s women’s volleyball team competed. Other teams were groups of friends who played just to have fun, while a couple were built with winning in mind.
    Teams were split into two pools, with round robin play determining what teams would advance to which bracket. The top two teams from each pool played in the gold bracket, while the others advanced to the silver bracket.
    The A pool had MCCC, Washtenaw Community College, the Setaholics, and the Court Jesters, while the B pool consisted of Floral City Beverage, the Margarita Mommas, and Nick & Nino’s.
    MCCC won four sets and lost three in round robin play, making it to the gold bracket by winning the tiebreaker set with Washtenaw Community College.
    “I feel that we are finally playing up to our potential,” Corinne Heller said after round robin play.
    The MCCC club team advanced to the gold bracket as the second seed out of their pool, along with the Setaholics, the Margarita Mommas, and Nick & Nino’s. In the silver bracket were Washtenaw Community College, the Court Jesters, and Floral City Beverage.
    In the first round of the silver bracket, Washtenaw Community College had a bye and Floral City Beverage defeated the Court Jesters. Floral City Beverage then defeated Washtenaw Community College to win the silver bracket.
    The gold bracket saw MCCC matching up with Nick & Nino’s, while the Setaholics played the Margarita Mommas. Nick & Nino’s easily handled MCCC, while the Setaholics came from behind after losing the first set and defeated the Margarita Mommas.
    In the finals, Nick & Nino’s got out to an early lead, but never were able to dominate the Setaholics like they did their other opponents. Nick & Nino’s won the first set, then defeated the Setaholics in a tiebreak in the second set to win the championship.
    This was MCCC’s final tournament of the season. Players are only eligible to play two years with the community college, and many of the teams hitters have exhausted their eligibility.
    Libero Rachel Swanson said that one of the hardest things about the season was integrating new players to their system, as many had to change positions and learn a new formation after playing four years in high school with other coaches. Swanson also said that the team did build chemistry throughout the season and played their best at the end of the year.
    Corinne Heller echoed those statements, also saying that the team could have done better if they had more practice time.
    Heller also feels that the team is getting better and building for the future through tournaments like these.
    “Word is finally getting around about our team, and interest is growing,” Heller stated.
     Rachel Swanson would like to see the team grow by joining other leagues besides the ALCC recreational league to help push the team farther.
    Coach Lockard was overall pleased with the way the season turned out as well.
    “We had moments that were wonderful, but also some tha were disappointing,” Lockard said.

    Lockard is also excited for the future, feeling that the team has a good base to work with and a new influx of players and coaches for next season can push the team to the next level.