2 Ball Express: Seated: Matt Vanzant, Byron Goff, Sean Chan, Jeremy Fisher, Vince Zanzucchi, David Nobrega, Jon Lind. Standing: Brian Bowers, Steve Walker, Eric Vincent, Chris McKniff, Nick Thompson, Vince Rooney - see All Tournament members below

2-Ball Express Sterling in Men’s AA Nationals
By Brian Bowers

The team had been looking forward to Hotlanta for quite some time. We went out to play in the AA. Last year in Austin we just missed the Gold Bracket and ended up tied for 11th. Our goal was to improve on that performance by making the Gold Bracket and earn a medal.

When we arrived in Atlanta we had a brief practice. Later we found out our schedule and we happy not to have any early matches. The majority of our players were from our region team so we were comfortable with each other. We added a Byron Goff, an outside hitter/libero that I knew from Rutgers.

The first day we beat a team from Nebraska in 2, lost to a team from NYC in 3, and beat a team from Chicago in 2. With one match remaining there was the potential for a 3 way tie in our pool. If we won the next match in 2 we would be the 1 seed in our pool and would advance to the gold. If we lost, we would have to play a challenge match. We came out fired up against F1 from Florida and beat them in 2.

In the first round of the gold bracket, we faced Summit, a team we would eventually play again. Summit came ready to play and seemed to get every break in the match. We made some lineup changes hoping to get the team going, but they made a late run in the second game and closed us out in 2 games. This loss sent us to the loser’s bracket. We still had a shot, but would have to win several matches in a row.

Since we didn’t play until the following day, a few of us decided to get out of the gym and check out Hotlanta. The World of Coke and the Aquarium were a few blocks from our hotel. The aquarium is definitely worth checking out. There is a huge indoor aquarium that has some impressive viewing windows. Across the street at Coke you can see the bottling process in action and sample over 200 Coke products. Later that evening we went by the AVP and watched the #1 team of Rogers/Dalhauser defeat Morrison/Tramblie. Matt Olson came by and hung out with us for a while before he left to rest up for his morning match.

Our first match in the loser’s bracket was a team from Miami. The first game was close, but they pulled away at the end. We switched a few players around in game 2. The match was close, but the other team started to pull away and we were down about 5 points. With a few key digs and a little luck we battled back and forced game 3. We barely survived game 3, 16-14. In about an hour we would play a team from Maryland.

The team from Maryland was solid, but we made fewer errors and were still excited about our last victory and playing with confidence. It was a close match, but we beat them in 2, 25-23, 25-23. The team was starting to play with more confidence and making plays when we needed to. This victory guaranteed us a medal as we advance to the loser’s bracket finals in less than an hour.

The Silverbacks were a solid team with several former college players. The first game was a battle. The game was tied at 26-26. They won the rally and a few of our players had hit the floor during the rally and needed a towel. The ref seemed not to notice or care and blew for the serve when we clearly were not ready. We lost 28-26 on a poor judgment call that ended a really close battle. We protested the call, which took about 10 minutes but was a needed break. The top ref said the call stands and we lost. We battled back to take the 2nd game 28-26 forcing a third. In the third we were down at the side change and they were up about 5 late in the game. They had us beat, but made 3 hitting errors in a row. We converted on a dig, and ended up winning 16-14. It was a huge win that put us in the championship match.

In the championship match we played Summit, the team that beat us in the first round of the loser’s bracket. They had been resting up and had only played one match while we were battling in the loser’s bracket. The team looked tired and didn’t have a strong match. We were spent from the earlier matches and lost in 2. It was a disappointing final, but we finished 2nd and took home the silver medal. Matt Vanzant and Byron Goff made the all tournament team. Overall it was a successful trip and we accomplished our goal.

Killer Beez: Sitting: Rhea Frondozo, Darlene Danehy, Anni Siebenmorgan, Alesia Hanzal. Standing: Suzan Koch, Christina Thompson, Orianna Cleary - see All Tournament below

Killer Beez Sting Rest of Field in Atlanta for Women’s B Gold
By Coral Koch

The Killer Beez stung a lot of teams along their way to the gold medal in the Women’s B division at the USA Open Championships in Atlanta, Ga.

The team consisted of Suzan Koch, Darlene Danehy, Christina Thompson, Rhea Frondozo, Ori Cleary, Anni Siebenmorgan, Brande Kitzburger, Koren Sherrick, Stacy Schulte and Coral Koch, The Team played together during the Arizona Region power tournaments taking the gold medal at the Region Championships.

Brande, Koren and Stacy couldn’t make Nationals due to scheduling conflicts while Coral played with her age division during the same half of the tournament. The team picked up Alecia Hanzal who turned out to be a huge asset, winning one of the All-Tournament picks along with Darlene Danehy and Anni Siebenmorgan.

Anni was also awarded the Most Valuable Player for the Women’s B division. Anni certainly showed her skills and played extremely well.

The team played well and had a great record going undefeated in matches all the way through the tournament. They were only taken to three games three times during the 20 matches they played to win it all.
It is not knows if the flight of the Killer Beez will take them to Minneapolis to defend their title, but I’d watch out for them because you never know when they might sting again.

Boys Jr National Championships 2008

Arizona was represented by 7 teams at the Boys Jr National Championships in Sandy, Utah. The results were as follows (See All Tournament Team Members below):

Girls Jr National Championships 2008

Arizona was represented by 14 teams at the Girls Jr National Championships in Dallas, TX. The results were as follows (See All Tournament Team Members below):

AZ Sky 14 Black wins Gold in 14 American Division of Girls Jr National Championships

AZ Sky 14 Black: Kneeling - Brittany Rhodes, Lexi Anderson, Jessica Michael, Hanna Wilkey, Morgan Drew, Page Walker, Elizabeth Keig. Standing: Kathy Anderson (Asst Coach), Victoria Fajardo, Norm Anderson (Head Coach), Trianna Henry, Lorianna Henry (Chaperone)

All Tournament Team Members

Men's AA All Tournament Team: Seated Left - Byron Goff (2 Ball Express), Standing Middle - Matt Vanzant (2 Ball Express)

Women's B All Tourament Team: Seated: Darlene Danehy, Anni Siebenmorgan (Tournament MVP), Alesia Hanzal (all from Killer Beez).

Girls 15 National All Tournament Team members - Arizona Jrs 15-1
Chelsey Schofield	Katarina Schulz

2008 Starlings National Championships