Tony V. Martin
	Morgan Voorhes of St. James

By Kirstin Olsen

As cool temperatures returned to the Windy City, so did the excitement of high school volleyball.  Twenty four teams from twelve states competed in the 21^st NIKE Challenge this past weekend at Mother McAuley High School in Chicago, Ill.   Seven ESPN RISE FAB 50 teams made it out of their pool and into Gold Division action on Saturday.

Plant

Plant (Tampa, Fla.) was the highest ranked team to enter the tournament at No. 6. Plant had recently been tested the weekend before at the Berkeley Premier in Tampa where they suffered their first two losses of the year to Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.) and Mercy (Louisville, Kent.).  The Panthers have been operating with a partially healthy outside hitter Maddie Martin (Penn State), who played sparingly after she sprained her ankle in July. Maddie's mother happens to be Tampa Bay newscaster, Gayle Sierens who commented that Maddie has, "gotten several x-rays and nothing is broken, but she is still in pain and not 100%." Luckily, Plant has other talent on the floor who stepped up their game, outside hitter Danielle Erb, libero Ali McCurdy, and opposite Ariel Ley.

The Panthers lost to Sacred Heart (Louisville, Kent.) 25-20, 24-26, 25-15 in the quarter finals but then went on to beat Wheaton St. Francis (Wheaton, Ill.) 25-19, 20-25, 25-21 and Downers Grove South (Downers Grove, Ill.) 29-27, 25-20 as the Gold Consolation bracket winner.  Plant played great defense led by McCurdy, who rarely let a ball drop in the back row and like many other teams, their momentum fed off of big plays in their favor. Erb had a great weekend and earned a spot on the All Tournament team.

Downers Grove South

No. 23 Downers Grove South had a good showing at the Challenge.  The Mustangs survived  pool play after a tight late night match against Wisconsin's Pius, 16-25, 29-27, 25-19.

Saturday morning DGS met up with smooth operating St. James Academy where they lost 25-13, 25-21. They next won a tough three gamer to No. 33 Newport Harbor (Newport Beach, Calif.) 25-20, 17-25, 25-21, followed by a loss to Plant 29-27, 25-20. The Mustangs relied on the multi-talented Marielle Oestermeyer (Ole Miss) who plays middle blocker for three rotations and then sets from the back row. When she plays well they are a tough team to beat.  Outside hitter Kelsey Safranek (Illinois-Chicago) also contributed on the outside.

Newport Harbor

No. 33 Newport Harbor came into the tournament 10-4. The Sailors survived pool play Friday, but fell to a fierce Mother McAuley Saturday morning 25-28, 25-20. They then lost to Downers Grove South 25-20,17-25, 25-21 in a tough three gamer. The Sailors found redemption at the end of the day with a win over Wheaton St. Francis 25-20, 17-25, 25-21.

The Sailors looked good and bad all in the same game..  They definitely have some size on their side with six footers, outside hitters Mary Buckingham and Madison Brown and middle blockers Katey Thompson and Jennifer Palmquist. Thirteen year old freshman setter Cinnamon Sary looks like a young pup out there, but has major potential to be effective in the future. 

Sacred Heart

No. 25 Sacred Heart came into the tournament with a huge win over Assumption. The Valkyries took care of business in pool play Friday and went on to give Plant their third loss of the year Saturday morning 25-20, 24-26, 25-15.  Their next match was a rematch against Assumption, where the Rockets won 25-16, 25-20.  Sacred Heart next faced Mother McAuley in the third place match where they lost 25-18, 25-20, placing fourth.

Sacred Heart's scrappy play kept them in the hunt all tournament, plus the cannon of an arm from outside hitter Emily Juhl in the front row and the service line. Juhl was also named to the All Tournament Team. The Valkyries are young, but made their name be known outside of Kentucky this weekend.

Mother McAuley

No. 49 Mother McAuley shined like a bright star this weekend. After a huge win over Assumption Thursday night McAuley came to play this weekend. They kept the competition to teens in pool play Friday and downed Newport Harbor 25-10, 25-15 on Saturday morning.  They next faced St. James in the semis where they put up a great fight but lost 20-25, 25-16, 25-23.

The Mighty Macs faced Sacred Heart in the third place match and took care of business winning 25-18, 25-20. Setter Desiree Aramburu was the heart and soul of the team with her leadership, smooth setting and ninja-like defense.  She was also named to the All Tournament team. Defensive divas, Sue Hayes and Allie Gardner, dug a ton of balls and frustrated other teams offense. Gardner also put teams passing in trouble with her tough jump serve. Outside hitter Kelly Griffin provided the brawn on the left side and right side Catherine Wildner supplied a fiery offensive attack on the right and with the tandem in the middle.

St. James Academy

No. 24 St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.) proved themselves on a national scene. The Thunder came to the Challenge to test their undefeated record against teams from outside of the state. Sister coaches Nancy and Jennifer Bell both played for Mother McAuley and decided it would be a great experience for their girls to go to the Challenge. Head Coach Nancy (Bell) Dorsey started the volleyball program at St. James just three years ago.

The Thunder rolled through pool play and met up with Downers Grove South Saturday morning, who they disposed of in two, 25-13, 25-21. The Thunder coaching staff then faced their former coach Jen Dejarld of Mother McAuley. This was the match of the afternoon, the Thunder prevailed 20-25, 25-16, 25-23 in the semi final.

St. James met up with Assumption in the final, who was the best team they played all year. A little shell shocked by dominant offensive play of the Rockets, the Thunder lost 25-14, 25-12.

The smooth play of the Thunder carried them through a tough field of opponents. The dual threat 6-2 offense setter/hitters of Rachel Gray and Lauren Brown showed the array of talent the Thunder had. They also displayed great ball control and passing. Their players were able to hit a variety of sets in every position, which allowed them to run a fast offense. 

	Tony V. Martin
	NIKE Challenge Champs 2008 Assumption

No. 8 Assumption (Louisville, Kent.) had a heck of a week. Last Sunday the Rockets lost to cross-town rival No. 25 Sacred Heart and then went and lost to No. 49 Mother McAuley Thursday night. Coach Ron Kordes was speechless and could not understand how his team could miss 18 serves in a match. The Rockets had a big pow wow after Thursday night's game to regroup. 

The Rockets battled in pool play and held their seed, but came out on Saturday with something to prove. They played their best volleyball of the season against Wheaton St. Francis and took them down, 25-22, 25-13.  Next up for the Rockets was rematch against cross-town rival Sacred Heart in the semis. The Rockets downed the Valkyries 25-16, 25-20 and made it to the finals.

The Rockets had the biggest team at the Challenge in both number and size of players. They demoralized teams at the net with blocking and hitting. Middle blockers Jeni Houser and Emily Hayden crushed slides and made a lot of noise at the net.  In the final, they took on undefeated St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.) and showed them what big girls could do at the net, winning their ninth NIKE Challenge title, decisively, 25-14, 25-12.  Houser and Stephanie Klefot were named to the all tournament team.

The weekend was a great display of the diverse style of play of high school volleyball. The Challenge provided a great experience for teams to measure up against other teams on a national scene. Challenge founders, former Mother McAuley head coach Nancy and Niels Pederson planted the seed to broaden the horizons of young girls, and current coach Jen Dejarld has continued the tradition.

For scores and brackets of the silver and bronze division go to:

http://www.mothermcauley.org/ath_sched08/nike_final08.pdf