On September 21, the New Haven varsity volleyball team hosted their annual Round Robin tournament at New Haven High School.
The Shamrocks took the floor at 9 A.M. for the first game. Players were fired up, having lots of energy as they stepped out on the court. Parents mentioned, “I've never heard my kid scream so loud at this time in the morning.”
The first school to compete against the Shamrocks was Belle. Both teams hung together for most of the set until the Shamrocks went on a run, leaving the Tigers with a loss 25-22. In the second set the Shamrocks came out swinging hard, their libero at her peak. The team excelled, leaving behind Belle at 16-25.
The next game for New Haven was against Winfield. Both teams played a fast-paced game. Every point was a fight. Winfield had their six-foot outside hitter pounding at balls, but our defense was picking them up. New Haven was running a fast offence, but couldn't close the deal. The New Haven Shamrocks lost the first set 25-23 and the second set 25-20, a true nail-biter.
McKenzie Overschmidt commented, “This loss made us want to fight even harder to win our next match against Bowling Green, so we can punch our ticket in for making it into the championship game.”
The Shamrocks had a dominating win over Bowling Green. The first set score was 25-3, and the second set was 25-12.
Lauren Hoerstkamp mentioned, “Coming out with a lot of energy after our last game against Winfield, I don't think Bowling Green was expecting that after our loss. I think our excitement is what led us to have two pretty good sets.”
As it came time for the Shamrocks’ championship game, the girls knew it was going to be a battle to beat Winfield, who had beaten them by only a few points earlier in the day. Winfield and New Haven both came out strong. In the first set, McKenzie Pecaut went on a run with an unstoppable round of serving. Winfield had set up a block to shut down one of the hits made by our middle hitter. Winfield’s hit had barely made it by the Shamrocks, winning the first set 25-11. After a tough battle in the second set, New Haven lost 25-22.
After the game, Coach Hoener told all the girls that she was very proud of their effort not only in that last game, but all the games that they played throughout the day.
McKenzie Overschmidt mentioned after the game, “If we keep playing like we did today for the rest of our season, we would be an unstoppable team. We need to keep this energy going till the end of our season.”
It was a fun day of volleyball for the Shamrocks and the community who came out to support! Go green!