On Wednesday June 22nd, the EDGE 18-Black Coached by Ken Krawiec and assisted by Gordon McConnell finished 12^th out of 104 teams in the 38^th annual Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Championships. The four day long national championship tournament was held in Orlando, Florida at the Orlando Convention Center and the ESPN Wide World of Sports facility from June 19^th-June 22^nd, 2011. Scroll down to read about the entire tournament!

EDGE 18-Black AAU National Championship Player Roster - Alphabetical Sort

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Chaperones: Mrs. Beghou & Mrs. Horvath

Coming in, the EDGE 18-Black was seeded 38^th out of 104 teams which put them as a two seed in their day 1 pool. On the first day, the team would face Tupelo Juniors out of Tupelo, MS. After slow starts in both games, the team would pull away and finish Tupelo out in two games 25-16, 25-12. After a match off to rest, the EDGE was faced with a strong Wisconsin Volleyball Academy 18-Black team in the second match of the day. Again, a slow start plagued the team in the first set as they dropped the game 20-25. The team came out ready to play in the second set and put WVA 18-Black away 25-17. The third game was close the entire way, but WVA 18-Black was able to pull out the set and match with a game 3 win 18-16. In losing the second match, the EDGE 18-Black still controlled their own destiny in determining the final outcome of the pool. Based on games and points, the EDGE knew that they just had to win their last match vs. the top seed in the pool Asics KIVA 18-White to take over the 15^th overall seed in the entire tournament. Unlike the previous two matches, the EDGE 18-Black came out fast from the start and took the first set 25-17. The second set was similar; except the team had a slight let-down at the end and dropped the second 24-26. As the theme of the entire tournament, the EDGE 18-Black would go three games. In the third set the passing, blocking, attacking, and setting were spot on and the team cruised to a 15-8 victory to ensure that they won pool 15 and would be guaranteed the top seed in their day two pool. After a late evening match, the team was able to find a Johnny Rockets restaurant to sit and eat before bed and an early start on day two.

Being the top seed in day two, pool 15 put the team up verses the third seed Illinois Performance Volleyball 18 High Performance. Another slow start plagued the EDGE 18-Black and the first set was dropped 21-25. Like they had the previous day, the team showed resilience, and came out strong to take the second set 14-25. In the third set, the team had a slow start and again rallied to tie the game at 13. However IPV-18HP was able to pull out the third set 15-13 and take the match in three games. This first match loss put the EDGE 18-Black backs against the wall. The team knew they would have to win out to have a chance to continue on in the gold playoffs. The second match pitted the EDGE versus Northern Kentucky – Ohio Volleyball Club 18-Tsunami. With the previous loss still fresh in their heads, the EDGE 18-Black charged out to a big game 1 victory to take the set 25-15. The second set saw a let down from the EDGE and they were forced to rally from 7 down to take the set and match 26-24. In being 1-1 in matches, the EDGE had two matches left to let the rest of the pool sort itself out. IPV 18-HP won their next match and then dropped a match to NKYVC in two to finish 2-1 in the pool. This loss by IPV guaranteed that The EDGE 18-Black would again control their own destiny heading into their final match vs. Indy Juniors Rox 18 Sahso. Determined to capture the first seed and the pool, The EDGE came out to open the first set with a 25-20 win. In the second set, Indy Juniors were able to get their big middles going and the EDGE dropped the game 17-25. With a must win third game, the team was able to use their previous three-game matches to roar out to a 15-8 set and match victory. Great passing and phenomenal serving helped the team finish first in day 2 gold pool 15. After the final match, the EDGE 18-Black officiated a one game playoff between NKYVC 18-Tsunami and IPV 18-HP with the winner staying in the gold bracket. NKYVC would win the one game playoff 25-18 and stay alive. After the morning wave, the team was able to head back to the hotel, get a quick afternoon nap, and then head to a nice team dinner before bed.

The third day gold pool put the EDGE 18-Black as the second seed in pool six. First, The EDGE would face off against South Carolina Midlands 18-Elite. Similar to the previous two days, the EDGE came out and started slow and dropped the first game 21-25. The second set saw the team string together some strong runs as they won the game 25-17 to force their traditional game three. In the third, The EDGE serving and attacking was too much for SC Midlands 18-Elite and the team would take the game and match 15-7. After a quick match off, the team was paired with Hoosierland Tigers, the third seed. A win versus Hoosierland Tigers would guarantee that the EDGE 18-Black would make it to the challenge round later in the afternoon so they wanted to take care of business right away. Quick starts in both games, and a well balanced attack and serving would allow the team to win the match in two games 25-22, 25-21. With the win, the team would be faced off against Munciana 18 Skyhawk’s. Munciana up to this point had not dropped a match or even a set. With two great middles and great ball control, Munciana was able to take the match and the pool with a two game victory over the EDGE 18-Black. Munciana 18 Skyhawk’s would end up finishing the tournament in 3^rd place only dropping one match to the eventual champions SPVB 18-Red.

With the loss to Munciana, the EDGE 18-Black would be paired up against Southwest Minnesota Juniors 18-1, the winners of pool 5. Like Munciana 18 Skyhawk’s, Southwest Minnesota Juniors were undefeated coming in. At staked in the challenge match was a trip to elite 8 gold bracket and a guaranteed finish of 5^th place. After a four-and-a-half hour break between matches, The EDGE-18 Black came out flat and lost in two games to Southwest Minnesota Juniors. The next day, Southwest Minnesota would go on to finish third as well with only having one match loss in the entire tournament. For EDGE, the challenge match loss would put them in the second highest bracket, the Premier Division. After a long day of volleyball, the girls, coaches, and parents had a nice dinner and got some rest prior to the final day of play.

With an 11 AM match on Wednesday, the team was paired with a local foe in 1^st Alliance 18-White. The first set had the team going back and forth the entire game. With the game tied at 22, 1^st Alliance was able to pull away and take the game 25-22. The second game featured a more balanced attack and strong serving from The EDGE. Again with the game tied at 22, the EDGE was able to finish the game on 3-1 run to take game two 25-23 and force a third. Emily Leazer would start game three for EDGE with powerful jump serves that put the EDGE up to a quick 4-0 lead. Both teams traded side outs and the EDGE 18-Black finished 1^st Alliance off in the third winning the game and match 15-9. 1^st Alliance 18-White was done for the tournament with a 15^th place finish. In the semi-final of the Premier Division of the AAU National Championships, the EDGE would face Treasure Coast 18-National from Stuart, FL. Up to this point; Treasure Coach 18-National had gone 10-2 and featured players that have committed to play collegiately at Nebraska, Florida State, and Villanova. Like the rest of the tournament, The EDGE would struggle in game 1 and be forced to mount a comeback. The first game was won by Treasure Coast 17-25. The EDGE 18-Blacks resilience shined through as the team would fight strong to a tight 26-24 game two victory. The third and final game of the semi-final match again saw strong jump serving from Emily Leazer and Rachel Horvath. With Treasure Coast unable to get their offense going, The EDGE 18-Black coasted to a 15-7 game three and match victory. With the win over Treasure Coast 18 National, the EDGE 18-Black was in the finals of the Premier Division. Unfortunately, the final bracket was behind schedule over an hour and weather and flight issues forced the team to forgo the championship match in order to get home to Illinois. In making it to the finals of the Premier Division at the 28^th Annual AAU National Championships, the EDGE 18-Black finished in 12^th place out of 104 teams. The team went 8-4 in matches played, and of those 12 matches, seven went three games with EDGE only losing one of them.

The entire tournament was a great conclusion to the high school careers of the class of 2011. Graduated seniors Camissa Beghou, Jessica Condon, Jennifer Huh, Emily Leazer, and Toria Toter really helped take the EDGE 18-Black to the next level at the National Championship. In addition to their stellar performances, the graduated players showed great leadership and led by example. All five players were great mentors and teammates for the younger class of 2012 team members Lisa Mahon, Rachel Horvath, Alexa Krogstad, and Kaitlin Mohr. Great job team!

Other midwest regional area teams in order of finish:

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