Buckle your seatbelts for five days of High Performance Championships. The Badger Region is sending three teams: A Girls International Youth Team (born in 2000 and after), a Girls National Select Team (born in 2002 and after) and a Boys National Team (born in 1999 and after). This year, members of the teams will be sending us a daily blog detailing their experiences from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
RESULTS/LIVE STREAMING
* For results on AES, click here (click here)
* For live streaming of the event from Court 1, Court 2, Court 3, Court 4, click here.
* For anything social media related, use the hashtag: #BadgerHP. USA Volleyball will be using #USAVhpc for all of its social media postings about the HP Championships.
* More about the Badger Region HP Programs, click here.
SUNDAY, JULY 24
* 2 p.m.: The teams have landed at Milwaukee’s Mitchell Airport safe and sound. Great week, everyone!
SATURDAY. JULY 23
5 p.m: The Badger National Select Girls (above) are bronze medalists!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They defeated USA Select A1 Stripes, a team they lost to earlier in the week, by the score of 25-22, 19-25, 25-18, 25-17. Congrats on bringing home another medal for the Badger Region!
4 p.m.: The Boys National Youth team went the distance with the USA Select A1 White team losing in five close sets 22-25, 25-18, 18-25, 25-22, 18-16. A great weekend from this team beginning to end!
3:30 p.m.: The Girls International Youth team defeated Arizona to win 7th place and finish with an amazing 6-2 record. The scores of their final match on the weekend: 27-29, 25-19, 25-16, 20-25, 15-7
10 a.m.: The Girls Select Team fell to Team Florida this morning and will play for the bronze medal in the third place match at 12:15 p.m. EST on Court 5. Good luck, girls, bring home the hardware. In the meantime, the Girls International Youth will play at 2:15 p.m. EST on Court 7 in the Seventh Place match vs. Arizona Region.
9:40 a.m.: The Boys National Youth team won over the Northern California Region team to enter the Silver Bracket Championship and a fifth place finish. Good luck, boys! “It feels outstanding to get another win this morning in a tough five-setter against a very good team from NorCal,” said Ryan Thompson. “We made quite a few errors in the first set and told the boys if they cleaned that up, that the tide would turn, and it did. We were able to keep our composure in the fifth set, and learned from some of our mistakes in the fifth set of our match a couple of days back. We are excited to be playing for the Silver Bracket Championship and hope that we can end with a win.”
FRIDAY, JULY 22
Summary (Girls Select): With a win over Team Florida 26-24, 25-17, 25-21, the team guaranteed themselves a second place finish in their pool. That paired them with the USA Select Continental Red team for a 6:30 p.m. Challenge Match to get to the Gold Bracket. There, they won convincingly 25-21, 25-23, 25-18. The team place at 8 a.m (EST) tomorrow against Team Florida in the Gold Semis.
Summary (Girls International): The Girls International Youth team had two matches on the livestream, but only came out with one win. The team lost to Puerto Rico in four sets, 20-25, 25-23, 25-2, 26-24. Then later in the afternoon, the team defeated New Zealand by the scores of 14-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-19. The win secures the team a 5-2 record in pool play. Unfortunately, due to tiebreakers, the team has to settle for fourth place in the pool and will be in the seventh place match tomorrow.
Summary (Boys): The Boys National Youth team defeated the USA Select Continental Team 25-21, 25-12, 25-16 to gain entry into the SIlver Bracket of the HP Championships today. “It feels good to get another win under our belts and get back to .500 for the tournament. We are in the silver bracket tomorrow and are looking to get two more wins to close out our trip,” said assistant coach Ryan Thompson.
THURSDAY, JULY 21
7 p.m.: The boys lost to a very tough Southern California Region team by the scores of 25*-21, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23. That puts the team in fourth place in the pool. “Although we lost to a tough SoCal tonight, we are seeing improvement in our boys each set and each match,” said head coach LJ Marx. “They are starting to understand and play our system, and it is showing on the court.”
5 p.m.: The Girls International youth team fought hard but lost to a very talented Florida Region team by the scores of 21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-20
1:15 p.m.: A nice win today by the Boys over the USA Select A1 Blue team by the scores of 25-18, 25-23, 25-13. Game two got very close, but the team found its composure to hold on for the win. “The boys came out strong this morning and worked hard for a 3-0 win,” said assistant coach Ryan Thompson. “We did a great job passing the ball and were able to get our middles going offensively. We have a tough match this evening against a good SCVA team, and hopefully we can keep improving and try to get a win.” The team is now 2-2 and plays at 5:45 EST on the live stream!
11:55 a.m.: The Girls International Youth team comes up with a HUGE five-set win over Iowa. Down 8-3 in the fifth set, Badger Region came back to win 15-12 to stay undefeated on the week!
11:30 a.m.: The Girls National Select team from the Badger Region had to work a little bit extra to defeat Southern California Region, but they did by the scores of 30-28, 25-22, 25-10. This puts the girls at 3-1 overall on the weekend so far!
8:30 a.m.: Today’s schedule is as follows for the teams (all times Eastern):
* 10:15 a.m.: Girls National Select vs. Southern California Region (Court 17)
* 10:15 a.m.: Girls International Youth vs. Iowa Region (Court 13)
* 12:15 p.m.: Boys National Youth vs. USA A1 Blue (Court 6)
* 4 p.m.: Girls National Select vs. Arizona (Court 17)
* 4 p.m.: Girls International Youth vs. Florida (Court 9)
* 5:45 p.m.: Boys National Youth vs. Southern California Region (Court 4) ….LIVE STREAM
WEDNESDAY, JULY 20
5 p.m.: The Girls International Youth team knocked off the Puget Sound Region (Washington State) by the scores of 25-22, 26-24, 21-25, 27-25 to stay undefeated. The Girls National Select team was not as successful, falling to a USA A1 Select team 25-13, 23-25, 25-21, 26-24. The loss puts the GNS at 2-1 so far on the week.
3 p.m. Both the Girls National Select and Girls International Youth teams are starting their 3 p.m. matches right now while the boys are finishing up a match against GEVA on Court 5. UPDATE: The boys lost in a close five-set thriller to GEVA, falling 15-11 in the fifth game. Close one, fellas! “It’s always tough to lose a five-set match,” said assistant coach Ryan Thompson. “We are very proud of how the boys bounced back to take a 2-1 lead after dropping the opening set. We hope that we are able to learn from that loss and bounce back for the rest of the tournament.”
1 p.m. The Girls International Youth team dominated the Iroquois Youth team in the 10:15 a.m. match by the scores of 25-22, 25-10, 25-10. Great job, team!
9:40 a.m. The Girls National Select came home with a hard-fought win over Gulf Coast just now. The scores: 16-25, 25-23, 25-14, 20-25, 15-7. Up next: 4 p.m (EST) vs. USA Select A1 Stripes.
9:30 a.m.: Congrats to the Badger Boys (above) for picking up their first win of the week by defeating the A1 team, 3-0. The next match is at 2 p.m. (EST) against former Badger Region HP Coach Rob Wolter and the Garden Empire Volleyball Association team from New York. “It feels good to get our first win on the week,” said assistant coach Ryan Thompson. “The boys came out and worked hard this morning after losing a tough match yesterday. The third set got close at the end but the boys held on to finish it off.”
7:30 a.m.: The Badger Region Boys National Youth and Girls National Select Teams are starting at 8:30 a.m. (EST) — RIGHT NOW! — against USA Select A1 Stripes and the Gulf Coast Region, respectively. Good luck, all!
TUESDAY, JULY 19
7 p.m. The teams are lining up for the Opening Ceremony. From the looks of photos on other social media, the energy is electric and the athletes are thoroughly enjoying this one of a kind experience.
4 p.m.: The Girls International Youth team from the Badger Region took down USA Select A1 White team that was coached by Carthage College alumni Matt Ulmer, now an assistant at the University of Oregon. Badger Region won, 3-0. The team will next play at 10:15 a.m. (EST) against Puerto Rico.
2:15 p.m.: Get ready for the Girls International Youth team taking Court 1 on the livestream: http://www.teamusa.org/usa-volleyball/high-performance/hp-indoor/hp-programs-and-events/2016-hp-championships
1 p.m.: The Girls National Select Team fights off North Texas Region for a 3-1 win this afternoon in their first pool play match.
12:15 p.m.: The Badger Region Boys National Youth team fell to Ohio Valley Region, 3-0, in their first match of the HP Championships. Next match for the boys is at 8:30 a.m. (EST) tomorrow.
10 a.m. The boys have begun warming up for their 11:45 a.m. (EST) match against the Ohio Valley Region. Good luck, fellas!
MONDAY, JULY 18
5 p.m.: The teams have landed safely in Fort Lauderdale and are preparing for their practices that will take place at 8:30 p.m. EST at the convention center.
8 a.m.: The schedule for the 2016 HP Championships is now online. Click here.
THE TEAMS
Boys National Youth
* Tyler Christensen (Grad: 2018)
* Reese Douglas (Grad: 2017)
* Joshua Kleinschmidt (Grad: 2018)
* Connor Muff (Grad: 2018)
* Jon Quinn (Grad: 2017)
* Samuel Rovik (Grad: 2017)
* Benjamin Brochtrup (Grad: 2018)
* Travis Wagner (Grad: 2017)
* Evan Waltz (Grad: 2017)
* Samuel Radtke (Grad: 2018)
* James Althoff (Grad: 2018) — injured
Girls International Youth
* Jenna Rombalski (Grad: 2018)
* Rylie Vaughn (Grad: 2018)
* Gabby Murray (Grad: 2019)
* Mikaylah Van Lanen (Grad: 2018)
* Brianne Korducki (Grad: 2019)
* Bailey Neuberger (Grad: 2019)
* Ashley Guenveur (Grad: 2019)
* Ashley Bruehlman (Grad: 2018)
* Dru Kuck (Grad: 2019)
* Miranda Wucherer (Grad: 2018)
Girls National Select
* Samantha Naber (Grad: 2021)
* Josie Salzman (Grad: 2020)
* Kaley Blake (Grad: 2020)
* McKenna Wucherer (Grad: 2022)
* Sydney Levins (Grad: 2020)
* Tayler Alden (Grad: 2020)
* Ashley Sharkus (Grad: 2020)
* Kiara Reinhardt (Grad: 2020)
* Abby Wucherer (Grad: 2020)
* Sarah Schrader (Grad: 2020)
