After a month long hiatus with no tournament play, AVVC 15 Regional Red Hots have been working hard to improve between tournaments.  When pool play arrived the team was excited to see two competitors previously played at the Lancaster tournament 5 weeks ago in the same pool.

The Red Hots started off the first match strong dominating the first game 25-14 against Infinity 15 Gray.  Infinity stepped up their game and the second was a tight 25-23 with Red Hots taking the win.  Setter Mara Giga had five aces, while libero Heidi Shi had three, and setter Jessica Liu had one.  During the second game, middle blocker Kate Stomber had two solo blocks and two kills changing the pace of the game.  Outside hitters Caitlin Serafin and Meghan Swanton both contributed one kill each.

Right out of the gate the Shockwaves serve receive was weak and the Red Hots took advantage quick winning the first game 25-18 with Serafin contributing 4 service aces one of which won the game!  The second game was another story with Shockwave taking control with the game going back and forth.  Red Hots dropped the set 25-21.  Red Hots setters Mara Giga, Jessica Liu, and Megan Mondon mixed up the offense which accumulated kills from half the team.  Middle blocker Kaelyn Heard set the pace with 3 kills, Serafin and Stomber with 2 each, and right sides Michaela Mason and Megan Mondon both with one.

The third match was against Norlanco 15 Red, who the Red Hots beat in three games at the Lancaster tournament. Going into this match the Red Hots knew this was going to be close.  Serafin had the only  two services aces racked up during the match which made the Red Hots offense work hard!  Swanton had an incredible 6 kills, Giga with three and Serafin with two.  Mondon and Stomber both delivered one kill each.  Stomber also had 2 solo blocks and Heard with one.  Ultimately it was a tough match with the teams splitting with Red Hots scores 25-23, 18-25. 

The final pool play match was with Fusion who the Red Hots also encountered in Lancaster.  A win in this match would put them in a second place position in contention for the playoffs!  Swanton shined in this match accumulating 6 kills!  Stomber proved to be a force to be reckoned with attaining two blocks and 2 kills. Giga had a game changing moment when she captured her first solo block of the tournament.  Fusion could not hang on and the Red Hots took the win 27-25, 25-23. 

The Red Hots had a 6-2 record in pool play which put them in a tie for second place with Shockwave.  What’s more fair then an old fashioned match to determine who would advance to the playoffs?  Serafin right out of the gate had three aces setting the pace of the match.  As the score went back and forth Swanton earned 4 kills, Stomber with three, and Liu with one.  Stomber continued to be unstoppable with a solo block.  With a final score of 26-24 the Red Hots advanced with 5 other teams to the playoffs!

Advancing to the quarter finals, the Red Hots had one thing on their mind – the FINALS.  Focused the Red Hots easily defeated Keystone 15 Regional 25-20.  Mondon had 5 assists and Swanton dominated the offense with three kills.  Serafin scored with 2 kills while Heard, Giga, Stomber, Shi, and Liu each contributed one kill. 

The semi-finals against Delta 15 Black were so exciting with Swanton hitting a tournament match high of 9 kills! She also had two service aces.  Serafin was dominating the offense with three kills and Heard and Stomber with two each.  The Red Hots service game was off the charts with Heard, Shi, Mondon, Serafin, and Giga with two aces each.  Heard also had a solo block which secured the Red Hots with the win 25-22, 20-25, 16-14.

With the Red Hots advancing the finals, the team was so excited and was now facing top ranked Norlanco 15 Red for the third time this season.  Rarely do you see two teams from the same pool advance so this was going to be quite the match.  Mondon, Stomber and Serafin each had three kills which led the way.  Heard and Swanton both delivered two kills, while Shi had one.  Swanton excelled with three service aces and Heard, Serafin, Giga, and Shi all with one each.  Liu and Stomber both contributed with solo blocks, with Liu’s being the first of the day.  All in all, the Red Hots were defeated 20-25, 25-19, 10-15 and took 2^nd out of 15 teams at the February Frost Tournament. 

The Red Hots worked so hard all day and improved so much since the last tournament.  Swanton was named MVP of the tournament with an incredible performance all day. This team is still the one to watch and with a tournament coming up next weekend they have their eyes set on one goal.