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Wolfpack heads to Dallas!

By Chris Feliciano, 05/06/13, 9:45AM EDT

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Look out Dallas there's a Wolf Pack on the loose. 

This past Saturday the 14 Red Team won Geva 14 open in tremendous fashion. This day would be one of redemption and Miracles . "Wolf Pack" battled in every match and came out victorious vs Hurricanes, CJVA, and Downstate. 

The first match to open up competition vs Hurricanes was a back and forth affair. In the deciding game Wolf Pack used good ball control to jump out to a quick lead. Unfortunately ill  timed unforced errors let Hurricanes back into the set. After using both timeouts Wolf Pack settled down and closed out the set 15-12. 
 
After avoiding potential disaster in the opening round Wolf Pack knew they needed to step their game up if they were going to stand a chance vs CJVA. With a good game plan in place the girls set out to show who had the best 14s program in New Jersey and they did just that, overcoming an early CJVA lead in set one and winning the match in 2 sets . Using directional serving and a fast tempo offense Wolf Pack would cause "Black Ice" to slip up as they became one dimensional. Time after time they could only run their outside and Wolf Pack was waiting as CJVA 's attacks were hit into the teeth of their defense. With formidable ball control Wolf Pack was  in system 66% to CJVA's 43%.  With the scores tight in both sets AVVC would use the ball control percentage to their advantage as time after time they would score out of the middle not allowing CJVA's defense to get into sync. 
 
With a key victory vs a good CJVA team in hand Wolf Pack prepared to play the original Black Ice team in a juggernaut called Downstate. For the entire year Downstate 14 Black  plagued AVVC 14 Red at every possible corner. At MLK, Apex open, Capital Hill, GEVA 2 and NEQ Wolf Pack suffered not only loses to them but were knocked out of Gold Bracket contention in 3 major travel tournaments. So this was an opportunity to redeem their entire season of frustrating performances vs a team that most would agree is one of the best 14s teams in the East Coast. 
 
Again armed with a good game plan Wolf Pack knew they would need to be perfect to pull off a Miracle and they did just that. Time after time both offensively and defensively Wolf Pack executed to perfection. Downstate made several adjustments in the first set to make the set closer but AVVC would ultimately prevail. In set 2 like many times before Downstate kicked in their 2nd gear and opened up a big lead.   After a time out the Wolf Pack promised the coaching staff that they would play with heart and they did just that. They were able to close the gap as heart always wins vs talent. Down by 5 points in the second set the score was now tied at 18's. Knowing if they won the set they would be  guaranteed a spot at Nationals Wolf Pack found a third gear outscoring Downstate 7-4  to close out the match. Everyone charged the floor and the parents erupted in delight. A bid to Nationals was now secure.  
 
With one of the Bids in their pockets Wolf Pack looked to put the final touches on a phenomenal tournament. They would face Downstate again for they were victorious in the losers bracket. But now Downstate needed to beat AVVC twice to take home the gold. After winning the first set Downstate played with a great leave a tenacity and heart overwhelming Wolf pack in both the 2nd and 3rd set. So now it came down to a 1 set to 25 for the championship. Wolf Pack had a short memory something that had plagued them throughout the entire season as the team struggled after making tons of mistakes. Refocused and hungry Wolf Pack went back out and seized the moment and won the National Bid and was crown 14 Open Champions.
 


Christopher R. Feliciano