On Saturday, March 31st, the 5th Grade Big Valley AAU volleyball players completed in their first state tournament. The 2007 Gold tournament was hosted by Dike-Newhartford and 19 teams competed between the two host sites.
The team consists of players from Mapleton, Danbury, Anthon, Oto and Smithland. Team members are Hayley Seuntjens, Samantha Halbur, Jessica Ingram, Kristen Hatler, Allie Dose, Shelby Weber, Tonya Redenius, Alana Redenius, Abby Larson, Karly Treiber and Alex Pulford. Twelve strong, they set out to see how they matched up with players from across the state of Iowa.
The first match of the day was with Grundy Center Maroon, where the two teams split wins. The girls lost a close battle with Dike-New Hartford Pink Panthers and then posted it's second loss to a tough Hinton Blackhawk team. In the last match of pool play the Big Valley players posted a resounding win over the Bondurant Jays to secure 3rd in their pool. After advancing to the Gold tournament, Big Valley faced and defeated Janesville Black in 2 close games. Second round pitted the Charles City Comets against Big Valley. After a very competitive first game, 22-25, Big Valley ran out of steam and were defeated by Charles City. Final standings for the tournament were 1st- Ankeny Crush, 2nd- Dike-New Hartford Pink Panthers, 3rd- Charles City Comets and 4th- Hinton Blackhawks.
Coach Hatler would like to congratulate they entire team for all their hard work! Best wishes for next season.
Photo submitted.