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Save the Date!
NorCal will be having tryouts on November 1st and 2nd. Please save the dates. Times and 2009 forms will be available soon.
September 6, 2008
NORCAL 16 BLACK ARE THE BIG CHEESE EVEN WITHOUT THE RAT!!
Some things are inevitable in life and some things sneak up on you and happily slap you upside the head. NorCal 16 Black's National Gold Medal win at JO's would fall into the latter category. A strong team all yearlong, the 16's just kept getting better with each round until the finals where they outlasted a strong Cincy Classics team, 25 -20, 18 - 25, 15 -11. Early on, the girls were nothing short of dominating, beating several good teams in 2 games by large margins.
Then they got their wake up call - a 3 game loss to Ozark Juniors. In retrospect, it was probably the best thing that could have happened because their focus after that was laser-like. Strong opponents like A5, St. Louis CYC (the #1 seed!!) and Mizuno M1 went down like sliced cheddar! The best part - everyone contributed great volleyball. Rachel "Blue Crush" Eberhard and "Tricky" Nikki Baker were denting the floor; "Slidin' " Gracie Vickers and Alex "The Hammer" Franceschi dominated the middle, Molly "The Waitress" Ratto (because she serves it up); Katie "The Headband" Osborne, Jamie "Floor Burn" Douglas and Akemi " IHOP" (because of her pancakes) Inouye seemingly never let a ball drop; Malina "Buster" Keaton was a wall on the right side; Dre "Instant Middle" (just add water) Davis proved her versatility when Alex went down; and Devin "The Dumpster" Shaver ran the show and sealed the victory.
How well did they play, you ask? Both he and Christina Kirk had kind of a bemused grin on their face as this team rose to the challenge. The parents couldn't have been prouder and it was an awesome way to end a long season and a definite confidence builder for 2009. Way to go, 16 Black!!!!
Article by Russ Baker
NorCal 18 Black Earns Bronze Medal at the Junior Olympics
NorCal 18 black barely earned a bid to Junior Olympics, and when seeded third by USA Volleyball they knew they had some big shoes to fill, “After the initial seeding came out by USAV, I had the team re-write their goals” coach Herr said. “No longer was top 10 at JO’s acceptable, I knew they could attain a higher finish and I wanted nothing more than for this team to walk away with NorCal Volleyball Club’s first JO medal in the club’s history”. And make history is what they did.
After day 1, this team was making Junior Olympics look very easy. They had wins over Club Triangle, Mizuno M1, and West Bend Power. On day 2 they finished pool play with a number one seed beating North Stars and Asics Willowbrook convincingly. Day 3 would be NorCal 18 black’s first real test. With a loss to University of Okoboji, NorCal would need to beat City Beach 18, a NorCal rival, in order to advance and be in contention for a medal. City Beach played tough, but NorCal’s consistent play led them to a 2 game victory. A win later that day over Nike 6 pack would lead them into the gold division, top 8 in the nation.
As expected the gold bracket proved to be a tough challenge. NorCal’s first high intensity match came against Impact 18 black. A thrilling 25-23, 18-25, 16-14 win gave NorCal the bronze medal. The NorCal 18 black journey ended short with a loss to Main Beach, the future gold medalists. When asked to reflect back on the Junior Olympic experience coach Herr said, “I could not be more proud of the 12 girls on this team. They set a goal and went out and reached it. They earned a bronze medal with perseverance, determination, and most importantly character. What more could I ask for as a coach?”
Article by Meg Herr
June 29, 2008
NorCal 15 Black wins Cal Finals!
Congratulations to NorCal 15 Black for winning the 16's divsion at Cal Finals this past weekend. Other great finishes:
17 Black |
5th (3 days) |
16 Black |
7th in the 18's division |
14 Black |
7th |
13 Black |
13th in the 14's division (3rd highest 13's team) |
14 Blue |
24th |
NorCal Seniors College Bound:
We wish all our NorCal senior success in their college endeavors!
Jessica Atthowe |
Golden West College |
Alaynah Fiedler |
Golden West College |
Kelsey Freeman |
Emory University |
Katie Gellerman |
Cal State East Bay |
Robyn Hall |
University of Portland |
Kensie Haygood |
UC San Diego |
Megan MacLeod |
University of Pacific |
Erin Osborne |
Long Beach State |
Chelsea Rashoff |
Golden West College |
Betsy Sedlak |
University of Oregon |
Kara Strickland |
Maryville College, TN |
Sarah Taggart |
College of Charleston |
NorCal is currently piloting an online MobileScore program. Which can deliver scores, pictures and commentary to anyone, anytime, anywhere. MobileScore connects fans, family and friends to games they care about. Cal Finals will be a practice run and we should be up and running for JO's. More information will follow to download the free application to your mobile device.
Congratulations to the 2008 All NorCal Team!
12 Black |
Jessy Ober |
12 White |
Annie Doyle |
13 Black |
Josie Mueller |
13-2 White |
Madison Carr |
13-3 White |
Nikki Bartak |
14 Black |
Brooke Standring |
14 Blue |
Megan McNamara |
15 Black |
Kim Condie |
15 Blue |
Sophie Perez |
16 Black |
Rachel Eberhard |
16 Blue |
Lauren VanFossen |
17 Black |
Sydney Kordic |
18 Black |
Kenzie Haygood |
Members of the All NorCal Team have demonstrated values that are important to NorCal, such as teamwork, leadership, dedication and selflessness. Congratulations girls!
15Blue has an Amazing Regional Tournament!
This past weekend the 15blue team record was 8-1. Losing an exciting and intense match in the semi finals to Dynamix. They didn't let this game get them down for long, defeating MPower to take third in their division. Ernie and Shari had a lot of good things to say: " we are so proud of our girls, we have been waiting for them to play to their full potential. They never got down, every girl stepped up at different times, it was absolutely a TEAM EFFORT and they need to be proud of themselves!" Congratulations 15Blue!
May 13, 2008
18's Help T.K. Celebrate Her Missed Junior Prom
While at the Lone Star Qualifier Junior T.K. Gordon was missing her Junior Prom so the 18's decided to have a prom of their own!
NorCal 18 Black Earns JO Bid!
Congratulations to the 18's for earning an American bid to the JO's this weekend at the Power League Regionals!
May 5th 2008
NorCal 16 Black Earns a JO Bid!
Congratulations to 16 Black for winning the Far Western Qualifier in the club division, earning a National JO bid!
Congratulations to the 18's for finishing 4th at the Far Westerns.
April 28th, 2008
Congratulations 14 Black!
Congratulations to 14 Black for finishing tied for 5th this past weekend at the Far Westerns. Coach Jay Felch said they played their best , most consistent volleyball of the season. Way to go!
April 21st, 2008
Wedding Bells!!!
Congratulations to NorCal's 15 Black coach Toni Merendino, who on Saturday got engaged to Ryan Templeman! Please congratulate Toni when you see her "she's the one with the permanent smile" and gorgeous ring!
April 12, 2008
NorCal 17 Black Earns JO Bid!
Congratulations to NorCal 17 Black for winning the 17 club division at the PNQ this past weekend, earning a National bid to the Junior Olympics. Way to go 17's!
Congratulations to NorCal 15 Black for placing second at the Southern Cal Qualifier in the 15 club division. It seems were going to need a bigger trophy case at NorCal. :)
Other great NorCal finishes:
18 Black finished 5th out of 88 teams at the So. Cal Qualifier.
16 Black finished 9th out of 84 teams at the PNQ.
14 Black finished 15th out of 45 teams at the PNQ.
15 Blue finished 27th at the PNQ.
14 Blue finished 33rd at the PNQ.
Great Job Ladies!
March 31, 2008
NorCal 15 Black Earns JO Bid!
Congratulations to NorCal 15 Black for winning the 15 club division at the Pacific Northwest Qualifier today, earning a National bid to the Junior Olympics. Great Job! NorCal 14Black finished tied for 15th, 15Blue tied for 27th and 14Blue tied for 27th.
March 23, 2008
Two NorCal Seniors Commit!
Congratulations to Betsy Sedlak who has committed to The University of Oregon and to Kara Strickland who has committed to Maryville College in Tennessee. Way to go!
March 17, 2008
NorCal Recruiting Seminar
NorCal is presenting a recruiting seminar on Saturday March 15th from 3-4pm at the NorCal facility. The presentation will be for high school NorCal players and their parents only.
March 7, 2008
Important Annoucements
- Please do not leave any valuables locked in your cars at the NorCal facility. It was reported that some cars at Club Sport have been broken into and valuables were stolen.
- Please do not eat or bring food into venues where food is prohibited. NCVA is sanctioning violators $100/occurence. Thank you!
January 29, 2008
Reminder: Nutritional Seminar Tuesday 1/29 and Thursday 1/31 6:00-7:00pm
Great Showing for NorCal at the Cal Kickoff!
Besides being the best dressed teams at the Kickoff we had some teams that had great finishes. The 16 Black team finished 2nd in the 16's open division, 16 Blue finished 5th in the 16's club division, 17 Black finished 5th our of all the 17's teams in the 18 open, 15 Black finished 7th our of all the 15's teams in the 16 open, 13 Black finished 6th out of all the 13's teams in the 14 open, 13 Blue finished 8th out of all the 13's teams in 14 club, 14 Black finished 10th in the open division, 17 Black finished 14th in the 18's open division, 12 Black finished 14th in the 12's division and 14 Blue finished 15th in the 14's club division. Congratulations to everyone! Great way to start the season and we're all looking forward to more good finishes! Go NorCal!
January 22, 2008
New Parent Info
We've been getting lots of emails asking how to find out tournament locations and times. What you need to do is, go to www.ncva.com and either click on the calendar date link or click on the power league or special tournaments links. This will direct you to a tournament page that will have venues & times. This information is usually updated the Wednesday before the tournament date. Please remember to check back the day before each tournament to see if any information has been changed. Go NorCal!
January 13, 2008
NorCal's Robyn Hall Signs Letter of Intent
Congratulation to Senior Robyn Hall who recently signed a National letter of intent to play for The University of Portland. See the complete article link below.
http://www.digitalsight.com/norcal/teams/18-Black/18-black-Hall-Portland.htm
Thanks to generous donations, NorCal is looking better than ever!
NorCal is lucky to have had club members donate furniture and accessories to help spruce up the facility. Our lobby is looking great and we now have a new homework room! We thank you and urge everyone to help protect and take care of the new additions.
Lobby |
New Homework Room! |
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Where Are They Now?
Check out NorCal's Alumni page to see where our past players are lighting up the court. Check out their schedules and cheer them on! Sam Noland and UNLV will be playing at Santa Clara University Sept. 23rd at 1:00pm.
September 18th, 2007
NorCal Facility Information
7069 Commerce Circle, Pleasanton, CA 94588
Courts 1 (red poles) & 2 (blue poles):
Lobby |
New Homework Room! |
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Parking
We can park on the North side of the street (directly in front of NorCal), and in the back. Do not park next to the building in the alley driveway or across the street. You will get towed.
General Rules
- Be safe.
- Players need to put their water bottles and back packs in the cubbies. Keeping them off the floor will help with safety.
- After practice all players need to pick up after themselves.
LINKS
Successfull Programs using the Gold Medal Squared System |
Other Volleyball Links |
| Saint Mary's Women's Volleyball | |
| University of Utah Women's | |
| University of Washington's Women's Volleyball | |
| Cal Poly Women's Volleyball | |
| Pepperdine Men's Volleyball | |
| Gold Medal Squared | |
| University of Hawaii Men's | |
| Kansas State Women's | Renegades Boy Volleyball Club |
| Palm Beach Atlantic Women's | |
| University of Maryland BC Women's | |
| Franklin Pierce College |
If you are interested in boys volleyball, check out Renegades Volleyball Club, it is a new club in the Bay Area...
NorCal Equipment Sponsor
Prepare your teens to safely take to the road and drive themselves to practice!