ROYAL COURT CHALLENGE III

The 3rd Royal Court Challenge went down this weekend. A 10am Saturday start allowed players to be fully rested after any Friday night activities. They would be needing every ounce of energy to make it through a gauntlet of volleyball laid out before them. The players who could demonstrate the most well-rounded set of abilities throughout the day would be crowned King and Queen at the end of the day.

The Royal Court Challenge offers a unique environment for players to show all sides of their volleyball persona. Sign up with Coed 2’s partner, but you aren’t playing 2’s. Instead, you’ll be matched up with a variety of other teams and compete in 4v4 volleyball. Decisions must be made, strategies must be implemented, and players will find themselves outside their comfort zone. Two setters on the same team? Someone needs to put the ball away. A team full of attackers, who’s going to distribute the ball? Survive pool play with a top record and point differential and you’ll find yourself battling for the crown.

“TIME TO MOVE UP?”
(Lower Intermediate Breakdown)

It was set up to be a strong Lower Intermediate tournament. 11 teams showed up for this division. Returning favorites Jill and Ricky look to improve their finishes from the first two Royal Court Challenges. Mel and Donny two other veterans of this format, but with different partners, looked to team up and take down the competition

The pools were set for the 11 teams. Everyone would get 4 matches with varying opponents composed of a game to 15 with each person in their group to see who would make the final four. Off to a quick start was the team of Raylynn and Declan, going 3-0 in their first match with a +17-point differential. Declan, one of the most experienced players in this division, is a unique combo of a setter and lefty shot specialist. This makes a valuable skillset in this format where your team could need you at any position. They couldn’t keep up the hot start going 3-6 in their last 3 matchups missing the final four by one game being replaced by Jill and Ricky who went 7-5 with a +16-point differential. In the final four Jill and Ricky would be joined by Sophie and Noah (8-4), Karson and Rainier (9-3), and first place Kaden and Caitlin with a solid 9-3 record and a massive +43-point differential.

The finals were a similar story to Kaden and Caitlin’s pool play run. They capped their 1st place victory with an undefeated final and a 7pt final 15-8 final game win. Congratulations to them and our runner’s up Jill and Ricky. With that win Kaden and Caitlin will have to move up to Upper Int in the next tournament.

“A FAMILIER FACE”
(Upper Intermediate Breakdown)

After an early elimination last year, the team of Wes and Gracie looked to redeem themselves in the upper division. The 1st Royal Court Challenge couldn’t of went better for these two as they took home the overall victory. The 2nd was a learning experience, and the 3rd may have been their best performance yet. Beating power houses like Brit and Mike and Tallis and Manny they went 8-4 among the 12 teams playing in the Upper Int division and secured themselves a spot in the top 4. The Upper Int division had a mix of new faces and new teams, and it was hard to say who the favorite was. But there’s one player who’s known to show his face in a few finals. Andrew Winkleman aka “Winky” partnered with “2 Point Killer” Lindsay these two were sure to make a splash and they did. Although only achieving an 8-4 record these two sported a massive point differential, +41 the highest in upper.

Rounding out the final four Garvey and Sara came out on top as the first seed with 9-3 and +29 clutching out a 3-0 victory in their final match. And did I say clutch? If you had asked anyone before the tournament if Nick and Rachel would be the finals 100% would have said yes and probably would of said they were the favorites to win. But, after two matches they were sitting at the bottom with only a 2-4 record. Something had to change and it did. Going 6-0 and the final 2 matches, Nick and Rachel secured their final four spots and had a chance at victory.

The Upper Int finals boasted some of the best volleyball of the day . Garvey and Sara looked in control, winning the first two games despite a controversial net call in the late stretches of the 2nd game. But, in this format it’s not always about winning and after a brutal 3rd game loss Garvey and Sara were out of the picture. The man and women standing there when the dust settled was none other than Winky and Lindsay. Winky a powerful 3-way player all day with defensive, attacking, and setting abilities along with Lindsay one of the hardest hitting females present who had some defensive skills on her own and can set when needed proved to be a consistent force all day. And in the end, that’s what wins, being able to do it all, all the time!

Special acknowledgment to the silver winners. This would have been the 5-8 seeds and each division. Amanda and Solen took down lower int finishing out on a tie breaker coed 2’s battle. Megan and Matt won upper int silver. Thank you all for playing and I hope to see you all in the 4th Royal Court Challenge sometime next Spring.
-TD MERNA