“The mainland teams seem to be getting taller and more skilled in the 18′s division each year and the blocking schemes created more problems for us than they have in the past,” said Coach Ecko. At times our play was very spectacular,  but in the end untimely errors gave other teams the momentum needed to win. We’re proud of our team’s efforts and their ability to stick together.”  Osorio added.

Pilipa’a returns to Hilo Wednesday evening at 7:56 pm on Hawaiian Airlines.

Pilipa’a began the day facing with a 3-game loss (25-17, 15-25, 15-12) against undefeated Legacy 18-1.  Pilipa’a started slowly and numerous errors proved costly in game one.  The boys looked like a different team in the second game.  They came out serving tough, digging balls, passing well and running their quick offense.  They controlled the game  from start to finish forcing a third game.

In the third and deciding game, Pilipa’a exchanged points with Legacy through most of the match, however they came up short losing the game 15-12 and the match.

Pilipa’a continued pool play against Matchpoint in a must-win match to stay in the hunt for the gold .  Pilipa’a's goal of a second gold medal was dashed with a 25-22, 25-23 loss.  Pilipa’a played much stronger in the first game than they had in previous matches, however they had trouble stopping Matchpoint’s big middle attackers.  Pilipa’a's loss would drop them out of contention for the overall championship and would place them in the silver bracket on Monday.

Pilipa’a's lost their last match of the day to Cincy Classics 25-23, 25-18.

Pilipa’a will face Kuikahi of Honolulu in the quarterfinals of the silver bracket Monday morning.

Pilipa’a defeated CV B18 Mizuno 25-20, 18-25, 15-13 and Nike Bay To Bay 25-21, 25-18 to finish the day 3-0.

Day 2 provided Pilipa’a with more challenges. They faced a very tough pool assignment with Kuikahi of Honolulu, MEVBC of Connecticut and Space Needle of Seattle.  Pilipa’a lost 25-22, 14-25, 15-12 to Kuikahai in the first match.  Pilipa’a started had another slow start in the second match of the day before turning things around to defeat MEVBC 21-25, 25-18, 15-8.  Pilipa’a saved their best play for the last match of the day against Space Needle.  Pre-game scouting led to some key lineup adjustments by Coach Ecko which provide key matchups to slow down the offense of Space Needle.  The adjustments worked well as Pilipa’a defeated Space Needle 27-25, 25-23 to advance.

Pilipa’a will cotinue their quest for another Gold Medal when they face Legacy 18-1 tomorrow at 3pm (CDT).

Pilipa’a slipped to the losers bracket with the loss and faced Beach Cities 14′s of Manhattan Beach, California in their second match. The girls coasted to a first game 25-19 victory.  Once again, Pilipa’a was slow starting in the second set, however they rallied from behind after a controversial call and took game two 25-23.

Pilipa’a moved on to play Epic 1 o in their third match of the day.  Pilipa’a previously played Epic 2 and were now tasked with playing the bigger and more experienced team from the Poway, California club. Pilipa’a fought hard against the taller team and won game one 27-25 before faltering in games two and three 25-20, 15-11.

Pilipa’a will conclude play tomorrow with a shot at finishing in the top 25 of the 109 team field.

Pilipa’a walked away from the disappointing loss knowing that the next match would be a must-win situation if they wanted to stay in the hunt for the championship bracket.  The girls met the challenge with a hard-fought 3 game victory over  Flintridge VBC of California (25-23, 23-25, 15-7).  Pilipa’a jumped out to an early lead in game one and held on for a 25-23 victory. They struggled with a few unforced errors in the second game, before bouncing back in the third game with a solid 15-7 win.

Pilipa’a's faced Illinois Performance 14HP in their final match of the day.  Pilipa’a, despite playing stellar defense and one of their best matches of the tournament, came up short against the team from Illinois losing 25-23, 25-20.

Pilipa’a is 6-3 in the tournament and advances to the Silver bracket beginning tomorrow at 9:15am (6:15am HST).

Pilipa’a defeated  Coast 14-2 of San Diego, California 25-20, 18-25, 15-11 .  Pilipa’a started the first looking very solid on 5 point service runs by Amanda Loeffler and Zoe Leonard and strong hitting by Outside Hitters Anuhea Leite-AhYo and  Harley Woolsey.  Pilipa’a's passing broke down in set two as they struggled to a 18-25 loss.  The third set  was a different story however, as both teams improved their performance.  Pilipa’a's defense improved significantly with key digs by Angel Alameda and Brittny Marino and several blocks by Amanda Loeffler and Duchess Rapoza. The offense stepped up as well with big swings by both outside hitters and opposite Kaiulani Ahuna.

Pilipa’a forced a three-way tie for first with the victory over Coast 14-2 and would have to wait for the winner of Coast and Rancho Valley for a one-game tiebreaker.  Pilipa’a faced Rancho Valley for the second time of the day.  Pilipa’a got into trouble early in the game and were down 16-9 before mounting a strong comeback effort that tied the game at 23-23.  Pilipa’a dropped the last two points and the tie breaker and lost 23-25.  The loss forced Pilipa’a into a must win situation against Epic 14-2 in a “cross over” match to advance to the top 32.  Pilipa’a defeated Epic on the first day of competition in a 3-game marathon match and were excited to play Epic for the second time.

Pilipa’a defeated Epic in another tough 3-game match(25-14, 23-25, 15-12).  They continued their new tradition of strong starts and second game struggles.  Pilipa’a started off slow in the 3rd and deciding game with a top 32 berth on the line. Down 3 points, Pilipa’a called for a time-out before charging back to take the game and match.

The competition will get tougher tomorrow morning as Pilipa’a will face 5th-seeded Santa Barbara Smack, 27th seed Flintridge VBC of Alta Dena, California, and 11th seeded Illinois Performance 14HP. The top two teams will advance into the Championship Bracket.

Mahalo to Maunalani Volleyball Club from O’ahu for their support this afternoon!

Pilipa’a defeated Shenu VBC 14-1 of Phoenix (25-19, 25-17)in their second match of the morning. Pilipa’a controlled both games of the match with strong serving and hitting and superior defense.

Pilipa’a defeated Excel VBC of Southern California (25-14, 25-10) in their final match of the day.  Pilipa’a finishes the day 3-0 and seeded 12th out of 109 teams.  They will play their next match tomorrow morning at 8am (5am HST).

The girls started their day with a  trip to the massive Phoenix Convention Center in downtown Phoenix to check in to the tournament. Check in was followed by a 90-minute practice on court 49 in one of the three exhibit floors turned into volleyball sport courts for the tournament. The girls had a great practice and are excited to begin playing.  The girls participated in the Opening Ceremonies for the tournament at Chase Field (AZ Diamondbacks stadium) along with thousands of other girls from over 500 teams from around the country and world.  They walked on the field in the parade of athletes and were recognized on stage and the jumbo video screen along with the rest of the teams.

Pilipa’a Girls with their “incredible” new friends from Arizona at the opening ceremonies

Pilipa’a starts the tournament as the 12th seed in the 14U division and will play Excel VBC 14-2 tomorrow morning at 9am AZ time (6am HST). We’ll post scores and pictures as soon as possible tomorrow.  Wish us luck!

Good luck to the Pilipa’a Boys 18′s who are on their way to Austin, TX this evening.

(Reminder:  Click on the Flickr feed on the top right of the Pilipaa.com home page to see all of the pictures posted so far.