Team rises 24 spots in rankings after performance at San Mateo tournament
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SAN MATEO >> The Never Say Die Power 16s went 4-1 in their tournament debut Saturday and Sunday in an NCVA-sponsored Power League competition in San Mateo.
Ranked 78th out of 128 teams in the field at the start of the tournament, the NSD 16s worked their way up to 54th by tournament’s end.
“Climbing that long road to the top,” NSD head coach Marci Psalmonds said. “Plying in the NCVA Power League is tough, but playing against tougher competition just makes us better.”
The NSD 16s went 3-0 Saturday before closing things out with a 1-1 Sunday. They opened the tournament by beating SF Tremors 16 Jaguars 26-24, 25-23, Red Rock 16 Gabriel (Redwood City) 25-19, 25-9, and ITVC 16 Chris 25-16, 25-15. That winning streak ended in their first match Sunday as they fell to MVVC G 16 Black 25-14, 25-22. NSD bounced back in its final match with a 25-22, 21-25, 15-11 win over Red Rock 16 Ashia (Alameda).
“The girls had a great afternoon/night on Saturday,” Psalmonds said. “On Sunday morning we ran into a snag and lot to MVVC before beating Red Rock. We came out pretty sluggish Sunday morning and couldn’t get the momentum going. We are definitely better in the afternoon, but we need to get over that since we will have a lot of AM waves over the next few months.”
Added Psalmonds, “We ended up playing our best game of the weekend against Red Rock in our last match. Everyone was definitely awake and ready to win.”
NSD tournament leaders were Moana Chamberlin with 43 kills, 73 digs and nine aces, Liv Bushey with 31 kills (15 of those in the final match against Red Rock), 10 aces, Jordyn Wurm with 14 kills, 62 digs and five blocks, Madi Byrne with nine kills and four blocks, Brooklyn Young with 48 assists and seven aces, and Olivia Arredondo with 34 assists.
“As a team, everyone contributed at the service line,” Psalmonds said. “We had 42 aces. This team is one of the best serving teams that I have coached.”
The NSD 16s return to action Feb. 14-16 in the non-league Las Vegas Classic in Las Vegas.
