414 Milwaukee Teams Compete in San Juan, Puerto Rico
A few weeks ago 414 Milwaukee volleyball club sent four teams to compete in the Power League Girl’s Championship 2019 in Puerto Rico. The tournament is an AAU Regional Tournament, one of the benefits of attending the tournament. The 14 Elite, 15, Elite, 16 Elite, and 17 Elite teams traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico for the three-day tournament in April.
This tournament was more than just volleyball though, it was a cultural experience that included some sightseeing, making new friends, and of course, a lot of volleyball.
Paige Drezek (Prep Dig Rank #74), an outside hitter on the 17 Elite team reflected that she “had a phenomenal experience at the Power League Championship tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The sportsmanship expressed by our opponents created a welcoming and exciting environment to play and make new friends. I learned a lot from playing in Puerto Rico and I definitely got some good serve receive practice from some challenging float serves”
An interesting rule change the teams experienced while playing in the tournament was that a ‘clean ace’ or an ace that had no touch on it was worth two points. The crowd was also very lively during the tournament, with many parents from local teams playing instruments like bongos or trumpets! This created a fun and exciting atmosphere to play in. The tournament also had a DJ dance party on Saturday night for all of the players. This fostered great relationships between teams and was a fun event for all.
When they weren’t on the court, the club rented buses for the teams to explore Old San Juan where they had a great cultural experience, enjoyed swimming and sunbathing, and ate some delicious pizza. Teams felt very welcomed at the tournament. Many local teams wanted pictures with the 414 teams and many athletes made personal connections with athletes on the local teams.
The teams did very well at the tournament. 14 Elite placed 9th of 23 teams in the 14 Club division, 15 Elite placed 5th of 44 teams in the 15 Open division, 16 Elite placed 9th of 26 teams in the 16 Club division and the 17 Elite team won the 17 Club division!
Three athletes were honored from the 17 Elite team at the tournament including libero Jenna Clouser, setter Nikki Yelmene, and right side Angela Rinelli. Jenna and Nikki both received All-Star Awards and Angella won MVP of the tournament. All were great honors for the athletes, the team, and the club.
Nikki said, “Playing in Puerto Rico was a great experience. The competition was much different as the teams down there are extremely good defensively. We loved the two-point ace rule as it can completely change the dynamic of a game. They gave us a warm welcome and we met a lot of players.”