SEATTLE, WA - Mar. 9, 2007
The Puget Sound Power League finished up over the weekend with all seven Academy teams in action.

WVBA Mizuno 16 and 15 played in the U16 Gold Division on Saturday while all other teams played on Sunday.

Power League Saturday
Mizuno 16 finished 2nd in their pool after losing in two to Puget Sound 16 Gold. This set up the crossover matchup against #1 finisher from Pool 1, KJ 16 Baden. After a court delay to allow for some basketball shoot-around, the tournament resumed.

Mizuno 16 dispensed with the KJ team 2-0. In the other crossover match Puget Sound 16 Gold survived a near epic upset by Puget Sound 15 Gold. Mizuno 16 then faced Puget Sound 16 Gold again for their third tournament finals match up of the year.

WVBA Mizuno 16 came out very flat dropping the first set 14-25. After exchanging side outs for most of set 2 the Academy 16s finally kicked it into gear and pulled away from the Puget Sound team taking the second set 25-20. The third set went to the WVBA 15-12 to give Mizuno 16 their first Power League championship finish.

Jamie McDonald stepped up when the tournament was on the line to lead the team with a .667 hitting percentage along with 13 big time kills from Kylin Munoz who finished the day with 45 kills in 99 swings. The team benefited from some great serving by Ashley Broadwell and Rachel Shober.

The Academy 16s ran a 6-2 offense for the first time this year employing both setters Kerry Clavadetscher and Janelle Chow. Kendra Cotton provided steady serve-receive passing to allow the new offense to run.

Mizuno 15 played in the other pool along with #1 KJ 16 Baden, #2 Puget Sound 15 Gold, and #3 Sudden Impact 16 Thunder.

The Academy 15s could not overcome the steady serving and ball control of KJ 16 Baden and fell in 2 sets. Mizuno 15 also were not able to muster enough offense to beat the Puget Sound 15 Gold team. Mizuno 15s did take care of business against the #3 seed Sudden Impact 16s team to finish 3rd in pool play.

This set up a crossover match against #4 finisher from Pool 2 Wahine 16 Black. Mizuno 15 took care of the Wahine 16s but lost their last match to finish 6th overall out of the 80 combined U15/U16 teams in the Power League.

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Power League Sunday
Mizuno 18 won the final Power League Gold Division on Sunday. The team won all of their matches and only dropped two games the entire day. The day started off well with Mizuno 18 winning their pool by dispensing of Narrows Purple 18-1 (2-1), Above the Net U18 (2-0), and Puget Sound 18 Gold (2-0).

During the semi-final against Sudden Impact 18, Mizuno 18 came out focused and won 2-0. In the other semi-final, Puget Sound 18 Gold, came back from losing the first game to Kent Juniors 18 Baden and won the match 2-1.

This set up a rematch from pool play for the Gold Division finals. In a hard fought match, the two teams slugged it out, with Mizuno 18 winning game one and Puget Sound winning game two. In the decisive game three, Mizuno 18 took command and won the match.

It was a great day for Mizuno 18. After finishing 2nd in the previous Power League Gold Division, the team has worked extremely hard and was ready to lay claim to the number one ranking in the region. The coaches would also like to thank the support of the parents, family, and friends. The team's success could not happen without it.

Mizuno 18-Red finished 3rd in Copper Division. 18-Red won their pool and played a very exciting game against Space Needle 18 Spike Force. They came from behind to win both sets. In tournament play they had a three set game against Bellevue Blaze, again coming from behind to win the second game. In the cross over game 18-Red beat Space Needle again for third place

Mizuno 17 played steady all day. They finished 2nd in the U18 Silver division. If there was one more power league session, Mizuno 17 would be in gold where they belong.

Mizuno 14 finished 4th in Gold. They lost to Power Surge in 3 (16-14 final game) in the first match in the morning, and then went on to beat Sudden Impact and Olympia 14s both in 2.

The Academy 14s then lost a 3-set killer to Capital VBC (16-14 final game) in the first round of play-offs…and AGAIN lost to Power Surge for 3/4th place overall 26-24.

Kaci Jones was an offensive powerhouse all day and again our serving game was outstanding with Jazymne Dodd leading the way. We served a flawless match vs. Sudden Impact (missing no serves). Christina Street contributed at the net, slowing Power Surge’s attack in both matches and providing aggressive net play all day.

Mizuno 13 finished 7th in the Silver division of U14 Power League. Much of the team was trying to overcome colds and struggled through the pool with all matches going the distance of 3 sets.

The Academy 13s beat Kitsap 14 Krush and fell to Olympia 13s and UPVBC 14 Loren which created a 3-way tie for 1st. Unfortunately based on points, WVBA finished 3rd. The crossover match was lost to Power Surge 13 while they went on to finish the day with a win over Rain City 14 Cyclones.

Miah Diirell had an outstanding day at the outside hitter position. Olivia Magill was a huge presence at the net in the middle with solid and consistent blocking.