Volleyball players from all across northern Indiana walked into La Porte High School early Saturday morning for the 2021 La Porte Slicer Volleyball Invite Tournament.
The schools that participated in the tournament were Carroll High School, Concordia Lutheran High School, Mishawaka Marian High School, Northridge High School, Andrean High School, Munster High School, Mishawaka High School, Warsaw Community High School, Elkhart High School, Saint Joseph's High School - South Bend, and Valparaiso High School.
Within La Porte High School, there were four different locations – the small gym, the main gym, the north field house, and the south field house. Two schools played against each other at the four locations throughout the day.
In the small gym, Elkhart and Munster played first, then Valparaiso and Munster second, followed by Elkhart and Valparaiso for the third game in this location. In the main gym, La Porte and St. Joe played first, then Mishawaka and St. Joe second, followed by LaPorte and Mishawaka for the third game in this location. In the north field house, Carroll and Andrean played first, then Northridge and Andrean second, followed by Carroll and Northridge for the third game in this location. Lastly, in the south field house, Marian and Concordia played first, then Warsaw and Concordia second, followed by Marian and Warsaw for the third game in this location.
Based on the way each school scored in both of their games, it determined how they moved on in the tournament. In the end, there were three places a team could finish, Championship Flight, 2nd place Flight, or the 3rd place Flight.
Something that was apparent throughout the teams that played today was the love and passion each athlete had for the sport and for each other. No matter how well or poorly a play went, they would cheer each other on, just as those who came to watch did.
No matter what type of game they play, each volleyball game goes until the first team hits the score 25. And for some teams, the game takes over an hour as each team trades back-to-back set wins. Such as Munster and Valparaiso in the second set of games they had, as they were both fighting for the last point that would end the game.
“Valparaiso tested us a little bit more with serving so we got a little mess. It's always good to have tests like that. We couldn't get over the hump of getting a lead and then building a lead,” said Munster Volleyball Coach, Brett Boden “They battled us all the way to the end.”
Tournaments are important for volleyball players. For some of the girls, this is their last high school tournament they will play in. For every team, it is a great way to get extra practice against other local teams. La Porte High School also loves hosting this tournament as they have been doing it for a few years.
“It's kind of nostalgic for us in a way because this is our seniors' last tournament here at home so we're kind of keeping that in perspective throughout the day,” said La Porte High School Volleyball Coach, Jessica Ramierez. “Hosting the tournament because it brings people in and we've got nice facilities here and just overall helps the girls I think get into a rhythm quickly because we're used to playing at our home court.”