What's News - 2010

Highlights/Outstanding Performances:

2010 Highlights:

    14 Red - 13th at Junior Nationals - National Division

     13 Red - 4th at Show-Me National Qualifier (the 2nd straight year a Highlands team has reached the Gold Bracket Semi-Finals in a National Qualifier)

     18 Red - All eight seniors from the team are moving ahead to play in college in Fall 2010

     Final HOA Gold Level Top 15 Rankings:

                13 Red.......7th/40 teams

                14 Red.......3rd/60 teams

                16 Red........13th/52 teams

                17 Red........12th/43 teams

                18 Red........12th/36 teams

    Notable performances during the 2010 club season included match victories against the #1 teams of these nationally recognized clubs:  Austin Juniors, Circle City (Indianapolis), Colorado Juniors, Iowa Rockets, KC Extreme, Nebraska Elite, and Sky High VBC (Chicago)  

    14 Red - Placed 7th in two Open Division National Qualifiers including reaching the Gold Pools at Lone Star Classic - considered year in and year out as one of toughest tournaments in the United States.

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Highlands Volleyball is proud to announce Brett Ferguson has joined our coaching staff and will head coach Highlands 18s.  Brett is Asst. Men's and Women's Volleyball Coach at Park University and he previously served one year with the coaching staff at NCAA DI - UMKC.  As a KC North native he is familiar with the area high schools and knows many of the local coaches.  Brett played Men's Volleyball at Park University and brings an outstanding background which fits perfectly with the clubs' continuing move into Open Division volleyball and the national junior volleyball scene.   Congratulations and Welcome Brett!!  Our full coaching lineup for 2010/2011 will be available in July after Junior Nationals.

2010 marks the 5th straight year that Highlands Volleyball has sent one or more teams to Junior Nationals.  The future is very exciting as we transform from being a very competitive regional club (in 2010 we reached the finals in 25 tournaments winning 12 championships) and move into the future focused as a National level club.   Our energy and preparations expected from all returning and new players and coaches will be focused toward that plan.  More details and opportunities coming soon!!

Highlands 13 Red - Becomes the 2nd Highlands Performance team to reach the Gold Bracket Semifinals in a Junior National Qualifier at Show-Me this past weekend.  Congratulations girls.  In the Semifinal match they gave a phenomenal performance against MAVS 13-1 (by far the tightest scores against MAVS the whole tournament - very nearly taking game two to force a third game) proving these girls can compete with the best teams in the country.  This is the 2nd year in a row to reach the Semifinals of Show-Me in 13s - in essence, the Open Division for 13s.  Congratulations! 

Highlands 16 Red and 17 Red teams both reached the Gold Bracket and 18 Red the Silver Bracket Semifinals at Show-Me.  Outstanding job Highlands girls!! 

Congratulations to Highlands 18 Red and their coaches John and Stephanie Hamann.  All eight seniors on the team have committed to play on at the university level next year.  Best of luck to each of you!!

Seeking the Open Division - Highlands 14 Red - Reached the Gold Pools in 14 Open at Lone Star Classic and finished 7th/28 Teams .  This was the first Open Division National Qualifier ever for Highlands Performance Volleyball and a great effort by the team.  The girls went 2-1 on Day 1, then 3-0 on Day 2, before faltering on the final day losing two close matches knocking them out of contention in their hunt for an Open Division Bid (the highest level) to Junior Nationals.  Continuing in the path of seeking out the best competition in the country Highlands 14 Red entered Show-Me with high hopes of winning an Open Division bid to Jr. Nationals.  The girls played great on Day 1 going 2-1 in matches and placing them with the opportunity to qualify.  Day 2 and Day 3 were not quite as favorable as they lost in very tight matches to teams that qualified.  Their experiences this season have taught them they can compete amongst the best teams in the country and sets the stage for the future with great opportunity!!

Highlands 14 Red wins the HOA Region Bid Qualifier!!  With an outstanding performance on March 27 and 28 winning every match capped off by a sweep of KC Extreme in the finals the girls became the 1st Highlands team to claim the HOA Region Bid Championship.  AWESOME!!!

Highlands 14 Red - Placed 3rd in HOA Powerleague - carrying an 8-2 match record - the strongest finish ever for a Highlands team at Powerleague.  Last year 13 Red also placed 3rd with a 7-3 match record.

Congratulations to 17 Red reaching the Silver Bracket Semifinals placing 19th/128 teams at Colorado Crossroads National Qualifier.

Highlands Teams in action March 26-28:

Highlands Teams in action March 19-21:

Highlands Teams in action March 13/14:

Highlands Teams in action March 6/7:

Highlands Teams in action February 27/28:

Highlands Teams in action January 30/31:

Over Jan 23/24 - from four teams playing this weekend we had excellent results with two Highlands teams winning their pool and one taking 2nd in pool.  After sweeping their pool the talented 17 Red won two close games in 3 sets each claiming the Championship at KU in a 10 team tournament!! 12 Red finished 5th among 15 teams with a loss in the playoffs and 18 Red placed 2nd among 7 teams at Pittsburg State in a straight round robin tournament (no bracket play) splitting with the winner, but having one more set loss. 

16 Red and 14 Red both turned in outstanding performances at the Colorado Challenge on January 16-18.  16 Red went undefeated showing the players their hard work and effort can provide outstanding results.  Combining great defense and dynamic offense throughout the tournament the team brought home the Championship in this exciting early season 3 day tournament.  14 Red also turned in a great tournament reaching the championship and a re-match with Colorado Juniors 14 Matt (14-1) in a battle between the talented 14s teams and although the girls displayed moments of inspired volleyball it wasn't meant to be that day.  Congratulations to both teams.  Keep working hard!  

January 9 and 10, 2010 saw 10 Highlands teams in action - we were very excited about the results of 13 Red and 14 Red who both qualified for Powerleague with 14 Red winning their pool and then earning 3rd Seed overall during bracket play.  In other tournament results 12 Black won their first tournament of the year at LEVO and 12 Red took 2nd at SportZone!!  Also congrats go out to 15 Red, 16 Red and 16 Black who each took 3rd in their tournaments this weekend!!  It was a great start for all of these teams.  Several other teams had good starts to their season and we expect to see continuing good fortune from 14 Black and 18 Red after posting some very nice wins this weekend!! Nice job Highlands!! 

Congratulations to Highlands 13 Red and 14 Red for reaching the finals in local tournaments on Sunday, January 4.  Both teams swept their pool and semifinals to reach the Championship match before faltering in the final taking 2nd place. 

Highlands 18 Red player commitments: Special holiday gifts were in store for Kaitlin McGeorge of St. Pius X HS who accepted the opportunity to play for Lindenwood University and Madison Brandt from Lansing HS who said yes on the offer to play for Kansas City Kansas Community College.  Previously, Kelsey Beyer from Staley HS chose Southwest Baptist University and Renee Hemmie, Oak Park HS committed to Colorado Christian University. 

Congratulations is also due to Sabrina Stanley, Highlands 18 Red,  who has accepted an offer to play for NAIA power Northwestern College, IA.   Two Highlands 18 Red players have prepared to sign next week:  Katie Damgar, senior at Liberty HS and Breanne Sanders, senior at Lansing HS are both very excited to have finalized their college decision.  Katie is signing to play with William Jewell - the long time NAIA school is moving to NCAA D2 in 2011 and Breanne will sign at Baker University joining former club teammate Jacinta Baker on the team.  Katie and Breanne have played together at Highlands for four years and helped lead their teams and the club to numerous firsts - playing together in Nationals twice (Katie joined Highlands one year prior to Breanne and played in Nationals three times, including the first-ever Highlands VBC team to qualify for the Junior Olympic Nationals in 2006 in Atlanta, GA)- playing in the HOA Regional Championship Match, twice reaching the Gold Bracket in National Qualifiers - initially finishing 9th at Crossroads JNQ and then placing 5th at Mideast JNQ.  These girls also exhibited awesome performances during their high school careers both having key roles as starting players throughout their high school years and becoming respected competitors on the court and excellent students among their school classmates.  Enjoy these days...  Good luck for the remainder of your club season!  We wish you both the best in the future!!!.

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Players Of Note  - Honors/awards/Noteworthy accomplishments - just to mention a few among many excellent players.

All State honors have been awarded to several current and former Highlands VBC athletes including:  Cami Goblet - Missouri Class 3  - 2nd Team All-State;  Lanie Hurt - Missouri Class 3 -  Honorable Mention All-State; Jessica From - Missouri Class 2  - Honorable Mention All-State.

All Region honors went to several additional players: Bobbi Jones - Missouri Class 4; and Kaitlin McGeorge and Lindsey Partridge - Missouri Class 3. 

All District honors went to:  Katie Damgar - Missouri Class 4, District 16 - 1st Team; Kaitlin McGeorge and Cami Goblet, Missouri Class 3, District 16 - 1st Team; Kara Collins and Hannah Murphy, Missouri Class 3, District 15 - 1st Team & Rachel Duy and Lanie Hurt - 2nd Team; Anna McRobert, Missouri Class 2, District 14 - 2nd Team. (All District is independent of All Region/All State selection)

A special mention is also shared on behalf of Breanne Sanders who set numerous records this year running a 5-1 for Lansing HS, KS.  She set records for most sets and assists in a match and season at Lansing - a school with a 25 year history playing volleyball and a perennially successful Kansas volleyball program.  Congrats on setting the standard literally!!

Congratulations - to the following schools in their state championship pursuit with numerous Highlands VBC girls playing key roles - Lansing HS finishing 4th at Kansas Class 5 State Tournament, St. Pius X State Sectional winner finally losing to O'Hara in the State Quarterfinal, Liberty HS in becoming Missouri Class 4 District Champion finally falling to Blue Springs but not before pushing them to the limit losing 24-26 in the first game of the State Sectional match and to Excelsior Springs HS, Missouri Class 3 District Champions.  Updates and Post-Season Honors to follow as available,

Kara Collins, Excelsior Springs HS junior and Highlands VBC was honored as Defensive Player of the Camp at the University of Nebraska Team Camp this summer.  Kara who will play on Highlands 17 Red in 2010 began with Highlands as a 12s player.  Wow! -  Great performance!! 

Katie Damgar, Liberty Senior High School senior and Highlands VBC, has been impressive setting her school's single season kills record as a junior and was named to the Missouri Class 4 All-Region team for Kansas City and NW Missouri..  Katie who will play for Highlands 18 Red in 2010 has been a key player on three Highlands teams that have played in the Junior Olympic National Championships.  Katie has played her entire club career with Highlands beginning as a 14s player.   Awesome!!! 

Jacinta Baker, Park Hill and Highlands VBC alum is having a great freshmen year as starting rightside for Baker University helping them off to fast start in Fall '09.  As of September 21 their match record is 17-1.  Jacinta helped anchor very strong Highlands teams leading them on two trips to the Junior Olympics, she played with the club from 15s on.  Great Job, JB!!______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Highlands VBC Highlights 2006 - 2009

6 Teams Qualified for Junior Olympics National Championships

3rd Place Finish - Kansas City's Show-Me Junior National Qualifier - 2009 (Highlands 1st Semi-Final in a Nat'l Qualifier)

2 - 2nd Place Finishes - HOA Regional Championships - 2008

5th Place Finish at the Indianapolis Mid-East Junior National Qualifier - 2008

3rd Place Finish - Omaha President's Day Classic - 2008

2 - 5th Place Finishes - Omaha President's Day Classic - 2008 and 2009

1 - 3rd Place Finish - HOA Regional Championships - 2007

Champion - American Volleyball Challenge - Kansas City, MO. - 2007

3rd Place - HOA Powerleague - 2009

Highlands Players Signed to play in College beginning Fall 2009

Jamie Jackson- Highlands 18 Red, Kearney High School - Graceland University, IA

Jacinta Baker - Highlands 17 Red, Park Hill High School - Baker University, KS

Kelly LaGrant - Highlands 18 Red, Raytown High School - Central Methodist University, MO

Kat Partridge - Highlands 18 Red, Liberty High School - Longview CC, MO

13 Red feeling good after winning the 14 Gold Northlands Challenge in Kearney in March '09

14 Red takes home the Silver Championship going 7-2-2 in matches.

Highlands 12 Red celebrating a sweet win bringing home the Championship in their first outing of 2009.

Highlands 17 Red - 2009