In a multi-school tournament hosted by and held at Monsignor Edward Pace High School from July 21 to July 24, Pace’s Lady Spartans varsity volleyball team went undefeated and eventually beat MAST Academy in two sets to win the finals for the second year in a row.
Only four days after their tournament win, the Lady Spartans attended and helped lead an individual volleyball skills clinic held at the school July 28 to July 31.
Markia Brown-Seetal, head coach for all of Pace’s volleyball teams, organized the tournament for other high schools in the area to participate. Seven schools entered ten teams into the tournament, with Pace providing a varsity and junior varsity team and North Miami entering three teams.
Brown-Seetal says schools like Barbara Goleman Senior High and MAST Academy were happy to participate in the tournament because it gave them an opportunity to see what they needed to work on for the upcoming season. The vigorous and repetitive team play helped the tournament operate as a team camp by giving players an opportunity to train and work together.
“I think it was a great way to bond together with everyone,” said Pace sophomore Alyssa Jean-Jacques, who believed that communication and teamwork contributed to her team’s win.
The following week’s skills clinic complemented these team improvements by helping players build up their individual volleyball skills. The camp was open not only for current Pace volleyball players, but also anyone from the age of 8 to 17.
Nearly 30 girls and boys participated and practiced individual skills such as serving, passing, hitting, and blocking.The Pace team players lead younger players in their practices and guided them through drills. Daijah Poole, a freshman at American Senior High who played in the tournament, found that the camp helped her practice even more.
“I’m serving better, passing better, hitting the ball [better], and blocking [better],” said Poole.