2008 Season History

2008 Teams

 

July 8-20, 2008 Northern Lights Europe Trip

From July 8-July 20 Northern Lights will be touring London, Berlin, & Athens, playing various European Youth teams.

A day-by-day journal by the players can be found by clicking here.

June 26-July 5 USJO Nationals

Mizuno Northern Lights 16-1’s place 3rd in the
16 Open Division Championships.

Mizuno Northern Lights 17-1’s place 5th in the
17 Open Division Championships.

A day-by-day journal and photos of all the action from Nationals can be found by clicking here.

Northern Lights USAV All Tournament Selections

Player Name Team
Chelsea Fogarty Northern Lights 17-1
Tori Dixon Northern Lights 16-1
Molly Kreklow Northern Lights 16-1
Ashley Wittman Northern Lights 16-1

 

Team Final Finish Division
18-1 18th 18 Open
17-1 5th 17 Open
17-2 11th 17 American
16-1 3rd 16 Open
16-2 30th 16 National
16-3 19th 16 American
15-1 9th – Silver Division Winner 15 National
15-2 13th 15 American
14-1 15th 14 Open

Open is the highest division with 28 teams. National is the next level with 48 teams, and American is the lowest level in the tournament with 48 more teams.

June 11-19 AAU National Championship Trip

Overall Northern Lights places 7 of its 20 teams in the Gold Championship Brackets!

Mizuno Northern Lights 16-1’s win
AAU National Championships 16 Open

Mizuno Northern Lights 16-2’s win the
AAU National Championships 16 Club

Mizuno Northern Lights 18-1’s place 3rd at the
AAU National Championships 18 Open

Mizuno Northern Lights 18-2’s place 3rd at the
AAU National Championships 18 Club

A day-by-day journal and photos of all the action from AAU’s can be found by clicking here.

Northern Lights AAU All American Selections

Player Name Team
Tori Dixon Northern Lights 16-1
Molly Kreklow Northern Lights 16-1
Ashley Wittman Northern Lights 16-1 – MVP
Paige Peterson Northern Lights 16-2
Christine Bielski Northern Lights 16-2
Elly Braaten Northern Lights 16-2 -MVP
Megan Plourde Northern Lights 18-1
Ashley Suapaia Northern Lights 18-1
Danielle Haley Northern Lights 18-2
Katie Vohnoutka Northern Lights 18-2
Chelsea Fogarty Northern Lights 17-1
Shannon Byers Northern Lights 17-2
Kelli Earp Northern Lights 16-3
Team Final Finish Division
18-1 3rd 18 Open
18-2 3rd 18 Club
18-3 23rd 18 Club
17-1 5th – Gold Bracket 17 Open
17-2 5th – Gold Bracket 17 Club
17-3 26th 17 Club
16-1 1st 16 Open
16-2 1st 16 Club
16-3 5th – Gold Bracket 16 Club
16-4 55th – White Div Winners 16 Club
16-5 75th 16 Club
15-1 11th 15 Open
15-2 21st 15 Club
15-3 24th 15 Club
15-4 31st 15 Club
15-5 25th 15 Club
14-1 19th – Red Div Winners 14 Open
14-2 15th – Silver Div Winners 14 Club
13-1 21st 13 Club
12-1 23rd 12 Club

June 4, 2008 – Northern Lights Year End Banquet

The 2008 Northern Lights Year End Banquet was a huge success with 640+ people attending. The winning team videos’ were awesome, the scrapbook pages impressive and Coach Sergei Matsui gave us some valuable insight! Thanks to everyone who helped with the banquet and congratulations to Maureen Wollack for winning the 2008 Northern Lights Quilt.

We also would like to extend our congratulations to Ashley Suapaia who was voted by the coaches to receive the 2008 Maurice Batie Award of Excellence at the Banquet. The award was presented to Ashley by Naomi Johnson, last year’s winner. Pictures of the banquet can be viewed by clicking here

You can view a couple of the banquet shows from this year by clicking here.

16-1’s Win National Junior Classic in Chicago
15-1’s Finish 4th

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 16-1 team for winning the Sports Performance National Junior Classic in Chicago. The 15-1 team had a good showing finishing 4th.  Congratulations to the following players receiving All-Tournament awards:

15 & Under Best Attacker: Ashley Murtha
16 & Under Best Blocker: Tori Dixon
16 & Under MVP: Ashley Wittman

May 25th, 17-1’s Win Beast of The East in Pittsburgh

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 17-1 team for winning the East Coast Championship Beast of the East. The team went undefeated winning 18 straight games concluding with the Championship match against Huron Valley. Match point was a straight down hit by middle blocker Brianna Haugen on a set from Anna Olson.

USA High Performance Teams

Congratulations to Northern Lights 14-1 player Haley Bodway for making the USA High Performance Select A2 Team. She will be in training in Colorado Springs the first week of August.

Congratulations to Northern Lights 13-1 player Shanotta Bawek for making the USA Select – Developmental A1 Program. She will be in training in Wisconsin in mid July.

Congratulations to Northern Lights 14-3 player  Elle Roesner  for making the USA Select – A2 Developmental Camp Program. She will be in training in Colorado Springs in July.

USA Youth National Team

Congratulations to Northern Lights 16-1 players Tori Dixon, Molly Kreklow, and Ashley Wittman for making the final 12 player roster for the USA Youth National Team. Final selections for the team were made from 22 players attending the tryout in Atlanta this past weekend. The team will represent the United States in Puerto Rico this summer at the NORCECA U-18 Continental Championships.

SMV Spring Tournaments

Northern Lights teams cleaned up in Rochester this past weekend, winning every age bracket they entered.  Many divisions had Northern Lights finishing 1st and 2nd.  Final results below.

Date Division Team Place
May 18th 12 & Under 12-1 (photo) 1st Place
May 18th 12 & Under 11-1 (photo) 2nd Place
May 18th 12 & Under 12-2 3rd Place
May 18th 14 & Under 14-2 (photo) 1st Place
May 18th 14 & Under 14-3 (photo) 2nd Place
May 18th 14 & Under 14-4 3rd Place
May 18th 16 & Under 16-3 (photo) 1st Place
May 18th 18 & Under 17-3 (photo) 1st Place

 

Northern Lights Spring Tournaments Results

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 13-1 team for winning the 14’s division May 17th Spring Tournament at Midwest Volleyball Warehouse. The 13-3’s played their final tournament of the season and finished 3rd in that same division.

Northern Lights finished the Spring Tournament schedule by finishing 1st and 2nd in both the 16’s and 18’s division on May 18th.  Final results are listed below.

Date Division Team Place
May 17th 14 & Under 13-1 (photo) 1st Place
May 17th 14 & Under 13-3 3rd Place
May 18th 16 & Under 16-4 1st Place
May 18th 16 & Under 14-1 2nd Place
May 18th 18 & Under 18-2 1st Place
May 18th 18 & Under 15-1 2nd Place

 

Northern Lights teams continued their winning ways the weekend of May 10th, winning both age divisions of the May 10th Spring Tournament. Congratulations to both teams.

Date Division Team Place
May 10th 16 & Under 14-2 1st Place
May 10th 14 & Under 14-3 (photo) 1st Place

 

Northern Lights swept the competition this past weekend in the first two Spring tournaments, winning every age division. Congratulations to all teams.

Date Division Team Place
May 3rd 18 & Under 17-2 1st Place
May 3rd 16 & Under 15-2 (photo) 1st Place
May 4th 14 & Under 14-4 (photo) 1st Place
May 4th 12 & Under 12-1 1st Place

Rochester Cup

Northern Lights 16-2 won the 10th Annual Rochester Cup held on May 10th and 11th. The 16-2 team beat Wisconsin Select 16-1 in the final. The 16-3 team took 3rd.

Rochester Tournament

Northern Lights finished 1st and 2nd in the 16’s division of the NVC Spring Tournament in Rochester. The 16-4 team defeated the 15-3 team in the final.

April 25-27, 2008 – Northern Lights 141, Qualifies for Open and wins the Northern Lights Qualifier.

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 14-1 team for winning the 2008 Mizuno Northern Lights National Qualifier in Minneapolis on April 25-27. The final pool was a very tough pool with Premier, NKYVC, Front Range & NL. The 141 team defeated Premier in a great final match of the pool to win the tournament. This win also qualified them for the 14 Open division at the USJOV National Championships to be held late June in Dallas.

Finishes for NL Teams week 2

Team Place Division
14-1 1st 14 Open – Qualifies for Open at USJOVC’s
14-2 15 14 Open
14-3 18th 14 Club – 92 teams
14-4 39th 14 Club – 92 teams
15-1 9th 15 Open
15-2 19th 15 Club – 103 teams
15-3 9th 15 Club – 103 teams
15-4 19th 15 Club – 103 teams
15-5 53 15 Club – 103 teams – Flight winner

April 19-21, 2008 – Northern Lights 181, 171 Qualify for Open and 161 & 162 win the Northern Lights Qualifier.

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 18-1 team for placing 3rd in the Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier 18 Open Division. They defeated Front Range 18’s in the 3rd/4th place match. This qualified them for the 18 Open division at the USJOV National Championships to be held late June in Dallas.

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 17-1 team for placing 2nd in the Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier 17 Open Division. They lost to Invasion 171 team in the finals. This 2nd place finish qualified them for the 17 Open division at the USJOV National Championships to be held late June in Dallas.

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 16-1 team for winning the 2008 Mizuno Northern Lights National Qualifier in Minneapolis on April 19-21. The 16 Open Division was once again loaded with tough teams, and our 16-1’s once again played and defeated Tampa Bay 16’s in the finals. The 16-1 was previously qualified for the Open Division when they won the Big South Qualifier 4 weeks ago.

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 16-2 team for winning the 2008 Mizuno Northern Lights National Qualifier 16 Club Division in Minneapolis on April 19-21. The 16-2’s defeated several strong teams on their way to a 3 game nail biting victory against Texas Advantage in the finals. This win gave the 162 team a National Division Bid at the USJO Championships to be held late June in Dallas.

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 12-1 team for placing 3rd in the 2008 Mizuno Northern Lights National Qualifier 12 Club Division in Minneapolis on April 19-21. The 12-1’s defeated Colorado Performance in the 3rd/4th place match.

Finishes for NL Teams week 1

Team Place Division
18-1 3rd 18 Open – Qualifies for Open at USJOVC’s
18-2 9th 18 Club – 78 teams
18-3 35th 18 Club – 78 teams
17-1 2nd 17 Open – Qualifies for Open at USJOVC’s
17-2 5th 17 Club – 84 teams
17-3 25th 17 Club – 84 teams
16-1 1st 16 Open – Previously Qualified
16-2 1st 16 Club – 120 teams – Qualifies National
16-3 46th 16 Club – 120 teams
16-4 47th 16 Club – 120 teams
16-5 48th 16 Club – 120 teams
13-1 5th 13 Club – 56 teams
13-2 37th 13 Club – 56 teams
13-3 26th 13 Club – 56 teams
12-1 3rd 12 Club – 20 teams
12-2 11th 12 Club – 20 teams
11’s 8th 12 Club – 20 teams

April 5 & 6, 2008 – Northern Lights Qualifies 7 more teams for USJO Championships and wins 4 more Regional Championships.

Congratulations to the Mizuno Northern Lights 18-1 team for winning the North Country Regional Qualifier. This qualified them for the 18 National division at the USJOV National Championships to be held late June in Dalla. The 18-1’s defeated SWMN in two sets in the finals.

Congratulations to the Mizuno Northern Lights 17-1 team for winning the North Country Regional Qualifier. This qualified them for the 17 National division at the USJOV National Championships to be held late June in Dallas. The 17-1’s had a long day when their final qualification pool tied and they had to win two tie breaking games against MN Select 171 and M1 171 to take 1st place.

Congratulations to the Mizuno Northern Lights 17-2 team for placing 4th at the North Country Regional Qualifier. This qualified them for the 17 American division at the USJOV National Championships to be held late June in Dallas. The 17-2 team won the 4th-6th place qualification pool with wins over MN Select 172 & M1 172.

Congratulations to the Mizuno Northern Lights 16-2 team for placing 4th at the North Country Regional Qualifier. This qualified them for the 16 American division at the USJOV National Championships to be held late June in Dallas.

Congratulations to the Mizuno Northern Lights 14-1 team for winning the North Country Regional Qualifier. This qualified them for the 14 National division at the USJOV National Championships to be held late June in Dallas. The 14-1’s defeated MN Select in two sets in the finals.

Congratulations to the Mizuno Northern Lights 15-1 team for winning the North Country Regional Qualifier. This qualified them for the 15 National division at the USJOV National Championships to be held late June in Dallas. The 15-1’s defeated MN Select in an intense 3rd set in the finals.

Congratulations to the Mizuno Northern Lights 15-2 team for placing 3rd at the North Country Regional Qualifier. This qualified them for the 15 American division at the USJOV National Championships to be held late June in Dallas. The 15-2 team lost to our 15-1 team in the semi finals, and then rebounded in a 3 set win over Omeja 15’s to take 3rd.

Northern Lights 16-1 Qualifies and 17-1’s place 4th at Big South.

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 16-1 team for Qualifying and winning the 2008 Big South National Qualifier in Atlanta on March 21-23. The 16 Open Division was loaded with tough teams, and our 16-1’s defeated Tampa Bay 16’s in the finals. They are now Qualified for the USAV Jr National Tournament in Dallas this summer.

The 17-1 team also was in the final 17 Open Gold Pool and ended up finishing 4th. Having beat a team that previously qualified at MEQ, the 17-1’s missed getting an open bid by one position.

The 14-1 team also had a good tournament and finished in 8th place losing in the finals of the 14 Open Silver Division.

Northern Lights 18-1 Leaving For Italy

The Northern Lights 181 team leaves on Sunday, March 16th to play in the Ferruccio Cornacchia Memorial Volleyball Tournament in Pordenone, Italy.

Northern Lights places two more teams in the Gold Championship brackets at Colorado Crossroads

Northern Lights 18-2, 18-3, 17-2, 17-3, & 15-1’s participated in the Colorado Crossroads Qualifier March 14-16. This event was extremely strong again with all of the traditional Southern & Northern California teams playing, and the JVDA boycott was not really a factor.

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 18-2 team who once again made it to the Gold Championship Bracket at the very difficult Colorado Crossroads Qualifier. They finished 9th out of 112 teams losing to a very strong Vision 182 team in 3 close games.

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 17-2 team who once again made it to the Gold Championship Bracket at the very difficult Colorado Crossroads Qualifier. They also finished 9th out of 120 teams.

The 18-3’s finished 45th out of 112 teams, the 17-3’s finished 35th out of 120 teams, and the 15-1’s finished 15th in the 15 Open Division.

Northern Lights 162 Finish 3rd at Colorado Crossroads

The Northern Lights 162 team took home the Bronze Medal for finishing in 3rd place at the Colorado Crossroads National Qualifier. They defeated Venetian Bay in the 3rd/4th place match. There were 124 teams in the 16’s Division.

The 163 team finished 19th out of 124 teams. In an unfortunate luck of the draw, the 162 & 163 team had to play each other in a Saturday evening match to get into the Gold. It was an excellent match and both teams should be proud of how they played.

The 152 team also attended the Colorado Crossroads and finished 37th out of 128 teams in the 15’s Division. This was also an excellent finish for the team which just narrowly missed in the top 20.

NL wins 2 divisions of the Omaha President’s Day Tournament

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 16-1 team for winning the 16 Open Division of the Omaha President’s Day tournament. The 16-1’s went undefeated in the tournament and played MAVA in the finals.

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 16-2 team for winning the 16 Club Division of the Omaha President’s Day tournament. The 16-2’s went undefeated in the tournament.

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 17-2 team for placing 2nd in the 17 Club Division of the Omaha President’s Day tournament.

Northern Lights placed 11 of it’s 19 teams into the Gold Brackets of the tournament. The 17-1’s & 15-1’s finished 3rd in their respective Open Divisions. 18-2’s finished 3rd in the 18 Club Division. This was an excellent showing for all Northern Lights teams!

Team Finish Division
18-1 6th 18 Open
18-2 3rd (Gold Bracket) 18 Club
18-3 17th 18 Club
17-1 3rd (Gold Bracket) 17 Open
17-2 2nd (Gold Bracket) 17 Club
17-3 15th 17 Club
16-1 1st (Gold Bracket) 16 Open
16-2 1st (Gold Bracket) 16 Club
16-3 5th (Gold Bracket) 16 Club
16-4 9th (Gold Bracket) 16 Club
16-5 9th (Gold Bracket) 16 Club
15-1 3rd (Gold Bracket) 15 Open
15-2 9th 15 Club
15-3 5th (Gold Bracket) 15 Club
15-4 15th 15 Club
15-5 23rd 15 Club
14-1 5th 14 Open
14-2 5th (Gold Bracket) 14 Club
13-1 11th 13 Club

Northern Lights 12-1’s win President’s Day Tournament

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 12-1 team for winning the 12’s age division of the 2 day NCR President’s Day Tournament. The 12-1’s went undefeated in the tournament. Congratulations also to the 12-2 team which finished 3rd at the tournament losing in the semi finals to our 12-1 team.

Team Finish
11-1 9th (Silver bracket winner)
12-1 1st (Gold Bracket)
12-2 3rd (Gold Bracket)
13-2 5th (Gold Bracket)
13-3 5th (Gold Bracket)
14-3 5th (Gold Bracket)
14-4 9th (Silver bracket winner)

Northern Lights 14-1’s win Frostbite Tournament

Congratulations to the Northern Lights 14-1 team for winning the 15’s age division of the 2 day Rochester Frostbite Tournament. The 14-1’s defeated our own 15-3 team in the finals. In the 16’s age division the Northern Lights 16-3 team took 2nd place losing in the finals to SMV 16-1.

MLK Scrimmage

The Northern Lights MLK Scrimmage will be held January 19th and 20th.  The scrimmage format will be a one hour running clock. The scrimmage will start at 1:00pm on Saturday for 16’s – 18’s, and 1:15pm for 15’s. The last rounds on Saturday will start at 7:00 / 7:15. Sunday all divisions will start at 8:30am and that last round will start at 2:30pm.

Clubs attending are: Northern Lights, Iowa Rockets, MAVS, Sports University, Nebraska Elite, and Minnesota Select. Age groups involved are 15-18.

This is a scrimmage and as such there will be no admission charge. The scrimmage in its entirety will be held at Midwest Volleyball Warehouse, located at 14050 Judicial Road, Burnsville, MN 55337

A potluck dinner hosted by Northern Lights parents will be held on Saturday at the conclusion of competition for players and coaches of all teams!

December 1
Concordia University Wins
NCAA Division II National Championship

Concordia University won the NCAA Division II National Championship defeating #15 Western Washington in four games. Congratulations to the Golden Bears and their three Northern Lights alumni Maggie McNamara, Mary Slinger, and Kate Bennett! Concordia was led by Maggie McNamara who was named a Daktronics first team all-American, and set an NCAA Division II record with 2,093 assist this season. Mary Slinger tallied 875 digs during the year, while Kate Bennett had 332 kills. Both McNamara and Slinger were named to the NCAA Division II All Tournament Team.  Congratulations to all!

McNamara & Contons named
NCAA Division II 1st Team All-Americans

Former Northern Lights players Maggie McNamara (Concordia University – St. Paul) and Erin Contons (Southwest Minnesota State University) were named to the NCAA Division II All American First Team. McNamara set a Division II record with 2,093 assist this season, while Contons led the Mustangs with 27 double-doubles and 570 kills while finishing second on the team with 465 digs. Congratulations to both players!

Nov 11, 15’s-18’s Tryouts Completed

Congratulations to the 160 new players selected for the Northern Lights 2008 teams. More than 240 attended the tryout and made the choices difficult. The first practice for the 15’s-18’s will be on Monday November 12th, check the schedules link on the left side of this page for exact times.

A list of the players selected can be viewed by clicking on the 2008 Teams link on the left.

Nov 10, 2007 MSHSL All Tournament Players

Northern Lights would like to extend our congratulations to the 3 Northern Lights Players who were selected to the MSHSL All Tournament Team.

Player Name Team
Ashley Wittman Shakopee
Maggie Geske Shakopee
Alli Rice Owatonna

Nov 7, 2007 All State Players

Northern Lights would like to extend our congratulations to the 8 Northern Lights Players who were selected to the MN VB Coaches Association All State Teams.

Player Name Team
Ashley Wittman Shakopee
Maggie Geske Shakopee
Tori Dixon Burnsville
Laurel Sanford Eagan
Jessi Peterson Eden Prairie
Kelsey Sparks Eagan
Chelsea Fogarty Belle Plaine
Laura Slinger Bethlehem Academy

Nov 6, 2007 All Metro Players

Northern Lights would like to extend our congratulations to the 6 Northern Lights Players who were selected to the Star Tribune All Metro Teams.

Player Name Team
Ashley Wittman Shakopee
Maggie Geske Shakopee
Tori Dixon Burnsville
Laurel Sanford Eagan
Jessi Peterson Eden Prairie
Ashley Suapaia Kennedy

 

Northern Lights would also like to congratulate the 33 players from the club who qualified for the Minnesota High School State Tournament.

Player Name Team
Laura Slinger Bethlehem Academy
Jena Budde Bethlehem Academy
Catherine Hermann Visitation
Alex Allaire Visitation
Taryn Glynn Visitation
Jordan Spatenka Owatonna
Danielle Haley Owatonna
Lauren Schlobohm Owatonna
Alli Rice Owatonna
Ashley Wittman Shakopee
Maggie Geske Shakopee
Mackenzie Menke Shakopee
Alyssa Davis Shakopee
Elizabeth Benusa Shakopee
Mollie Geske Shakopee
Bri Duff Shakopee
Mariah Monnens Shakopee
Emily Schroers Shakopee
Christina Hanf Lakeville North
Kayla Kirby Lakeville North
Brooke Lewko Lakeville North
Lindsey Weaver Lakeville North
Jessica Spekman Lakeville North
Caitlin Weber Lakeville North
Erin Ohlemann Hopkins
Lauren Olson Hopkins
Courtney Rose Hopkins
Emma Henke Hopkins
Molly Kreklow Blaine
Mackenzie Suda Blaine
Brittney Barren Blaine
Virginia Senf Woodbury
Greta Strenger Woodbury

 August 20 – NL Coach & Players chosen for Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Northern Lights 12’s coach Vicki Seliger-Swenson and her family have been selected for Extreme Makeover’s 100th Anniversary show. The circumstances which led to this selection were tragic, but the new home that is being built for them is a much needed and welcomed surprise for the family of 10. Two of Vicki’s children also are players at Northern Lights where Vicki coaches 2-3 days a week to allow her daughters the opportunity to play volleyball.

The show is scheduled for broadcast on November 25th, on ABC. Additional information on the project can be found at: