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Lightning Strikes! The Columbia Lightning took Silver at the Columbia 16's Opener on Sunday, January 23rd. The tournament schedule had to be adjusted as three teams dropped out due to inclement weather. The Lightning started strong, beating their sister Columbia Thunder team in both games. They then split the next two matches against the NOVA Hokuleas 9the eventual Gold winners), and MVSA Hott Shots. The Lightning then finished strong again, beating the Hub City team in both games of their match. The Lightning showed great depth of field, playing very strong, while showing a number of different lineups throughout the day. This team will be very competitive no matter who takes to the court. Smiles all around after a Silver Medal finish! Lightning Strikes Again! The Columbia Lightning took the Silver for the second time in as many tournaments, placing second in the Columba 16's Invitational on February 6th. Undefeated in pool play, racking up eight straight wins over the Time Out Black Impact, and Favor Starz teams, earned the Lightning first place in their pool. Semi-final playoff action pitted the Lightning against their Columbia sister team, the Thunder. The Lightning defeated the Thunder in straight games to advance to the finals. In the Finals, the Lightning again faced the Time Out Black Impact team (which they had previously beaten in two matches in pool play), and lost in a heartbreaking 25-23, 25-21 match to end up with the Silver medal. Lightning Hangs Tough at the Columbia 16's Invitational Matched against stiff competition, the Lightning managed to take 2nd place in their pool at the Columbia 16'S Invitational on March 6, 2005 at the Volleyball House. In the playoff round, the Lightning first faced the SMJ Badgers in the Quarter Finals. They won the match in three games (25 – 23, 18 – 25, 15 – 8) to advance to the Semi Final round. For the Semi Final, the Lightning came up against the Maryland Juniors 16 squad. The Lightning fought hard, but came up just short; losing in two games (25 – 22, 25 – 20). Lightning take Gold at the N.E.Q. The Columbia Lightning tool the Gold Medal in the Bronze A division at North East Qualifier in Baltimore, Maryland. In the initial pool wave on Friday, the Lightning finished second, losing only to an impressive North Carolina CJV Carolina Reign team, and beating teams from Indiana (Munciana Purple Cobras) and New York (Xtreme Chaos). In the second wave on Saturday, the Lightning finished third, with a record of 1 win and 2 losses; beating the SMJ Badgers, but losing to both the Team Z Navy (Cincinnati, OH) and RTVBC Blue (Deerfield, IL) teams. This put them in 21st ranking, and seed 1 in the Bronze A division on Sunday. They won a tough three game match (27 – 25, 25 – 27, 15 – 12) over the North Shore VBC 16 (Norwalk, OH) in the Semi-finals, but won convincingly in the Finals (25 – 15, 25 – 18) against the COA 16 Red (Terre Haute, IN) team to take the Gold Medal for the division.
Gold Medal Smiles for the Lightning Thanks to Bob Eltermann for volunteering to serve as the Lightning Parent Representative. As a reminder, the Lightning regularly scheduled practice days are Thursdays from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm, and Sundays from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm.
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