Spring on the Court

Time for another round of catching up on Danielle's volleyball adventures. She just completed the Spring season of Ace volleyball at PSA, and it played out a bit different than prior seasons. For starters, there was no tournament at the end, due to the way Spring Break and Memorial Day fell on the calendar. This might have been the first season Danielle missed several practices and even a couple games due to work. Also, half the team was juggling busy club schedules, and the roster often felt a bit splintered, with rarely ever a full bench.

Even with the unusual rhythm of the season, Danielle enjoyed her time with Ace. The challenge level, however, has started to diminish. The league consists of eight teams: four very competitive teams and four at a much lower level. Thankfully, Danielle still benefited from valuable reps, game experience, and the opportunity to learn alongside skilled teammates. Despite the different, Ace again finished the season in first place. And Danielle managed to have some fun moments!

Danielle also recently competed in her third round of the Cougar Challenge (2024 and 2025). She teamed up with several friends and JV teammates as part of the “Happy Hitters.”

(Epic photo bomb)

The official goal of the event was to raise money for the TCHS volleyball program while enjoying time with the TCHS community.

However, for the record, the Happy Hitters did win 2 of their 3 pool play games and advanced to the finals. 

Danielle had an awesome block at 3:45!!

The team made a solid showing before eventually being knocked out by a squad made up of Varsity players. Despite Danielle being tired from a long week, it was a fun experience and a great night overall.  

Danielle and I squeezed in a Major League Volleyball playoff game for the Dallas Pulse. This was the league’s inaugural season, and Pulse finished second during the regular season. Tickets had been pretty pricey most of the year, but playoff pricing dropped dramatically when the league offered 50% off tickets in hopes of filling seats for the finals. Even though Danielle had a Chemistry test the next day, we decided to take advantage of the Canvas outage (which conveniently meant she couldn’t access her study materials anyway…) and snagged seats for just $7 each. 

We watched an exciting matchup between Pulse and the San Diego Mojo. Pulse narrowly lost the opening set 28–30 but bounced back to win the match in four sets and eventually captured the Million Dollar Match championship. It ended up being a fun and surprisingly easy outing. We enjoyed both the match itself and the chance to experience professional volleyball in-person. I especially loved the technology used during the game — no line judges, just cameras tracking the speed and placement of every play. Time will tell whether the league survives and returns to Dallas next season, but I would absolutely go again… especially at the cheaper ticket price. 😉

One final volleyball outing included a team volunteer event at the nearby senior living place. The Lady Cougars hosted chair volleyball! Turns out there were more players than guests, but it was a fun team bonding and the residents who did attend had a great time with lots of smiles!

Now Danielle will settle into summer, attending weekly skills days and strength & condition for the next 2 months. Things will ramp up at the end of July in preparation for school try-outs and whatever the future holds for next season!