Rogue330 team recaps from SPIRE One-Day (1/18/26)

It feels so good to be back on the court! This past weekend, four of Rogue330’s teams kicked off their regular season at the SPIRE Institute One-Day Regional OVR event, and we are THRILLED with their debut.

Our 18 Fire, 18 Thunder, 17 Blaze, and 16 Flame stormed the court with unprecedented amounts of HUMBLE, HUNGRY, HUSTLE. The all-new 16 Flame, a team that went undefeated through pool play, prompted an opposing coach to say, “Nobody here matches that team’s hustle!”

So let’s start there, with the youngest team debut for Rogue330 – Coach Kendra Courtock’s 16 FLAME. Their energy, spirit, TEAMwork, positive attitude, and – yes – fitting collection of talent – led to a fantastic first day on the court together. Led by setter/captain Violet Hanlin (McKinley) and libero/captain Ivy Tate (Marlington), this young fellowship of nine talented rogues showed off some wonderful chemistry, celebrations, and clinched GOLD bracket’s #2 seed in their very first OVR day together. After a tough bracket loss that could have gone either way, we know the FLAME is anxious to take their next steps and keep building this week in practice!

In one of the strongest starts to the season, Coach Macy McCauley’s 18 THUNDER team won their first two games in a scrappy and tough 18-Regional field. Club Director Gary Underwood noted, “I’ve been waiting for that win over Zero Gravity 18s for a whole year – it was awesome to see the resilience of Macy’s team, and I wasn’t surprised at all.” The 18 THUNDER followed the lead of setter/captain Taeko Thompson (McKinley) and brought relentless defense featuring Avery Allman (Hoover), Kamden Maninga (Lake Center) and Janay Johnson (McKinley). The THUNDER can’t wait to build off of this week’s strong start in just five days in Columbus, Ohio for WinterFest on January 24-25!

As for Coach Lauren’s 18 FIRE launch, here’s a team that seemed to get stronger with every match. Even without Senior Middle Blocker Khyla Blair (flu), the FIRE pushed Sunday’s Gold-1st-Winner, CEV Sapphire 18 in a close first match loss. After a second super-close three-set loss in pool play, the FIRE lived up to their name (FIRE), bringing hustle, passion and grit to their next three match victories. Led by Chippewa’s Senior Setter, Maggie Fulton, and Jackson’s powerful hitter Audrey Lands, the FIRE ended the day on a high note winning 1st in Silver. Club Director Gary Underwood noted, “It’s not easy starting the day against one of the best teams in our region, but I think it forced this group to dig down deep and play through it – which they did!”

Last but not least, Coach Kaleigh Courtock’s Rogue330 17 BLAZE came close to winning their whole tournament. After winning their first four games in convincing 2-set fashion, the BLAZE came within a few points of beating the eventual tournament champion (FLB 17s) in a dramatic 3-set match for the ages. The BLAZE finished 3rd in GOLD but flashed the kind of potential and performance that will have them chasing more medals throughout the season. Led by Captains Ruthie Weimer (GlenOak) and Summer Brown (Lake Center), the BLAZE looked unbeatable, fearless, and fulfilled the entire time in Geneva. The BLAZE didn’t waste any time building off of last season’s top-10 finish in the OVR, and it will be fun watching them learn to win even more together. We’ll end this post with a picture of the BLAZE and their 3rd-in-GOLD medals…