November 1, 2006 - As a parent of a couple of volleyball players, a football player, and three other beautiful young ladies, it's not always easy to know which way to turn.  But this weekend, the choice was easy.  Turns out that two "Original Six-ers" and best of friends, Tess Edwards (2005) and Kate Eckhardt (2006) would be playing 15 minutes away from each other in The Bluegrass State, near Lexington, Kentucky, USA.  Tess and Kate were members of the CAPS 2004-2005 Provincial Championship winning 18U team in the club's inaugural season.  So, Kate's parents, Ann Maclean and Dan Planetta and myself hopped in their van and began the long journey south to Georgetown College, in Georgetown, Kentucky, 20 miles north of Lexington.  Kate, who is enjoying a one-year stint with the Martin Methodist College Redhawks of the NAIA, would be playing 4 matches in a period of 30 hours at an 8-team tournament called "The Boneyard Brawl".  Tess, who plays for the Kentucky Wildcats in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) of the NCAA, would play the OleMiss Rebels on Friday evening and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon.

After a non-stop run throughout the night, we all arrived in time to see Kate's Redhawks defeat Campbellsville University (30-28, 30-27, 30-28) in a spirited clash of two of the best teams in their division.  MMC took all 4 matches over the weekend to improve their record to 25-6 on the season.  The Redhawks play a very confident game, with plenty of fast-paced action and heavy hitting.  They are coached by Rose Magers-Powell, a 6'4" Olympic Silver Medalist from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.  Kate will join the University of Albany Great Danes this fall to begin her NCAA career.

Tess and the Wildcats defeated two Mississippi rivals from the SEC, the OleMiss Rebels and the Mississippi State Bulldogs to run their record to 14-8, 7-7 SEC to keep alive their hopes of making it to the big 65-team NCAA Tournament in December.  They are coached by U.S. Junior National Team coach Craig Skinner.  Tess is a setter, but has been asked to bring her big lefty swing and blocking talents to the right side position for this season.

Kate was able to see only a set of Tess in action on Friday, although Ann & Dan were able to watch the Cats manhandle the Bulldogs on Sunday.  Tess enjoyed watching Kate and her big jump serve in action against another Kentucky school, Kentucky State University, although the KSU team was certainly not a match for the flamboyant and talented Redhawks.

Kate had already headed home with her team on Saturday, but Ann, Dan, Tess and I had one last meal of fabulous Pazzo's pizza, hoagies and appetizers on Sunday before heading back down the long road home.  All-in-all we all had a great time this weekend and really enjoyed seeing these two volleyball warriors competing for their new schools in the U.S.

You can follow Kate and Tess' exploits on the following websites:

Check our Alumni section for updates on the progress of all our former CAPS.