Storm competes for national team

Geneseo’s Kaci Storm took this summer to hone her volleyball skills and learn from top-notched coaches.

Storm recently returned from the USAV High Performance Championships in the Wisconsin Dells as a member of the Iowa Region High Performance National Team. The tournament was held July 26-30.

“It was a really good experience and I got to work with a lot of good coaches,” said Storm, a junior at Geneseo High School this fall. “I am definitely happy with my decision to do it. Going into the first tryout, I decided it would be great if I made it, but if I didn’t I had the experience.”

At the championships, the Iowa Region team played against teams from Texas, Pennsylvania, Northern California, Michigan, Oklahoma, Chesapeake Region (Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia and the northern counties of the Commonwealth of Virginia), New York and the Carolinas.

“(The tournament) was great,” said Storm. “There were a bunch of different teams and it was a good experience to play against different teams with different styles. It gave me more experience and a view of what other teams do.”

Storm said the Iowa Region team did pretty well and were involved in some close games, but the girls did not medal.

“The first game was a little nerve-racking because I didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “But you just had to give your best and do all you could do.”

As the high school volleyball season is set to begin, Storm plans to take the knowledge she gained from her work this summer back to the Lady Leaf volleyball team.

“I think being on the Iowa Region team was a tremendous help and I received tips from coaches,” she said. “We were going at such a high level that it will feel like high school is easy because a lot of those girls hit harder up there. There were a lot of good girls.

“I hope to take a lot of things away from this experience — friendships and tips from different coaches. I hope to do all the things they taught me and bring it back to school.”

Storm is the daughter of Brad and Shari Storm of Geneseo.