HOMETOWN HEROES: Beach volleyball circuit keeps Venice grad going
Batt and Cardinal Mooney High product Megan Wallin compete as team SpikeKey. According to a tour schedule posted on www.spikekey.com, they usually compete in two to three tournaments a month in season.
"We have been playing a few different tours since January, including Dig the Beach, East End, AVP, EVP, Corona Wide Open, NORCECA and Young Guns," said Batt, who was part of a volleyball state championship when she played at Venice. "They are all great tours, and we enjoy traveling to the different areas of the U.S. to play in each one."
In March they were the only women's team from the United States in the NORCECA tournament in the Cayman Islands. She said they won the bronze medal.
"We played teams such as Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, Costa Rica, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the hometown Cayman team," she said. "We went out there not really knowing what to expect. We knew the teams from the other countries would be strong, and we knew we had to give it everything we had. We executed all aspects of our game and went into each game mentally prepared as well."
"I would have to say our favorite tournament this year has been the NORCECA because we were given the opportunity to travel to the Cayman Islands and play against teams from different countries," she said. "We really love playing new competition. It gives us an idea of where we are, where we want to be and what we have to do to get there."
Batt said SpikeKey will represent the United States at a NORCECA tournament in Mexico during October.
A number of tour stops are in state, such as those in the Dig the Beach Series. The tour has a tournament at Siesta Key, where Batt and Wallin train and conduct volleyball clinics. They won the women's open division there this year and placed second at Fort Lauderdale.
"It is always fun to play near home because friends and family get a chance to come out and support us," Batt said. "There have been a lot of great teams playing in the Dig the Beach tournaments, and the competition is always intensifying."
She cited their "passion for the game, work ethic, the want to be the best and our friendship" for their success.
Occasionally she and Wallin compete with another partner, as Batt did for the Racine, Wis., event June 27. She and Kim Whitney of Clearwater were the lone Florida women's team among eight registered. They defeated one of five Chicago teams for the doubles pro title and $2,000.