The month of May has had several ups and downs. It was extremely busy, which is why I am only writing about it now.
The last thing I wrote about was the San Diego tournament. Since then, we have had three consecutive tournaments: Houston, Osaka, and Atlanta. I will start with a recap of Houston.
Wouldn't you know, going into Houston, I got the worst sinus infection of my life. I felt absolutely horrible and wanted nothing but to crawl in my bed and stay there. Knowing that was not an option, I got my butt to Houston.
Tyra and I struggled from the start. Her knee was bothering her to the point that she could not bend or move very well. Knowing this, I wanted to do my part to make things easier for her, but my head was in a fog from all the over-the-counter medications that I was taking. We were a pathetic sight.
We lost our first match of the tournament to Fendrick/Ivy and had to battle back through the contenders' bracket. We beat ourselves. We were not physically able to do things that we normally can do, but we did not make up for it with intelligent play. Live and learn.
Anyway, I am not going into detail about the matches because my head was so foggy I can barely remember playing. We finished 7th place and caught an early flight home. 12 hours later, we were jumping on another flight to Osaka, Japan for our first FIVB tournament.
We almost did not make it to Japan. The swine flu had recently made its way to Osaka, and the airports were quarantining every plane from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. My sinus infection was in full force and I was coughing, sneezing, and constantly blowing my nose. Upon arrival, our plane was stopped on the tarmac while a team of health professionals boarded our plane and inspected each individual. I was very nervous at this point because we had to fill out health questionnaires asking if we were experiencing a cough, congestion, runny nose, sneezing, etc. Thankfully, I did not have a fever, which is the main thing they were looking for. When the examiner questioned me, he red-marked my health form. That meant the doctor had to come inspect me to decide if I would be placed in quarantine or not. Let me clarify that, the doctor would decide if, not just me, but everyone within a 2 meter radius of me would be quarantined.
The passengers seated around me were all nervous, as well. I assured them that I had seen a doctor in the United States and that my sickness was, indeed, just a sinus-infection. I was cleared and we were all on our way.
The Osaka event was really great. I was so nervous, excited, and anxious. It was my first FIVB main draw! We were seeded 26th going into the event.
Our first match was against a very good German team, Goller/Ludwig. We played very well and won the match in three sets, 15-10 in the third. We were excited to get that first match win under our belts.
Next, we played a team from Czech Republic. We played very well again, and won in dominating style in two sets. That put us into 9th place and finished for the day.
Our next match was against the 2nd seeded team from Brazil, the Salgado sisters, Maria Clara and Carol. We were on a hot-streak and won this match in three sets, 15-10 in the third. That win put us into 5th place. Then we faced a very good team from Greece. We were clicking and continued to play well, winning in two sets, securing our place in the semi-finals.
The strange thing was that by winning that match, we had the next day completely off. We did not really know what to do with ourselves. We had never had a "day off" in the middle of a tournament before. We thought it would be a blessing since we were still battling our health issues, but it turned out that it broke our momentum.
We lost in the semi-finals to Talita/Antonelli from Brazil. We played in the bronze medal match against a very good ball-control team from the Netherlands. They were hot and we were NOT! We finished 4th place, which we were very happy about considering it was our first tournament of the year. The difference in those two matches between winning and losing was serving. Those two teams served very tough consistently throughout the entire match. We never found our rhythm with serving and did not get either of them in any trouble. In order to beat those teams, we will have to serve tougher and control our side of the net.
Osaka was a very valuable tournament for us. By placing 4th, we were able to improve our seed dramatically. Because I had no finishes to report, I was given a 25th seed which was averaged with Tyra's 4.5 seed. Now I will replace that 25th with the 4th! It is a huge deal for us! Especially since the next tournament we play in on the FIVB tour will be the World Championships in Norway!
We flew back to the US on the Monday following the tournament. We were home for about 36 hours before we had to fly to Atlanta. We did not know where on the planet we were at and what time it could or should be. Sleeping was a challenge. I was wide-eyed in the middle of the night.
We started the tournament on Friday against Pavlik/Rouwenhorst. Tyra's serve was en fuego. She had 6 aces in the first game. Tough serving and steady siding out helped us win convincingly, 21-12, 21-16. Unfortunately for us, we were finished for the day.
Our momentum was broken up the next day by Dodd/DeNeccochea. They dominated us by serving really tough and keeping us on our toes on defense. They played very well and gave us a beat down.
We moved to the contenders' bracket and played Fendrick/Ivy to get to 7th place. We did not play great, but we played good enough to win.
Next, we played Lima/Minello. We were out served and lost in two sets. They just bombed serves at us, getting aces and creating trouble for us. We did not return the favor and had trouble scoring points. We lost, simple as that. We both were extremely disappointed. We know we are better than that. We have had some challenges set before us, and I am absolutely positive that we are going to be better off down the road because of them. I am not discouraged, only frustrated at not getting immediate results, but I know they will come.
We are home now and have taken a few days off to rest before the next phase of tournaments. We will have 15 weeks in a row filled with tournaments. All of them, except Manhattan and Hermosa will be on the road. It will be exhausting, but I am excited for what is to come. I will do my best to keep you informed and up to date, but forgive me if I fall behind. The good news is that we are healthy again and have our injuries under control. We are anxious to get back out there and prove that we are one of the best teams on tour.
I am going to enjoy being home for the next two weeks and then it's go time! Summer is here!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
AVP San Diego County - Harrah's Casino
Oh boy... where to begin. I am trying to forget this past weekend as quickly as I can, so here is my last attempt to rehash before I move on and put the weekend way way way behind me. From that sentence I am sure you can tell it was not a great weekend, volleyball-wise, for me and Tyra. We struggled from start to finish. Boy was it UGLY! Before the volleyball began, we did have some fun moments worth mentioning.
We arrived at the Harrah's Rincon Casino and Resort on Thursday evening and grabbed dinner with Hans Stolfus, Anthony Medel, John Moran, and Annett Davis. Tyra, Annett, and I pretty much listened and laughed the entire dinner. Those three guys are highly entertaining. They have opinions on pretty much everything so we shared quite a few laughs and had a great time.
Tyra and I did not have our first match of the tournament until Friday afternoon at 3:30. We tried to sleep in, but an unhappy, screaming child in the room next to us provided an early morning wake up call. We took our time getting ready and eventually made our way out to the courts which were across the street. We still had quite a few hours to kill, so we watched some of the women's matches and then moved around on the practice court.
Our first match was against Paula Roca and Heather Lowe. It had to be the longest match of the tournament at 1 hour and 15 minutes. The first set, we were down big pretty early. We made a late set rally which pulled us in close, but we lost 19-21. That momentum helped us win the second set 21-14. However, they adjusted and came out battling. We traded early leads, but were neck and neck at 13. We served 5 match points before finally winning 23-21 in the third. We were relieved to escape this one with a victory.
We only played that one match on Friday. Afterwards we watched Brooke Hanson and Lisa Rutledge play against Ashley Ivy and Lauren Fendrick. Brooke and Lisa were amazing. Lisa is putting up a great block. She is averaging 2 blocks a game. That is the same as Phil Dalhauser. If she isn't blocking the ball or getting a good touch on it, Brooke is digging everything else! This team looks really good. They made the final by beating several very good teams. They are definitely a force to watch out for!
Saturday, we did not play until 1 in the afternoon. We had Dianne DeNecochea and Carrie Dodd. I thought our funk from the first day would be done and gone, but it was there to stay. We started off this match making some good plays, but absolutely killed ourselves by making 11 errors as a team in the first set! The second set was not much better. We made 9 errors. You cannot beat good teams making that many errors in a match. We lost 18-21, 18-21. We moved to the Contenders' Bracket.
Our next match was against Ivy/Fendrick. We were still struggling. We were down early and had to chase from behind. At the end of the first set, we were able to set up a few points and win 24-22. The next game we started out with a lead but blew it. We were tied around 17 and then we came up with some plays to finished it out. Tyra had two huge blocks and I came up with a dig and transitioned it out. We won 21-17.
We had to play again right away against the Lindquists. One would think that two big girls like me and Tyra would have no problem against this team, but we did. We came out smashing the ball in the first set and won 21-15. The second set we tried to overpower them by hitting it hard at them. That is one thing you cannot do against that team. They are not afraid of hard hits! To beat them, you have to hit perimeters away from them. We did not do that and we lost. We had our opportunities, but did not capitalize on them.
We finished 7th place. I am extremely disappointed in that finish, but it is a long season and we have plenty of opportunities to improve.
After we were eliminated, I stuck around the tournament and watched a few more matches. It is hard to stay after a bitter loss, but I figured it would be a good humbling experience.
I was shocked to learn the news on Sunday that Holly McPeak is done. The San Diego Harrah's event was her last one. She will continue to do the television announcing, but she is hanging up her bikinis. She talked about retirement all last year, but when she started this season I did not think she would ever find the right time. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to play with Holly last season. She is such a great competitor and a wonderful friend.
On the men's side, I am so happy and excited to see Jeff Nygaard back in the winner's circle with John Mayer. This was Jeff's 8th win overall and first since 2005. Congrats to Jeff and John!
We have an off weekend coming up and then we have three tournaments back-to-back. We start off in Houston, then Tyra and I will be missing Huntington Beach in order to compete in the FIVB tournament in Osaka, Japan, then we fly to Atlanta. The summer is just getting started and I hope to see you somewhere at the beach!
On a side note, if you are looking for other players' blogs to read, here are some of my favorites:
Hans Stolfus - http://www.hansstolfus.com/
John Moran - http://www.provolleyballlifestyle.com/
Todd Rogers - http://toddjrogers.blogspot.com/
Also, if you are an Xmen fan, go see Wolverine-Origins. Awesome! It's summer blockbuster time and I am excited!
Angie Akers
We arrived at the Harrah's Rincon Casino and Resort on Thursday evening and grabbed dinner with Hans Stolfus, Anthony Medel, John Moran, and Annett Davis. Tyra, Annett, and I pretty much listened and laughed the entire dinner. Those three guys are highly entertaining. They have opinions on pretty much everything so we shared quite a few laughs and had a great time.
Tyra and I did not have our first match of the tournament until Friday afternoon at 3:30. We tried to sleep in, but an unhappy, screaming child in the room next to us provided an early morning wake up call. We took our time getting ready and eventually made our way out to the courts which were across the street. We still had quite a few hours to kill, so we watched some of the women's matches and then moved around on the practice court.
Our first match was against Paula Roca and Heather Lowe. It had to be the longest match of the tournament at 1 hour and 15 minutes. The first set, we were down big pretty early. We made a late set rally which pulled us in close, but we lost 19-21. That momentum helped us win the second set 21-14. However, they adjusted and came out battling. We traded early leads, but were neck and neck at 13. We served 5 match points before finally winning 23-21 in the third. We were relieved to escape this one with a victory.
We only played that one match on Friday. Afterwards we watched Brooke Hanson and Lisa Rutledge play against Ashley Ivy and Lauren Fendrick. Brooke and Lisa were amazing. Lisa is putting up a great block. She is averaging 2 blocks a game. That is the same as Phil Dalhauser. If she isn't blocking the ball or getting a good touch on it, Brooke is digging everything else! This team looks really good. They made the final by beating several very good teams. They are definitely a force to watch out for!
Saturday, we did not play until 1 in the afternoon. We had Dianne DeNecochea and Carrie Dodd. I thought our funk from the first day would be done and gone, but it was there to stay. We started off this match making some good plays, but absolutely killed ourselves by making 11 errors as a team in the first set! The second set was not much better. We made 9 errors. You cannot beat good teams making that many errors in a match. We lost 18-21, 18-21. We moved to the Contenders' Bracket.
Our next match was against Ivy/Fendrick. We were still struggling. We were down early and had to chase from behind. At the end of the first set, we were able to set up a few points and win 24-22. The next game we started out with a lead but blew it. We were tied around 17 and then we came up with some plays to finished it out. Tyra had two huge blocks and I came up with a dig and transitioned it out. We won 21-17.
We had to play again right away against the Lindquists. One would think that two big girls like me and Tyra would have no problem against this team, but we did. We came out smashing the ball in the first set and won 21-15. The second set we tried to overpower them by hitting it hard at them. That is one thing you cannot do against that team. They are not afraid of hard hits! To beat them, you have to hit perimeters away from them. We did not do that and we lost. We had our opportunities, but did not capitalize on them.
We finished 7th place. I am extremely disappointed in that finish, but it is a long season and we have plenty of opportunities to improve.
After we were eliminated, I stuck around the tournament and watched a few more matches. It is hard to stay after a bitter loss, but I figured it would be a good humbling experience.
I was shocked to learn the news on Sunday that Holly McPeak is done. The San Diego Harrah's event was her last one. She will continue to do the television announcing, but she is hanging up her bikinis. She talked about retirement all last year, but when she started this season I did not think she would ever find the right time. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to play with Holly last season. She is such a great competitor and a wonderful friend.
On the men's side, I am so happy and excited to see Jeff Nygaard back in the winner's circle with John Mayer. This was Jeff's 8th win overall and first since 2005. Congrats to Jeff and John!
We have an off weekend coming up and then we have three tournaments back-to-back. We start off in Houston, then Tyra and I will be missing Huntington Beach in order to compete in the FIVB tournament in Osaka, Japan, then we fly to Atlanta. The summer is just getting started and I hope to see you somewhere at the beach!
On a side note, if you are looking for other players' blogs to read, here are some of my favorites:
Hans Stolfus - http://www.hansstolfus.com/
John Moran - http://www.provolleyballlifestyle.com/
Todd Rogers - http://toddjrogers.blogspot.com/
Also, if you are an Xmen fan, go see Wolverine-Origins. Awesome! It's summer blockbuster time and I am excited!
Angie Akers
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Taking the Beach to Riverside!
Riverside put on a great AVP tournament this past weekend. With only 3 months of prep time to get ready for us, the city did a good job. The tournament was held in a park and parking lot near the Riverside Convention Center.
It was a scorching hot weekend. Friday was mild with temps in the high 80s, but each day it got significantly hotter. Sunday, my car thermometer read 101 degrees. I love playing in the heat and that is certainly what we got.
Tyra and I arrived in Riverside on Thursday evening in time to get in a light practice. We then ordered room service, showered up and went to sleep. We had to be up early Friday morning for the KTLA morning show with Gayle Anderson. We made our appearance there and then started our preparation for our first match of the day.
We played two rounds on Friday. Our first match was against a new team to the Main Draw from Florida, Flarity and Sweat. We won 21-9, 21-16. Our next match was two hours later against Paige Davis and Brooke Langston. We won 21-10, 21-10. That was it for Friday.
The next day, we had a 12 noon match against DeNecochea/Dodd. We had to be at the top of our game against this team. They are big and physical, like us. We came out a little shaky and fell behind. We were down 9-12 at the time out. We pulled ourselves together and came out of the time out strong. We made some big plays which earned us points. We pulled ahead and took the first set 21-19. The second set, we controlled our side of the net and took care of every opportunity we had. We got a big lead, up 20-14 and closed it out. It was a big win. We did not play our next match until 8:45PM that night.
It was hard to gear up for the night match. I usually go to bed on the early side, so getting amped up to play at 8:45 was a challenge for me. We lost two very close sets 19-21, 18-21. I could not pass a perfect ball to save my life! Yes, they are one of the best serving teams in the world, but I can usually pass pretty well. This presented us with problems in our side out game. We scrambled pretty well, but we just did not have a consistent side out game going. We were disappointed, but it was our first loss, so we were still alive. I had that night to stew over it, but I had to be ready to play again the next morning.
We went back to the hotel and tried to get to sleep right away, but neither one of us could. We had to get up and play at 9:30 the next morning. I tossed and turned for quite awhile going over play after play in my head.
The next morning we played my old partner and friend, Brooke Hanson and her new partner, Lisa Rutledge. Brooke is such a good player. She had to sit out the 2008 season after having her shoulder reconstructed. She is back at 100%. She led the tournament in digs with an insane amount per game. This will definitely be a team to watch this year.
We came out strong and jumped to an early lead and pretty much kept our pace throughout the match. We won 21-12, 21-16.
An hour later, we played Kessy/Ross. We did not play our best match. We lost 16-21, 18-21. I made stupid mistakes and was not aggressive. It is frustrating, but I did learn a lot about this team that you can only learn from playing them again and again. While Tyra has played them over 15 times in the last 2 seasons, that was my 3rd or 4th time. It is frustrating to lose, but Tyra and I have played in only 2 tournaments together. The first was Panama City which turned into a single elimination event and we only played 3 matches. Riverside we played 6 matches. We only have 9 matches under our belt as a team. We will get better. We are still figuring each other out.
In other news, we added a new member to our team a few weeks ago. We hired Canyon Ceman as our new coach. Canyon retired after last season and was attempting to move into the job market. Even with a Stanford education and multiple Masters degrees, he is having a hard time finding a job in the current economic climate. Lucky for us, he loves the sport and is not ready to step away completely. We have worked with Canyon for the last 6 weeks or so and we really like what he adds. We will be taking him on the road, which is great news for us. I always think having a coach on your bench is a big advantage.
We were supposed to be competing in Brazil this week, but I have a knee injury that needs some rest. Nothing too serious, but a week off was the doctors recommendation. We are home and taking the time to recover and then we will hit it hard to get ready for San Diego. Valley Center, California to be exact, in San Diego County at the Harrah's Rincon Casino.
On a completely separate note, my husband, Jeremy Akers, tried out and made the team of Notre Dame Football Alumni traveling to Japan this summer to compete against a team of Japanese All-Stars at the Tokyo Super Dome! I am so proud of all his hard work to get in shape for the tryouts and for his commitment to continuing his training for competition. He is blogging about his experience. You can follow it at www.onemoregame.blogspot.com.
Lastly, I was asked to write about what my diet looks like in a typical day. I did it and if you are interested, you can take a peek here.
That's all for now!
CIAO!
Angie Akers
It was a scorching hot weekend. Friday was mild with temps in the high 80s, but each day it got significantly hotter. Sunday, my car thermometer read 101 degrees. I love playing in the heat and that is certainly what we got.
Tyra and I arrived in Riverside on Thursday evening in time to get in a light practice. We then ordered room service, showered up and went to sleep. We had to be up early Friday morning for the KTLA morning show with Gayle Anderson. We made our appearance there and then started our preparation for our first match of the day.
We played two rounds on Friday. Our first match was against a new team to the Main Draw from Florida, Flarity and Sweat. We won 21-9, 21-16. Our next match was two hours later against Paige Davis and Brooke Langston. We won 21-10, 21-10. That was it for Friday.
The next day, we had a 12 noon match against DeNecochea/Dodd. We had to be at the top of our game against this team. They are big and physical, like us. We came out a little shaky and fell behind. We were down 9-12 at the time out. We pulled ourselves together and came out of the time out strong. We made some big plays which earned us points. We pulled ahead and took the first set 21-19. The second set, we controlled our side of the net and took care of every opportunity we had. We got a big lead, up 20-14 and closed it out. It was a big win. We did not play our next match until 8:45PM that night.
It was hard to gear up for the night match. I usually go to bed on the early side, so getting amped up to play at 8:45 was a challenge for me. We lost two very close sets 19-21, 18-21. I could not pass a perfect ball to save my life! Yes, they are one of the best serving teams in the world, but I can usually pass pretty well. This presented us with problems in our side out game. We scrambled pretty well, but we just did not have a consistent side out game going. We were disappointed, but it was our first loss, so we were still alive. I had that night to stew over it, but I had to be ready to play again the next morning.
We went back to the hotel and tried to get to sleep right away, but neither one of us could. We had to get up and play at 9:30 the next morning. I tossed and turned for quite awhile going over play after play in my head.
The next morning we played my old partner and friend, Brooke Hanson and her new partner, Lisa Rutledge. Brooke is such a good player. She had to sit out the 2008 season after having her shoulder reconstructed. She is back at 100%. She led the tournament in digs with an insane amount per game. This will definitely be a team to watch this year.
We came out strong and jumped to an early lead and pretty much kept our pace throughout the match. We won 21-12, 21-16.
An hour later, we played Kessy/Ross. We did not play our best match. We lost 16-21, 18-21. I made stupid mistakes and was not aggressive. It is frustrating, but I did learn a lot about this team that you can only learn from playing them again and again. While Tyra has played them over 15 times in the last 2 seasons, that was my 3rd or 4th time. It is frustrating to lose, but Tyra and I have played in only 2 tournaments together. The first was Panama City which turned into a single elimination event and we only played 3 matches. Riverside we played 6 matches. We only have 9 matches under our belt as a team. We will get better. We are still figuring each other out.
In other news, we added a new member to our team a few weeks ago. We hired Canyon Ceman as our new coach. Canyon retired after last season and was attempting to move into the job market. Even with a Stanford education and multiple Masters degrees, he is having a hard time finding a job in the current economic climate. Lucky for us, he loves the sport and is not ready to step away completely. We have worked with Canyon for the last 6 weeks or so and we really like what he adds. We will be taking him on the road, which is great news for us. I always think having a coach on your bench is a big advantage.
We were supposed to be competing in Brazil this week, but I have a knee injury that needs some rest. Nothing too serious, but a week off was the doctors recommendation. We are home and taking the time to recover and then we will hit it hard to get ready for San Diego. Valley Center, California to be exact, in San Diego County at the Harrah's Rincon Casino.
On a completely separate note, my husband, Jeremy Akers, tried out and made the team of Notre Dame Football Alumni traveling to Japan this summer to compete against a team of Japanese All-Stars at the Tokyo Super Dome! I am so proud of all his hard work to get in shape for the tryouts and for his commitment to continuing his training for competition. He is blogging about his experience. You can follow it at www.onemoregame.blogspot.com.
Lastly, I was asked to write about what my diet looks like in a typical day. I did it and if you are interested, you can take a peek here.
That's all for now!
CIAO!
Angie Akers
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Changes all around the AVP - Commissioner and Muskegan
This last week presented several major changes within the AVP. First, the CEO and Commissioner of the last 8 years, Leonard Armato, is no longer in charge. A press release was issued which you can click here to read if interested.
It is too soon to tell what this means for the tour. We are in a very scary economic climate, but we are managing to stick around. I can only hope that things turn around quickly. There are mixed opinions about the job that Leonard Armato has done. One thing is for certain, he brought the sport back from nothing. He deserves to be recognized for his role in beach volleyball's revival in the United States. Having played with Holly last season, I got to spend time with both Holly and Leonard. They are such generous, amazing people. Their contributions to the sport have been bigger than most people are aware.
Another big announcement was made regarding the 2009 schedule. The tournament in the Hamptons has been replaced by Muskegan, Michigan. While I was very interested in a tournament in the Hamptons, I believe this is a great move. First, getting to the Hamptons in the middle of August sounds like a logistical nightmare. I believe Michigan will be easier and cheaper to get to. The date is set for August 21st-23rd, the week before the Chicago event. That means more time in the Midwest! I love that!
For you sports fans out there that are interested in things other than volleyball, check out this new blog written by my husband, Jeremy Akers. He is writing about his thoughts, expectations, and training as he prepares to play in one more game for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame under legendary coach, Lou Holtz! The team will travel this summer to Tokyo to compete against a team of All-Stars from the Japanese Football League. You can find the blog at http://onemoregame.blogspot.com.
Tomorrow we drive to Riverside for the next tournament. I am excited to see what this new site is going to be like. We have had some serious wind at the beaches the last few days, so I am anxious to see if it is windy inland, as well. The forecast calls for some heat which will be nice!
We are scheduled to leave for Brazil on Sunday night right after the Riverside event ends. That will be our first FIVB tournament of the year. I still have lots of packing to do, so I am going to get to it! Be sure to follow our results this weekend!
Angie
It is too soon to tell what this means for the tour. We are in a very scary economic climate, but we are managing to stick around. I can only hope that things turn around quickly. There are mixed opinions about the job that Leonard Armato has done. One thing is for certain, he brought the sport back from nothing. He deserves to be recognized for his role in beach volleyball's revival in the United States. Having played with Holly last season, I got to spend time with both Holly and Leonard. They are such generous, amazing people. Their contributions to the sport have been bigger than most people are aware.
Another big announcement was made regarding the 2009 schedule. The tournament in the Hamptons has been replaced by Muskegan, Michigan. While I was very interested in a tournament in the Hamptons, I believe this is a great move. First, getting to the Hamptons in the middle of August sounds like a logistical nightmare. I believe Michigan will be easier and cheaper to get to. The date is set for August 21st-23rd, the week before the Chicago event. That means more time in the Midwest! I love that!
For you sports fans out there that are interested in things other than volleyball, check out this new blog written by my husband, Jeremy Akers. He is writing about his thoughts, expectations, and training as he prepares to play in one more game for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame under legendary coach, Lou Holtz! The team will travel this summer to Tokyo to compete against a team of All-Stars from the Japanese Football League. You can find the blog at http://onemoregame.blogspot.com.
Tomorrow we drive to Riverside for the next tournament. I am excited to see what this new site is going to be like. We have had some serious wind at the beaches the last few days, so I am anxious to see if it is windy inland, as well. The forecast calls for some heat which will be nice!
We are scheduled to leave for Brazil on Sunday night right after the Riverside event ends. That will be our first FIVB tournament of the year. I still have lots of packing to do, so I am going to get to it! Be sure to follow our results this weekend!
Angie
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
AVP Kickoff - Spring Break - Panama City
After what seemed to be a long off-season, the AVP kicked off the 2009 season in Panama City Beach, Florida this past weekend. The event was scheduled for a Saturday/Sunday 24 team double-elimination tournament. However, the weather was incredibly bad on Saturday and the AVP was forced to cancel play for the day. We watched from our hotel room as torrential rains and 30 mph winds ripped across the venue. It was a crazy sight to see. We were glued to the Weather Channel hoping to see this huge storm blow by us fast, but more just kept coming. The good news was that the rain did clear for play on Sunday. The forecast was for sunshine, but the winds did not die.
Because we lost an entire day of play for the tournament, the AVP was left with no option other than to make the tournament a single-elimination event: you lose, you’re OUT! The top 8 teams in a 24 team main draw get a first round bye. This means that the top 8 teams are guaranteed a 9th place finish or better in a single elimination tournament. Fair or not, it is the way it is. Tyra and I were the 4th seed of the tournament, which is a great place to be.
We played our first match on Sunday at 10AM. The winds were howling. We had an idea in our heads that a tournament in Florida would be hot and humid; not the case with this tournament. The temperature was 67 degrees, but the winds were gusting between 15-25 mph. (Now that is WINDY for beach volleyball!)
We came out strong and won our first match 21-16, 23-21 against the 13th ranked team on tour, Paula Roca and Heather Lowe. The first set we played really well and maintained a lead throughout. The second set, we fell to an early lead and had to play catch up. We came up with some big plays at crucial times which helped us get the win in that second set.
Our next match was against the 12th ranked team, Lauren Fendrick and Ashley Ivy, who upset the 5th seeds, Holly McPeak and Jenny Kropp. We won that match in three sets, 21-13, 19-21, 15-11. The first set, we were clicking and things were going our way. They made some adjustments for the second set and it took us a little too long to recognize and adjust ourselves. Going into the third set, we were patient and knew what we needed to do. We took care of business and won the match. That win put us into the semi-finals.
Our third match of the day was against the Beijing Olympians, Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh. We played them very tough, but came up short losing 28-30, 13-21. The first set, we blew a 14-7 lead. It makes me sick to think about it, but the good news is that we were in a good position. We will definitely learn from the loss. That put an end to our tournament, finishing in 3rd place.
As soon as the match was over, we ran off the court to our hotel room. We were determined to catch our flight home out of Pensacola. We left the beach at 3:30 and our flight was at 6:15. We quickly showered and jumped in the rental car and drove 2 hours to Pensacola. We arrived at the airport at 5:55. We ran with all our belongings to the rental car desk, throwing the keys at the nice worker, and continued running to the ticket counter. We had to check our bags, print our boarding passes, and get through security. It was 6 o'clock at this time and it seemed impossible to make our flight. The ticket kiosks would not print boarding passes because we were cutting it too close. We somehow managed to sweet talk the lovely woman working at the counter into checking our bags and printing out boarding passes for us! This was 15 minutes before our flight was to leave! We raced through security and were blessed with no lines. We got to the gate just in time to get on the plane. Thankfully, we made it and so did our bags! It was seriously unbelievable.
So our first tournament of the year, cut short by bad weather, was a 3rd place finish for us and full of excitement and adventure! Not a bad way to start out 2009! We have 2 and 1/2 weeks now until Riverside which is our next AVP event. We know what we have to do and we are working hard to improve everyday and be the best we can be! #1 is in our sights!
Because we lost an entire day of play for the tournament, the AVP was left with no option other than to make the tournament a single-elimination event: you lose, you’re OUT! The top 8 teams in a 24 team main draw get a first round bye. This means that the top 8 teams are guaranteed a 9th place finish or better in a single elimination tournament. Fair or not, it is the way it is. Tyra and I were the 4th seed of the tournament, which is a great place to be.
We played our first match on Sunday at 10AM. The winds were howling. We had an idea in our heads that a tournament in Florida would be hot and humid; not the case with this tournament. The temperature was 67 degrees, but the winds were gusting between 15-25 mph. (Now that is WINDY for beach volleyball!)
We came out strong and won our first match 21-16, 23-21 against the 13th ranked team on tour, Paula Roca and Heather Lowe. The first set we played really well and maintained a lead throughout. The second set, we fell to an early lead and had to play catch up. We came up with some big plays at crucial times which helped us get the win in that second set.
Our next match was against the 12th ranked team, Lauren Fendrick and Ashley Ivy, who upset the 5th seeds, Holly McPeak and Jenny Kropp. We won that match in three sets, 21-13, 19-21, 15-11. The first set, we were clicking and things were going our way. They made some adjustments for the second set and it took us a little too long to recognize and adjust ourselves. Going into the third set, we were patient and knew what we needed to do. We took care of business and won the match. That win put us into the semi-finals.
Our third match of the day was against the Beijing Olympians, Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh. We played them very tough, but came up short losing 28-30, 13-21. The first set, we blew a 14-7 lead. It makes me sick to think about it, but the good news is that we were in a good position. We will definitely learn from the loss. That put an end to our tournament, finishing in 3rd place.
As soon as the match was over, we ran off the court to our hotel room. We were determined to catch our flight home out of Pensacola. We left the beach at 3:30 and our flight was at 6:15. We quickly showered and jumped in the rental car and drove 2 hours to Pensacola. We arrived at the airport at 5:55. We ran with all our belongings to the rental car desk, throwing the keys at the nice worker, and continued running to the ticket counter. We had to check our bags, print our boarding passes, and get through security. It was 6 o'clock at this time and it seemed impossible to make our flight. The ticket kiosks would not print boarding passes because we were cutting it too close. We somehow managed to sweet talk the lovely woman working at the counter into checking our bags and printing out boarding passes for us! This was 15 minutes before our flight was to leave! We raced through security and were blessed with no lines. We got to the gate just in time to get on the plane. Thankfully, we made it and so did our bags! It was seriously unbelievable.
So our first tournament of the year, cut short by bad weather, was a 3rd place finish for us and full of excitement and adventure! Not a bad way to start out 2009! We have 2 and 1/2 weeks now until Riverside which is our next AVP event. We know what we have to do and we are working hard to improve everyday and be the best we can be! #1 is in our sights!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
2009 AVP Schedule
Well, it is about time! Folks, we finally have a schedule for the 2009 season. Without further ado, here it is!
March 26 – 29 Panama City Beach
April 17 – 19 Riverside, CA
May 1 – 3 San Diego/Rincon Harrahs
May 15 – 17 Houston
May 21 – 24 Huntington Beach
May 28-31 Atlanta
June 18-21 Ocean City, MD
July 3-5 TBD
July 16-19 Manhattan Beach
Aug 6-9 Hermosa Beach
Aug 14-16 San Francisco
Aug 21-23 Hamptons
Aug 27-30 Chicago
Sept 4-6 Cincinnati
Sept 17-19 Las Vegas
Sept 24-26 Glendale
We are going to a few new places. Panama City should be great. It is Spring Break and I am sure we will have good, rowdy crowds. When I first saw Riverside, I said, "huh?" Apparently the location of the tournament is a trendy little spot. We shall see on April 17th! The San Diego event is now at a casino instead of on the beach. That should be interesting. We are very excited to be going to the Hamptons in August! It is high time there and I am sure the Hamptons have never seen something quite like what we will bring.
There are 16 stops on this schedule, two less than last year. I like it. With the current state of the economy, we were in fear of losing several more, but I think 16 is a good, solid number of events that will make a complete season.
We are going to some interesting cities and hopefully the tour will have good success in those new places! It will be a year to watch, for sure. There are so many new teams plus without Misty and Kerri, there will be new women emerging to the top of the ranks.
We are four weeks out from the first tournament. Tyra and I are training hard and getting better every day. We are looking forward to the season starting, but we realize that we have a lot of work to do before then, so we are thankful that we still have four weeks. We have our eyes set on climbing to the top! I am excited for all the good things to come!
March 26 – 29 Panama City Beach
April 17 – 19 Riverside, CA
May 1 – 3 San Diego/Rincon Harrahs
May 15 – 17 Houston
May 21 – 24 Huntington Beach
May 28-31 Atlanta
June 18-21 Ocean City, MD
July 3-5 TBD
July 16-19 Manhattan Beach
Aug 6-9 Hermosa Beach
Aug 14-16 San Francisco
Aug 21-23 Hamptons
Aug 27-30 Chicago
Sept 4-6 Cincinnati
Sept 17-19 Las Vegas
Sept 24-26 Glendale
We are going to a few new places. Panama City should be great. It is Spring Break and I am sure we will have good, rowdy crowds. When I first saw Riverside, I said, "huh?" Apparently the location of the tournament is a trendy little spot. We shall see on April 17th! The San Diego event is now at a casino instead of on the beach. That should be interesting. We are very excited to be going to the Hamptons in August! It is high time there and I am sure the Hamptons have never seen something quite like what we will bring.
There are 16 stops on this schedule, two less than last year. I like it. With the current state of the economy, we were in fear of losing several more, but I think 16 is a good, solid number of events that will make a complete season.
We are going to some interesting cities and hopefully the tour will have good success in those new places! It will be a year to watch, for sure. There are so many new teams plus without Misty and Kerri, there will be new women emerging to the top of the ranks.
We are four weeks out from the first tournament. Tyra and I are training hard and getting better every day. We are looking forward to the season starting, but we realize that we have a lot of work to do before then, so we are thankful that we still have four weeks. We have our eyes set on climbing to the top! I am excited for all the good things to come!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
AVP Hot Winter Nights 2009
Here we are already in the middle of February 2009, Valentine's Day, to be exact. I swear each year comes and goes by faster and faster. There are still six weeks until our first AVP Tour Event in Panama City, Florida. That gives Tyra and me a lot of time still to train hard and work out the kinks. We are both very motivated and excited to get things going.
We both had the opportunity to play in the Hot Winter Nights Tour, which started in January and is still going on now. However, she and I were only invited to one swing each. Her trip sounded like just as much fun as mine. Here is how it works:
Four women and four men are invited to play in a two or three city swing per weekend. Those players fly in on a Wednesday, play Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, and then fly home on Sunday. In most places we bus from city to city. Don't think Greyhound here, these buses are straight rock star buses! The competition format is very fun for us players. We are not selected with our regular season partner. We each compete as individuals and come out with a single winner. We play a game with every other player, then decide who is the "Best of the Beach." However, on night two of my Midwest swing, we decided to change the format for the Finals to a co-ed four versus four game. It was a huge hit. My Hot Winter Nights group consisted of Elaine Youngs (EY), Dianne DeNecochea (Di), Brittany Hochevar (Britt), and on the men's side, Todd Rogers, Phil Dalhausser, Nick Lucena, and Casey Jennings.
Our first stop was in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the Van Andel Arena where the temperature was a whopping 15 degrees. We flew from LAX to Grand Rapids on a Wednesday. We were delayed for about 3 hours in Detroit so it ended up being a late night for us by the time we got dinner and settled into our hotel.
The next morning I woke early to visit some local radio stations to promote the AVP and the HWN event at Van Andel Arena. I went on the air with 3 different stations and had a great time chatting with the hosts. We spent some time talking about the format for the event and how much fun it really is to see beach volleyball in the dead of winter. We then gave away tickets to the event.
After the radio interviews, I met up with all the other players for a meet-and-greet lunch event with some local club volleyball players and their parents. We signed some autographs and chatted a bit, then had about 2 hours to ourselves before the Main Event. I hit the gym and did some yoga and lifting.
Once we arrived at the Van Andel Arena, we gave two mini clinics to some local kids. We did not have much time with them, but they seemed to enjoy it while it lasted.
As soon as the clinics were over, the arena opened to the ticket holders and people started to flow in. You could see the look of excitement on their faces when they walked in from the freezing cold and saw bright lights, sand, and guys and girls in board shorts and bikinis! The ladies played first, so we started our warm-up. At 7pm, it was "go time!" Geeter was there on the mic and introduced us all.
The first match up was me and Di versus Britt and EY. With this format, you most likely will have to play a different position that your usual one. Plus, it will most likely change with every different person you play with. So with Di, I played on the right side and stayed back to play defense. The last two seasons I have played on the left side and have run up to the net to block. So this was a completely new role for me. It is really fun to change it up and play with different people. We do not practice this format together, so what you see there at the event is truly a pickup game! Di and I got off to a good start and won 15-12.
The next match was me and Britt against EY and Di. This game was a barn-burner! I played on the left side and we split blocked while the other served, but I ran to the net to block during transition plays. We battled back and forth until Britt and I won 19-17.
The last match up was me and EY versus Britt and Di. I played on the right side for this game. EY and I split blocked and she ran to the net for transition. By this time, it was definitely confusing figuring out who runs up and who stays back. I am sure there were several miscommunications, but we figured it out and won 15-11.
The win gave me three wins in pool which put me in 1st place. EY finished 2nd by one point over Di. So that meant EY and I would play against each other for the final and I would get first choice of partner between Di and Britt. I picked Di, but we would not play the final until after the men played their pool games.
From the time we stopped playing until we were to go on again for the final, we did not stop signing autographs and taking pictures with the fans. It was really incredible! We all were shocked at how many people wanted to have their picture taken with us. I was asked to sign bald heads, foreheads, forearms, and cell phones in addition to the usual ball, t-shirt, ticket, or piece of paper. It was great to see everyone having such a good time.
Once the men finished, we were back on the sand and ready to play our Final. Di and I started really strong and jumped out to a 12-4 lead. We nearly blew it! We gave up 7 points in a row before our next side out! We pulled it together and went on to win 15-12 which gave me my first ever Hot Winter Nights win! It was a super fun night which we got to share with an amazing crowd. They were loud and crazy which really fired us up.
As soon as the men finished, we had to shower up and get on the bus for a 10 hour long bus ride to Kansas City. It was a cold and windy night. The bus was blowing all over the road which made it hard to sleep. Thankfully, our bus driver stayed awake all night and got us there safe and sound.
That night, in Kansas City, we were scheduled for a meet and greet and another clinic before the doors opened. We had a question and answer session with about 60 kids, then got most of them out on the sand for a little volleyball.
The KC Sprint Center was just as great as Grand Rapids! When the doors opened, we had another great crowd come rushing in to escape the cold and wind.
I played with Britt first against EY and Di. We won 15-13. Then it was me and EY against Britt and Di. We lost 12-15. Then Di and I beat EY and Britt 15-12. That made Di our pool play winner by 1 point over me and Britt. However, we decided that we would play the co-ed fours exhibition instead of the regular final which would be a match up that the fans had already seen that night.
The co-ed four on four was an absolute blast! My team was Nick Lucena, Phil Dalhausser, EY, and me. We played against Di, Britt, Casey Jennings, and Todd Rogers. The rules for that night were that we would play on the women's net, but the men could not attack. With the women only attacking, the rallies were very long and exciting. We had Phil setting and Nick back playing defense. EY and I were on the left and right sides attacking. We lost this game, but it was fun for us and the crowd really got into it. We were experimenting with the format and it was a huge success.
When the coed fours was over, we showered up and hopped back on the bus and went straight to Indianapolis. We arrived early in the morning and had most of the day to catch up on the sleep we missed from hanging out on the bus.
We made our way to the Conseco Fieldhouse and gave another clinic just before playing. This was the last stop of the three night Midwest swing. It was the largest crowd we had of all three nights. There were over 5000 people in the stands. It was a sort of homecoming for me. Indy is only two hours from Fort Wayne where I grew up, so I had lots of family and friends in the crowd. It felt absolutely amazing having such a huge crowd behind me, cheering me on!
I played with EY first and won 15-13 over Di and Britt. Next, I played with Di and won 15-13 over EY and Britt. Lastly, I played with Britt and we lost 11-15. As soon as we finished the pool play, we started signing autographs again. The lines were insanely long! We stood there and signed every last ball, t-shirt, ticket, arm, and cell phone that was asked of us. Then it was time for the Final.
This night, we played on the men's net and the women set and played defense. On the men's net with the men attacking, it was much more like the men's game with shorter rallies: bump, set, kill. I was on a team with Phil, Casey, and Britt. I tried to hide behind Phil's block, but still managed to get hit in the stomach while protecting my face! It did not hurt, but it probably looked like it did! We had a lot of fun playing the co-ed fours. It was a great way to bring all the athletes on the court at once for a Final. We won the fours and left the Hot Winter Nights Tour with a victory!
The whole experience from the Hot Winter Nights was incredible. We were in freezing cold cities in the middle of our country playing beach volleyball! The crowds loved it. It provided an escape from the harsh winter for a few hours.
After the event was over in Indy, I had to catch an early morning flight down to Ixtapa, Mexico for my 4th annual trip to the South of the Border Volleyball Vacation. I went from 15 degrees in Indianapolis to 90 degrees in Mexico in one day. It was quite the turn-around. I will fill you in on the details of that trip in my next blog so stay posted!
Stay warm, happy, and healthy!
Angie
We both had the opportunity to play in the Hot Winter Nights Tour, which started in January and is still going on now. However, she and I were only invited to one swing each. Her trip sounded like just as much fun as mine. Here is how it works:
Four women and four men are invited to play in a two or three city swing per weekend. Those players fly in on a Wednesday, play Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, and then fly home on Sunday. In most places we bus from city to city. Don't think Greyhound here, these buses are straight rock star buses! The competition format is very fun for us players. We are not selected with our regular season partner. We each compete as individuals and come out with a single winner. We play a game with every other player, then decide who is the "Best of the Beach." However, on night two of my Midwest swing, we decided to change the format for the Finals to a co-ed four versus four game. It was a huge hit. My Hot Winter Nights group consisted of Elaine Youngs (EY), Dianne DeNecochea (Di), Brittany Hochevar (Britt), and on the men's side, Todd Rogers, Phil Dalhausser, Nick Lucena, and Casey Jennings.
Our first stop was in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the Van Andel Arena where the temperature was a whopping 15 degrees. We flew from LAX to Grand Rapids on a Wednesday. We were delayed for about 3 hours in Detroit so it ended up being a late night for us by the time we got dinner and settled into our hotel.
The next morning I woke early to visit some local radio stations to promote the AVP and the HWN event at Van Andel Arena. I went on the air with 3 different stations and had a great time chatting with the hosts. We spent some time talking about the format for the event and how much fun it really is to see beach volleyball in the dead of winter. We then gave away tickets to the event.
After the radio interviews, I met up with all the other players for a meet-and-greet lunch event with some local club volleyball players and their parents. We signed some autographs and chatted a bit, then had about 2 hours to ourselves before the Main Event. I hit the gym and did some yoga and lifting.
Once we arrived at the Van Andel Arena, we gave two mini clinics to some local kids. We did not have much time with them, but they seemed to enjoy it while it lasted.
As soon as the clinics were over, the arena opened to the ticket holders and people started to flow in. You could see the look of excitement on their faces when they walked in from the freezing cold and saw bright lights, sand, and guys and girls in board shorts and bikinis! The ladies played first, so we started our warm-up. At 7pm, it was "go time!" Geeter was there on the mic and introduced us all.
The first match up was me and Di versus Britt and EY. With this format, you most likely will have to play a different position that your usual one. Plus, it will most likely change with every different person you play with. So with Di, I played on the right side and stayed back to play defense. The last two seasons I have played on the left side and have run up to the net to block. So this was a completely new role for me. It is really fun to change it up and play with different people. We do not practice this format together, so what you see there at the event is truly a pickup game! Di and I got off to a good start and won 15-12.
The next match was me and Britt against EY and Di. This game was a barn-burner! I played on the left side and we split blocked while the other served, but I ran to the net to block during transition plays. We battled back and forth until Britt and I won 19-17.
The last match up was me and EY versus Britt and Di. I played on the right side for this game. EY and I split blocked and she ran to the net for transition. By this time, it was definitely confusing figuring out who runs up and who stays back. I am sure there were several miscommunications, but we figured it out and won 15-11.
The win gave me three wins in pool which put me in 1st place. EY finished 2nd by one point over Di. So that meant EY and I would play against each other for the final and I would get first choice of partner between Di and Britt. I picked Di, but we would not play the final until after the men played their pool games.
From the time we stopped playing until we were to go on again for the final, we did not stop signing autographs and taking pictures with the fans. It was really incredible! We all were shocked at how many people wanted to have their picture taken with us. I was asked to sign bald heads, foreheads, forearms, and cell phones in addition to the usual ball, t-shirt, ticket, or piece of paper. It was great to see everyone having such a good time.
Once the men finished, we were back on the sand and ready to play our Final. Di and I started really strong and jumped out to a 12-4 lead. We nearly blew it! We gave up 7 points in a row before our next side out! We pulled it together and went on to win 15-12 which gave me my first ever Hot Winter Nights win! It was a super fun night which we got to share with an amazing crowd. They were loud and crazy which really fired us up.
As soon as the men finished, we had to shower up and get on the bus for a 10 hour long bus ride to Kansas City. It was a cold and windy night. The bus was blowing all over the road which made it hard to sleep. Thankfully, our bus driver stayed awake all night and got us there safe and sound.
That night, in Kansas City, we were scheduled for a meet and greet and another clinic before the doors opened. We had a question and answer session with about 60 kids, then got most of them out on the sand for a little volleyball.
The KC Sprint Center was just as great as Grand Rapids! When the doors opened, we had another great crowd come rushing in to escape the cold and wind.
I played with Britt first against EY and Di. We won 15-13. Then it was me and EY against Britt and Di. We lost 12-15. Then Di and I beat EY and Britt 15-12. That made Di our pool play winner by 1 point over me and Britt. However, we decided that we would play the co-ed fours exhibition instead of the regular final which would be a match up that the fans had already seen that night.
The co-ed four on four was an absolute blast! My team was Nick Lucena, Phil Dalhausser, EY, and me. We played against Di, Britt, Casey Jennings, and Todd Rogers. The rules for that night were that we would play on the women's net, but the men could not attack. With the women only attacking, the rallies were very long and exciting. We had Phil setting and Nick back playing defense. EY and I were on the left and right sides attacking. We lost this game, but it was fun for us and the crowd really got into it. We were experimenting with the format and it was a huge success.
When the coed fours was over, we showered up and hopped back on the bus and went straight to Indianapolis. We arrived early in the morning and had most of the day to catch up on the sleep we missed from hanging out on the bus.
We made our way to the Conseco Fieldhouse and gave another clinic just before playing. This was the last stop of the three night Midwest swing. It was the largest crowd we had of all three nights. There were over 5000 people in the stands. It was a sort of homecoming for me. Indy is only two hours from Fort Wayne where I grew up, so I had lots of family and friends in the crowd. It felt absolutely amazing having such a huge crowd behind me, cheering me on!
I played with EY first and won 15-13 over Di and Britt. Next, I played with Di and won 15-13 over EY and Britt. Lastly, I played with Britt and we lost 11-15. As soon as we finished the pool play, we started signing autographs again. The lines were insanely long! We stood there and signed every last ball, t-shirt, ticket, arm, and cell phone that was asked of us. Then it was time for the Final.
This night, we played on the men's net and the women set and played defense. On the men's net with the men attacking, it was much more like the men's game with shorter rallies: bump, set, kill. I was on a team with Phil, Casey, and Britt. I tried to hide behind Phil's block, but still managed to get hit in the stomach while protecting my face! It did not hurt, but it probably looked like it did! We had a lot of fun playing the co-ed fours. It was a great way to bring all the athletes on the court at once for a Final. We won the fours and left the Hot Winter Nights Tour with a victory!
The whole experience from the Hot Winter Nights was incredible. We were in freezing cold cities in the middle of our country playing beach volleyball! The crowds loved it. It provided an escape from the harsh winter for a few hours.
After the event was over in Indy, I had to catch an early morning flight down to Ixtapa, Mexico for my 4th annual trip to the South of the Border Volleyball Vacation. I went from 15 degrees in Indianapolis to 90 degrees in Mexico in one day. It was quite the turn-around. I will fill you in on the details of that trip in my next blog so stay posted!
Stay warm, happy, and healthy!
Angie
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