Hot Winter Nights

This past weekend was a whirlwind of fun, freezing cold temperatures, and beach volleyball! Who would have guessed?!

We started out in Omaha, Nebraska in front of a great crowd of about 3500. They were very enthusiastic and really happy to be inside the Quest Center where we brought the beach to the snow laden area.

The format for the HWN is King of the Beach with 3 quick games to 15 points, rally score. There is a 1 minute break in between games and that is the time you switch partners and make a quick game plan. After the men and women go through this part of the competition, there is a Final where the first place finisher and second place finisher face off. The first place finisher gets to choose their partner from the third and fourth place finishers. Then the Final is one game to 15, rally score. The night goes really fast. It is a 3 hour show filled with all the same summer fun you find at the beach, only it is in a big arena and there is lots of snow on the ground outside.

Jenny Kropp won the Omaha event which was fitting, since she is from Nebraska. That night, I did not win a single game! I was really disappointed, but still had fun.

After the event, we took a bus to Rosemont, Illinois. It was an 8 hour bus ride of which I slept most of the way. Some of the other players watched movies and played poker. The bus was really nice. We called it the Rockstar bus. There are two lounging areas with flat screen TVs and 9 bunks which were very comfortable to sleep in.

We arrived into Rosemont at 8:30AM on Friday. I did media throughout the day to promote the event and my newest sponsor, Jose Cuervo! Cuervo has a great presence at our events. I am really excited to be on Team Cuervo this year.

After all the media, we played at 7:30PM. Unfortunately, the attendance for this event was only 935. It was a disappointment. The fans had fun, but the word did not get around to the avid volleyball players and fans in the Chicago area. Those that were there seemed to have a great time.

Jenny won her second night in a row. I did much better this time though. I finished second place.

After we finished playing, I was able to spend time with the Chicago Ixtapa crew. It was great to see them there and have some people cheering for me.

We did not leave for Bloomington, Illinois until 1PM on Saturday. I slept in until 11:30 and then grabbed breakfast before jumping on the bus. It took 2 and a half hours to get there. We watched Anchorman on the way.

Once there, we checked out the site and then dropped the boys off at a gym while all of us girls went to a nice dinner.

Before playing in our match, I was asked to do the Color Commentary for the 3rd game of the men's play. It was my first ever experience doing television. I am not sure how it came out, but I definitely had fun doing it. I thought I would be really nervous, but I was not at all. It is going to air on Comcast Cable in the Chicago area in about a month.

After finishing up with the TV, I had to run down to the court and warmup to play. I actually came out of the pool play as the first seed and had my choice of partners for the final. Holly came in second, so we had to play against each other. I chose Jenny Kropp since she was on a roll, winning two nights in a row. We got off to a slow start and could not catch up. So I finished 2nd place again!

It was a great time. The crowd was really excited and happy to be there. It was really great to see all the young aspiring collegiate and beach volleyball athletes there. Several clubs brought their whole teams.

After we finished up, we hopped back on the bus and traveled back to Rosemont. We left around midnight, which got back around 2:30AM. We all had decided to fly back home on the earliest flight of the day requiring us to leave for the airport at 6:30AM. Upon arrival at the airport, we learned that the first flight out was cancelled. Up that early for nothing! We were not happy, but remained optomistic that we would get on the next flight, which we did. We got home a few hours earlier than scheduled, so we were very happy.

Now I am completely exhausted and need to catch up on some sleep. Now that my travels are over until the season starts, Holly and I can start getting down to business with our training. I am excited to start putting in a lot of hard work. It is going to be a fantastic year!

The schedule is still not out yet, but should be soon! Keep checking in!

All my best,
Angie

Ixtapa, Mexico - South of the Border

It was another great week in paradise. I just returned from my 3rd trip down to Ixtapa, Mexico for the South of the Border Volleyball Vacation. Jeremy and I look forward to this trip all winter. It is a chance to meet up with old friends, make new friends, play volleyball, get a tan, and have some fun. I will be posting pictures on my website soon.

I am leaving this Wednesday for the Hot Winter Nights Tour. I will be playing in Omaha, Nebraska at the Qwest Center on Thursday night along with Holly McPeak, Jenny Kropp, and Angela Lewis. The men's competition will consist of Sean Rosenthal, Jake Gibb, Casey Jennings, and Matt Fuerbringer. We then travel to Rosemont, Illinois to play at the AllState Arena on Friday night. The last stop is in Bloomington, Illinois at the US Cellular Arena on Saturday night.

I am really looking forward to playing in the Hot Winter Nights. All the players that have participated so far have raved about how well this mini-tour is going. I am sure it will be great fun. I will tell you all about it when I return.

Holly and I started practicing a few weeks ago, but with all the traveling, we have yet to get into our routine. After this trip to the midwest, we will be home for awhile and then really start working. We are so anxious to get things going. We do not have a 2008 schedule yet, but hopefully we will get it soon. I will be sure to post it on my site when it is released.

I hope you all are getting excited for the 2008 season! I sure am! It is going to be a great year. The Olympic race will be heating up and the competition will be tougher than ever. Get ready!

I hope to see you at a beach somewhere along the way!

Angie