Just a quick video to fill you in on the day. We just got back from a great dinner which took my mind off of volleyball for a few short hours. Now it is time to get some sleep and get back into it!
Angie Akers
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
2-0 in Pool Play
We just played the French and had an absolute battle! We came through with a victory, but it was not pretty. I cannot even begin to count the number of "lets" that just trickled over the net, completely ungettable against us. It was really hard not to get frustrated. We had our chances to win the first set, but ended up giving it to them 25-23. I struggled siding out, but found my rhythm after that first set.
The second and third sets were not as close, but they continued to frustrate us with very scrappy defense and net tricklers. We won the second 21-17 and then went on to win the third 15-12. It was a big sigh of relief to get that win.
The match was at 7PM, which was a beautiful hour to play. It was another wonderful day, weatherwise, and the temperature was perfect for playing.
Tomorrow we have a day off, which is much needed. I plan to get a massage and treatment, but I will stay out of the sand.
We are having lots of fun with the other American athletes. All the boys and EY/Nicole play tomorrow so we will go cheer them on.
The second and third sets were not as close, but they continued to frustrate us with very scrappy defense and net tricklers. We won the second 21-17 and then went on to win the third 15-12. It was a big sigh of relief to get that win.
The match was at 7PM, which was a beautiful hour to play. It was another wonderful day, weatherwise, and the temperature was perfect for playing.
Tomorrow we have a day off, which is much needed. I plan to get a massage and treatment, but I will stay out of the sand.
We are having lots of fun with the other American athletes. All the boys and EY/Nicole play tomorrow so we will go cheer them on.
Here is a glimpse at what the sky looks like at 1AM. Pretty amazing.
More from Norway tomorrow!
Angie Akers
Day 2 of Competition
Yesterday was our day off, but we had a pretty full day of gym, practice, treatment, and watching other matches. The weather has been rediculously wonderful so we have enjoyed being outside as much as possible. 
This is Kelly, our Physical Therapist, in action. Service with a smile!
Anyone recognize the good-looking guy in the middle of me and Tyra? We were surprised to walk off our court after practice and run into Misty's father, Butch May. We felt like we were back home in Southern California!
This is Kelly, our Physical Therapist, in action. Service with a smile!
Here is a quick glimpse of the stadium from the first day of competition. The crowds have been great.
We are about to head to breakfast and start our day. We play France at 7PM tonight.
More later,
Angie Akers
Friday, June 26, 2009
First Day of Competition
Our match was scheduled for 6PM so we slept in. Had breakfast around 9:30 and then made our way to the courts for practice. We moved around with Kessy/Ross and Ivy/Fendrick. Afterward, we had lunch and watched the other teams in our pool play.
We still had 3 hours to kill, so we went back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit. We made our way back to the site and did our full warm up.
The first set of our match against the Swiss was great. We came out serving, blocking, and siding out really strong. We got quite a few aces and blocks. We won 21-13. Next game was not so good. They served really tough and got a load of aces on us. We played good enough to win, but we should have been much better. The important thing is that we won and we are 1-0 in pool right now.
I definitely had first match jitters. It was odd playing our first match of the tournament at 6PM. We have tomorrow off, but we are going to practice at 6PM because our next match on Saturday is scheduled for 7PM. It is difficult getting a routine down with such odd playing times . We are figuring it out and finding what works for us.
The daylight hours make it very difficult to get to sleep early. It isn't dark until after midnight. The sun starts to come back up around 3AM. We have been staying up until 12 or 1AM and sleeping in as long as possible, which usually is until around 8 or 9AM.
We found a great Indian restaurant in town. We ate there two nights in a row and will probably go back there tomorrow night. The food here is outrageously expensive at the restaurants. We are trying not to spend our money on eating out, but the food at the Indian restaurant is so good, we can't resist.
We started watching the HBO series, True Blood, last night. We watched one episode and then we were hooked and had to start the next. We both fell asleep half-way through it, so we will watch it again tonight.
I get to sleep in tomorrow and am very much looking forward to it!
I just got some very good news that Tyra, Ty Loomis, Ryan Mariano, and I will be visiting the Troops stationed in the Balkans this coming August. Tyra and I will go straight from Austria and meet the boys there. I am so excited that this has worked out and we will get to go visit! These trips mean so much to me and I am so honored to be able to be apart of them!
That's all for now!
Angie Akers
We still had 3 hours to kill, so we went back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit. We made our way back to the site and did our full warm up.
The first set of our match against the Swiss was great. We came out serving, blocking, and siding out really strong. We got quite a few aces and blocks. We won 21-13. Next game was not so good. They served really tough and got a load of aces on us. We played good enough to win, but we should have been much better. The important thing is that we won and we are 1-0 in pool right now.
I definitely had first match jitters. It was odd playing our first match of the tournament at 6PM. We have tomorrow off, but we are going to practice at 6PM because our next match on Saturday is scheduled for 7PM. It is difficult getting a routine down with such odd playing times . We are figuring it out and finding what works for us.
The daylight hours make it very difficult to get to sleep early. It isn't dark until after midnight. The sun starts to come back up around 3AM. We have been staying up until 12 or 1AM and sleeping in as long as possible, which usually is until around 8 or 9AM.
We found a great Indian restaurant in town. We ate there two nights in a row and will probably go back there tomorrow night. The food here is outrageously expensive at the restaurants. We are trying not to spend our money on eating out, but the food at the Indian restaurant is so good, we can't resist.
We started watching the HBO series, True Blood, last night. We watched one episode and then we were hooked and had to start the next. We both fell asleep half-way through it, so we will watch it again tonight.
I get to sleep in tomorrow and am very much looking forward to it!
I just got some very good news that Tyra, Ty Loomis, Ryan Mariano, and I will be visiting the Troops stationed in the Balkans this coming August. Tyra and I will go straight from Austria and meet the boys there. I am so excited that this has worked out and we will get to go visit! These trips mean so much to me and I am so honored to be able to be apart of them!
That's all for now!
Angie Akers
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Stavanger Day 3
Today has been great! The weather could not possibly be better. I finally have my camera charged, so I have been snapping away. Here is a look at our day:
We practiced this morning with the Belgian girls and their coach, Kerri Pottharst.
Then we went to the gym for a workout. Afterward, we wandered over to a farmers' market and bought some strawberries. We laid in the grass by the church while I ate every last one of them!
We got treatment with our team Chiropractor and then came back to our hotel to shower.
We are about to head out to dinner, but I wanted to post some pictures first. Tomorrow we will practice in the morning and then attend the Opening Ceremony for the event. Enjoy the video and check back soon!
Angie Akers
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Day 2 in Stavanger, Norway
Stavanger is beautiful! Tyra and I arrived late on Monday after our little flying fiasco. The worst thing that happened to us is that Tyra's luggage did not make it. I am sure it will be here in a day or two, but in the meantime, we have had to do quite a bit of shopping. Yes, yes...life is rough! We were forced to shop.
The weather has been phenomenal! We arrived with sunshine and today has been cool, crisp, and sunny. It really is a perfect day here. I took my camera with me when we first went out, but as I tried to snap the first picture, I realized that the battery was dead. I will charge it back up and start snapping on our next outing.
The tournament site sits right next to a port, Cruise Pier. Today an enormous cruise ship was docked right next to the courts. It would have been a great picture if the battery in my camera would have had a charge!
(The volleyball courts are to the left of the cruise ship. They wouldn't fit in the picture!)Today we discovered the Norwegian strawberries! So so good! I ate an entire package myself! The flowers and fresh fruits here are really spectacular. All the flowers that I see here are ones that my mom has in her gardens back in Indiana. It reminds me of my momma!
We are heading out now to go practice and get dinner. Last nights dinner was a bit suspect. We thought we were ordering chicken, lamb, and beef at a Greek restaurant, but we are pretty sure that we were given reindeer. We asked and were told it was beef, but it was very gamey and didn't taste like beef! Hope it wasn't Rudolph! ;)
Pictures and video to come!!!
More later!
Angie Akers
Monday, June 22, 2009
From Ocean City, Maryland AVP - on to World Championships
I am sitting in the Frankfurt Airport Lufthansa Business Lounge waiting for my connecting flight to Stavanger so I thought I would take this opportunity to write about Ocean City and the journey to get here, in Frankfurt.
Ocean City... we made progress. We kicked the curse of our 7th place finishes on the AVP tour. We finished 5th place. Still not where we want to be, but progress. We played pretty well at times and then at other times, we forgot which way was up and which way was down. It happens. It is all about growing as a team and making progress, which I feel we really did.
We flew into Washington Dulles on Wednesday before the event started. Jeremy, my husband, arrived just before us so he picked up the rental car and then came back to get us. It is a 3 hour drive to OC, so instead of fighting traffic at rush hour, we decided to take a detour through DC and drive around Jeremy's old stomping grounds. We drove through his old neighborhood, by his school (St. Albans's), and then ate at me and Tyra's favorite place, Whole Foods. By the time we finished eating, traffic had cleared and we hit the road.
Once we arrived, we crashed right away and slept in on Thursday. We woke up to pouring rain and miserable weather. Once we got up, we walked down to the event site and watched a bit of the qualifier, visited the medical tent for some chiropractic treatment, then practiced a little later in the day.
We woke up early on Friday to beautiful weather. Our first round match was scheduled for 11 AM against Hall/Kuk. We were a bit shaky, but pulled things together and won handily, 21-16, 21-16. Our next match was against Stonebarger/Koester who pulled out an upset over the 11th seeds, Mason/More. We came out strong in the first and won big, 21-12. We lost a bit of our momentum, maybe had a lack in concentration after the first set and lost the second set 19-21. Then we decided to get down to business and take control of the third. We won 15-10. That was it for Friday.
Saturday morning we faced Hanson/Rutledge to get to 5th place. We started out strong with good ball control and a good game plan and won the first set 21-16. We were down big early in the second, but came rallying back to take the 18-17 side switch. Rutledge had a few key blocks which shifted the advantage back to them. They took the second set 21-19. We fell apart in the third set. We lost our ball control and made setting and hitting errors which absolutely killed us. We lost 10-15. Time to regroup....
After the loss, an enormous storm system blew in. We watched as teams played in the torrential downpour that ensued. The rain slowed down just in time for our warm up for our next match against the Lindquists. We actually started the match, took a side turn down 3-4 when the beach officials came in to declare that the entire beach was officially closed until further notice. Everyone had to evacuate the beach. There was quite a bit of thunder and lightning and more rain to come, so we were put on a 2 hour delay. Tyra and I went to the nearest hotel and sat in the lobby to wait it out. Once it cleared, we went back to the beach and had to warm up all over again.
We had another all-out battle with the Lindquists. They play crafty, scrappy volleyball so you must stay on your toes. They won the first set 21-19. We stayed patient, made some crucial plays, and won the second set 21-18. The third was a bit back and forth. A controversial referee call fired us up and put our backs against the wall. We pulled together as a team and fought our way out, winning 15-11. A big sigh of relief.
Next we faced Minello/Lima whom we lost to in Atlanta. We were fired up for this rematch. Wind was a factor and we used it to our advantage. We served aggressively, we hit aggressively, and we played good defense. (All important things to win!) We won in two sets, 21-17, 21-13. That win broke us of our 7th place curse. We were now in 5th place and moving on.
After we finished the match, we were getting treatment in the medical tent when another storm blew in. It was another torrential downpour that lasted about 15 minutes. Once it blew by us, an enormous rainbow formed over the ocean. It was beautiful.
The next morning, we faced Dodd/DeNeccochea in some seriously windy conditions. We did a great job of controlling the ball on our side of the net in the first set. We got a few aces and we sided out very well. We had a very big lead towards the end of the game, but Di served more than a few "tricklers" over the net that were untouchable. That pulled them in closer until we won 21-18.
We are not really sure where our ball control went after that first set, but it left us. We struggled through the next two games and ended up getting creamed. It was a big bummer, but in the grand scheme of the tournament, we made progress.
After the match, we got more treatment before hitting the road again back to the airport. Traffic was very heavy, so it took a bit longer than the 3 hours we anticipated. We still had plenty of time to stop by a Whole Foods and get our last kombuchas and salads before heading to Europe for 5 weeks.
So now for the second part of the story.... We boarded our flight from Dulles to Frankfurt, actually took off in the air and were flying about 20 minutes when the captain came on and said that one of the generators was not working so we would have to dump fuel and turn back. We would have an extra heavy load since we just took off so it would be a very heavy, potentially dangerous landing. For precautionary reasons, they called in the emergency team at the airport. We flew around dumping fuel (which made me cringe at the thought of such waste) for about 15 minutes. We had to dump tons and tons of jet fuel to get the plane to a safe weight for landing. Then we made our descent and landed the plane, without incident back at Dulles. The runways were cleared except for the dozens and dozens of emergency vehicles all waiting for us. It was an eerie sight to see all the flashing emergency lights lining the runway as we landed. Thankfully, we were safe on the ground.
We had to switch to another aircraft at a different gate, so we gathered our belongings and waited at the next gate. The whole ordeal took just under 4 hours, so we missed our connecting flight in Frankfurt to Stavanger, Norway. No big deal...we were booked on a later flight leaving in the afternoon, which is why we were sitting in the lounge when I started writing this. I am finishing it while we are actually flying.
So far our adventure is off to an exciting start! Once we arrive in Stavanger, we will have 2 full days to acclimate and prepare for our competition. Because it is the World Championships which consists of the top 48 men's and women's teams in the world, the event lasts 10 days. There are only 3 courts for competition, which means we will play one match every other day. We start off with 12 pools of 4 teams and from there, the top 2 will advance plus the best 8 of the remaining 3rd place finishers in pool to complete a 32 team single elimination tournament.
We begin play on Thursday. The forecast is for high 60s and sunshine! I can't wait!
I am bummed that we will miss the Coney Island AVP event, but we plan to do our best representing the USA here in Norway.
You can follow our results at http://www.fivb.org/EN/BeachVolleyball/index.asp?sm=12
(Sorry! Can't figure out how to hyperlink this with my new computer!)
Thanks for reading!
Angie Akers
Ocean City... we made progress. We kicked the curse of our 7th place finishes on the AVP tour. We finished 5th place. Still not where we want to be, but progress. We played pretty well at times and then at other times, we forgot which way was up and which way was down. It happens. It is all about growing as a team and making progress, which I feel we really did.
We flew into Washington Dulles on Wednesday before the event started. Jeremy, my husband, arrived just before us so he picked up the rental car and then came back to get us. It is a 3 hour drive to OC, so instead of fighting traffic at rush hour, we decided to take a detour through DC and drive around Jeremy's old stomping grounds. We drove through his old neighborhood, by his school (St. Albans's), and then ate at me and Tyra's favorite place, Whole Foods. By the time we finished eating, traffic had cleared and we hit the road.
Once we arrived, we crashed right away and slept in on Thursday. We woke up to pouring rain and miserable weather. Once we got up, we walked down to the event site and watched a bit of the qualifier, visited the medical tent for some chiropractic treatment, then practiced a little later in the day.
We woke up early on Friday to beautiful weather. Our first round match was scheduled for 11 AM against Hall/Kuk. We were a bit shaky, but pulled things together and won handily, 21-16, 21-16. Our next match was against Stonebarger/Koester who pulled out an upset over the 11th seeds, Mason/More. We came out strong in the first and won big, 21-12. We lost a bit of our momentum, maybe had a lack in concentration after the first set and lost the second set 19-21. Then we decided to get down to business and take control of the third. We won 15-10. That was it for Friday.
Saturday morning we faced Hanson/Rutledge to get to 5th place. We started out strong with good ball control and a good game plan and won the first set 21-16. We were down big early in the second, but came rallying back to take the 18-17 side switch. Rutledge had a few key blocks which shifted the advantage back to them. They took the second set 21-19. We fell apart in the third set. We lost our ball control and made setting and hitting errors which absolutely killed us. We lost 10-15. Time to regroup....
After the loss, an enormous storm system blew in. We watched as teams played in the torrential downpour that ensued. The rain slowed down just in time for our warm up for our next match against the Lindquists. We actually started the match, took a side turn down 3-4 when the beach officials came in to declare that the entire beach was officially closed until further notice. Everyone had to evacuate the beach. There was quite a bit of thunder and lightning and more rain to come, so we were put on a 2 hour delay. Tyra and I went to the nearest hotel and sat in the lobby to wait it out. Once it cleared, we went back to the beach and had to warm up all over again.
We had another all-out battle with the Lindquists. They play crafty, scrappy volleyball so you must stay on your toes. They won the first set 21-19. We stayed patient, made some crucial plays, and won the second set 21-18. The third was a bit back and forth. A controversial referee call fired us up and put our backs against the wall. We pulled together as a team and fought our way out, winning 15-11. A big sigh of relief.
Next we faced Minello/Lima whom we lost to in Atlanta. We were fired up for this rematch. Wind was a factor and we used it to our advantage. We served aggressively, we hit aggressively, and we played good defense. (All important things to win!) We won in two sets, 21-17, 21-13. That win broke us of our 7th place curse. We were now in 5th place and moving on.
After we finished the match, we were getting treatment in the medical tent when another storm blew in. It was another torrential downpour that lasted about 15 minutes. Once it blew by us, an enormous rainbow formed over the ocean. It was beautiful.
The next morning, we faced Dodd/DeNeccochea in some seriously windy conditions. We did a great job of controlling the ball on our side of the net in the first set. We got a few aces and we sided out very well. We had a very big lead towards the end of the game, but Di served more than a few "tricklers" over the net that were untouchable. That pulled them in closer until we won 21-18.
We are not really sure where our ball control went after that first set, but it left us. We struggled through the next two games and ended up getting creamed. It was a big bummer, but in the grand scheme of the tournament, we made progress.
After the match, we got more treatment before hitting the road again back to the airport. Traffic was very heavy, so it took a bit longer than the 3 hours we anticipated. We still had plenty of time to stop by a Whole Foods and get our last kombuchas and salads before heading to Europe for 5 weeks.
So now for the second part of the story.... We boarded our flight from Dulles to Frankfurt, actually took off in the air and were flying about 20 minutes when the captain came on and said that one of the generators was not working so we would have to dump fuel and turn back. We would have an extra heavy load since we just took off so it would be a very heavy, potentially dangerous landing. For precautionary reasons, they called in the emergency team at the airport. We flew around dumping fuel (which made me cringe at the thought of such waste) for about 15 minutes. We had to dump tons and tons of jet fuel to get the plane to a safe weight for landing. Then we made our descent and landed the plane, without incident back at Dulles. The runways were cleared except for the dozens and dozens of emergency vehicles all waiting for us. It was an eerie sight to see all the flashing emergency lights lining the runway as we landed. Thankfully, we were safe on the ground.
We had to switch to another aircraft at a different gate, so we gathered our belongings and waited at the next gate. The whole ordeal took just under 4 hours, so we missed our connecting flight in Frankfurt to Stavanger, Norway. No big deal...we were booked on a later flight leaving in the afternoon, which is why we were sitting in the lounge when I started writing this. I am finishing it while we are actually flying.
So far our adventure is off to an exciting start! Once we arrive in Stavanger, we will have 2 full days to acclimate and prepare for our competition. Because it is the World Championships which consists of the top 48 men's and women's teams in the world, the event lasts 10 days. There are only 3 courts for competition, which means we will play one match every other day. We start off with 12 pools of 4 teams and from there, the top 2 will advance plus the best 8 of the remaining 3rd place finishers in pool to complete a 32 team single elimination tournament.
We begin play on Thursday. The forecast is for high 60s and sunshine! I can't wait!
I am bummed that we will miss the Coney Island AVP event, but we plan to do our best representing the USA here in Norway.
You can follow our results at http://www.fivb.org/EN/BeachVolleyball/index.asp?sm=12
(Sorry! Can't figure out how to hyperlink this with my new computer!)
Thanks for reading!
Angie Akers
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Beginning of a Long Journey
Tomorrow morning I am leaving for Ocean City, Maryland. This AVP tournament stop will mark the first week in a 15 week-long stretch of consecutive tournament play for me and Tyra.
We are traveling to many interesting places. Our journey begins in Maryland and will take us to Norway, Switzerland, Russia, France, Austria, Spain, and several stops in the USA.
We will have the opportunity to compete for Team USA at the World Championships in Stavanger, Norway from June 25th through July 4th. Unfortunately, World Championships coincide with Coney Island AVP, so we will be missing Coney Island. However, we intend to post video blogs from the road to let you all know where we are and how we are doing.
Be on the lookout for some articles and other publicity about AVP stars Jeff Nygaard, Ryan Mariano, Brooke Hanson, and Matt Olson. These athletes just returned from visiting our Troops stationed in Afghanistan. This is the third trip overseas to visit our troops that I have had the opportunity to do behind the scenes work on the logistical side, but the first that I could not actually attend myself. I was extremely bummed not to go with the other athletes, but my injuries and preparations for the World Championships kept me from going. I will be sure to make it on the next trip. From what I hear, they had a wonderful time interacting with lots and lots of our military men and women. Certainly, it was an experience never to be forgotten. I am anxious to hear their stories.
It is back to packing for me. I need to finish up some last minute details before I relax for the evening and then I hit the road!
Hope to see you at the beach!
Angie Akers
We are traveling to many interesting places. Our journey begins in Maryland and will take us to Norway, Switzerland, Russia, France, Austria, Spain, and several stops in the USA.
We will have the opportunity to compete for Team USA at the World Championships in Stavanger, Norway from June 25th through July 4th. Unfortunately, World Championships coincide with Coney Island AVP, so we will be missing Coney Island. However, we intend to post video blogs from the road to let you all know where we are and how we are doing.
Be on the lookout for some articles and other publicity about AVP stars Jeff Nygaard, Ryan Mariano, Brooke Hanson, and Matt Olson. These athletes just returned from visiting our Troops stationed in Afghanistan. This is the third trip overseas to visit our troops that I have had the opportunity to do behind the scenes work on the logistical side, but the first that I could not actually attend myself. I was extremely bummed not to go with the other athletes, but my injuries and preparations for the World Championships kept me from going. I will be sure to make it on the next trip. From what I hear, they had a wonderful time interacting with lots and lots of our military men and women. Certainly, it was an experience never to be forgotten. I am anxious to hear their stories.
It is back to packing for me. I need to finish up some last minute details before I relax for the evening and then I hit the road!
Hope to see you at the beach!
Angie Akers
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Month of May Review
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!
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!
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