Marseille, The Windy City!

France is amazingly beautiful. We arrived here on Saturday night after a week in Russia. The Mediterranean Sea is a gorgeous blue color and the coastline is hilly and dramatic. Beyond its beauty, the wind here is borderline insane. It MUST be the wind capital of the world.

When we arrived, we were told that the wind comes in three, six, and nine day cycles. We were at the very end of a three day cycle and there was no wind in the forecast. The first two days that we practiced it was not bad...just a normal “windy” day at Hermosa Beach.

Today is supposed to be our first match of the tournament. We were scheduled to play at 12 noon. We left our hotel and were on our way to the venue when we were told to turn back. The wind is howling and the venue is now dangerous because tents, sand, debris, and whatever else is flying everywhere. Good thing this tournament is stretched out over 6 days.

We have a meeting soon where it will be determined if play will resume today or not. It does not look good. The forecast is for more wind in the afternoon. So if that is the case, we are going shopping today!

We are sitting on edge ready to go for the next 2 hours and then we will know. Ugh.... the waiting!!! I am not sure that the next few days will be any better than today. You never can really predict Mother Nature here in the south of France.

Regardless, we will make the most of it. It has been a really fun roadtrip, although Tyra and I miss our husbands tremendously. We will return home soon enough. Just in time for Hermosa! We can't wait!

Angie Akers

Recap from Russia

Moscow was a pretty good event for us until we had to forfeit due to injury. Thank God it is nothing too serious. It definitely put a damper on the 5th place finish because we were playing well and that put an abrupt stop to it.

We finally won our pool by going undefeated. Our first match was against Australia. We were struggling, but managed to come from behind in the third and win the match. Then we played Germany, Banck/Gunther, and had another three set match. We lost the first set, but steadied out and gained control for the next two sets. The next day we finished pool play in the morning against Austria, Schwaiger/Schwaiger. We worked out our kinks by then and we were cruising.

(The site was right next to these beautiful fountains. People were swimming in them all day.)

That afternoon, the single elimination started. Because we won our pool, we had a first round bye. We watched the match that played into us, Czech Republic vs. Ukraine. Czech pulled out a three set win that could have gone either way. It was good for us because we had played Czech twice this year already. We know them and know what we have to do against them. We had the rest of the day off to rest.

Friday morning we came out really strong and won easily in two sets, 21-16, 21-11. We then were able to watch the end of the Brazil vs China match that played into our bracket. China was up 14-11 in the third, but we said “this is not over!” and what do you know... Julianna and Larissa side out for 12, block for 13, ace for 14. China then sides out up 15-14. It was back and forth until Julianna and Larissa won 21-19. It was very exciting and fun to watch.

We were ready to play them. We were battling in the first set when I landed on Julianna's foot under the net. I jammed my ankle straight down. It did not twist, so I thought it was fine. I tried to continue playing, but landing on it was not good. We called a medical timeout and I got it taped up, but the tape did not help. We made a decision to forfeit because the quality of play dropped tremendously and we did not want to risk making it any worse.

Julianna and Larissa offered their Physical Therapist to me, and since Kelly (our USA therapist) was not with us in Russia, I took them up on it. They were very kind and I got great treatment on it right away. The prognosis is a ligament sprain in the back of my ankle. It is a tiny one, and thankfully it does not hurt except to land on it. I am being ultra cautious and icing and resting as much as possible.

We have 4 days off now while we travel from Moscow to Marseille. That will help us quite a bit. We leave Moscow today and will be in France for a week. On to the next stop! Three down, two to go!

Angie Akers

Red Square, Ballet, Bolshoi

I have been without internet for the last 4 days, which has seemed like an eternity over here. In that time, we have traveled from Gstaad to Moscow.

We had three days in Moscow before checking into the Main Draw Hotel, the Korston. We stayed at a Marriott near Red Square. It was great to sleep in really comfortable, spacious beds for a few nights. By arriving so early before the event, we were able to master the subway system. It is very difficult to get around without knowing the language or alphabet. After the first day, we had our path down and could get around with relative ease.

The subway system is extremely impressive. There are marble pillars, statues, and beautiful trimming all through the subway stations. Besides the extravagance of its appearance, we were also impressed by the depth of the railways. We took an escalator down for three minutes. I timed it because it was the longest escalator any of us had ever seen. We are at the half-way point in the picture.

We were early in Moscow, so we decided to truly get a Russian experience. First, we ate dinner at a Russian restaurant and had borscht (traditional Russian beet soup), wild boar with a port raspberry sauce and buckwheat with mushrooms and figs. It was delicious.

The restaurant itself was very neat inside. We walked down a set of stairs and it felt like we entered another time and place.

After dinner, we walked to Red Square and stood in amazement at the beauty of the buildings and St. Basil's Cathedral. Then we pulled out our cameras and started snapping away. It was late at night, so we could not go inside of the Cathedral. I can only imagine how impressive it is on the inside.

The next day, we ventured to the ballet to see Coppelia at the Bolshoi Theatre near Red Square. It was truly magical! It was such a unique, wonderful experience. We enjoyed a champagne before the show and then took our seats and watched the incredible dancers do their art. I loved every second of it. The costumes were beautiful, the theatre was spectacular, and everything about the experience was incredible.

Our three day Moscow journey has ended and now we are back in tournament mode. We begin play tomorrow. We will find out soon who will be in our pool and then we will begin our mental preparation. We will watch video and focus in on our performance. Back to work!

The Manhattan Beach Open starts this coming Friday and we are so bummed to be missing it. It is very difficult on us to miss AVP events. We love playing on the AVP tour, but this is something we must do to not only improve our play, but to get the experience of competing on the international level. Trust me, we are very excited to return home and start competing "AVP style" soon!

Gstaad Recap

The Gstaad Grand Slam was not a great tournament for us. We started off really strong, but finished with a disappointing 17th place. Our last match of pool play was really close with the German team, Holtwick/Semmler. Then because we lost, we finished 2nd place and we had to play again a few hours later. Only the 1st place teams in each pool got a first round bye in the single elimination.

We drew an Italian team that we knew very little about. Watching them in warm ups was about the only scouting we were able to do. It came down to ball control. We lacked it and they had it. It really is as simple as that.

Rather than sit in a beautiful place and stew in it, Canyon took us on a little adventure. We captured most of it in the video below. Enjoy!

Back-Tracking to Stavanger, Touring the Fjords

Sorry to back-track a bit, but I finally have an internet connection that will allow me to download my videos. Here is our tour down the fjords. It was an amazing little boat trip and I hope you enjoy the "Tour Guide 101" video!

Gstaad - 2-0 in Pool Play, One More to Go!

Yesterday was the first day of play for the women in Gstaad. It rained sporadically throughout the day and was very cold. Thankfully, we did not have to play in rain. It stopped just in time for both of our matches.

Our first was against Mexico. We played a game and a half of great volleyball with a half a game of sub-par play. We won in two sets, but the second was much closer than it should have been. We were up 13-8 in the second then gave up quite a few points in a row. We figured out how to stop the bleeding and won 21-18.


Our next match was against Czech Republic. There was another break in the rain and out of nowhere was the biggest, brightest double rainbow we had ever seen. It was so vibrant and majestic. Everyone had cameras out snapping away, but we were playing so I could not take a picture. I will track one down and share it soon.

We played very well in this match. Both games were close until the technical timeout, but then we stepped it up and got a few aces, blocks, and transition put-aways which made them not so close.


Now we play against another German team, Holtwick/Semmler, at 3PM today. We need to win this match so that we get a first round bye into the single elimination part of the tournament. The winners of each pool get a first round bye which will guarantee at least a 9th place finish.

We will watch video this morning and get our game plan together. Then I need to do some laundry in our sink because the hotel charges $4 per article of clothing! NO THANKS!

Go USA!

Angie Akers

Rainy Day in Gstaad

Yesterday was our first full day here in Gstaad. It started off rainy and cold, but after it cleared, we practiced with EY and Nicole and actually all got sunburned. After practice, we stayed around and played foot-volley. We were laughing so hard at ourselves. The video at the bottom is a little bit of the action!

Today was the qualifier for Gstaad. Tyra and I got up early before they started play and practiced with EY, Nicole, Mike Dodd, and Shelda from Brazil. It was very cold so early in the morning, but we beat the rain which was really nice.


We have the day off until this evening when we have the technical meeting. There is a technical meeting before every FIVB tournament where they discuss particulars about the location, anything we need to know about the transportation available, as well as verifying that all the teams are present. They will also release the draw so we will find out who the other teams will be in our pool.


It has been about 52 degrees and raining all day long. The internet is sporadic, so I have not been able to get online to check the weather for the week.


We watched video in our room from World Championships and made some notes of some areas where we can improve. Then we walked to the courts and watched Mexico play Australia.
It has been a low-key, mellow day. Tomorrow will have more action to report.


That's all for now.

Angie Akers

Recap of World Championships in Stavanger, Norway

What an incredible experience the last two weeks have been. We got a great finish at the biggest beach volleyball tournament in the world for the year 2009! We struggled at times, but really rose up to the challenge at other times. It was such a great learning experience for us. I know that it will make us better as a team.

Our last day in Stavanger, I decided to be a tourist and went on a 3 hour boat ride down the fjords. I felt like I was in “The Lord of the Rings.” The scenery is breath-taking, astounding. I am not sure that the pictures do it any justice.

It was a perfect day for a boat ride and it made me feel at home since it was the 4th of July. There is no better way to celebrate the 4th than being on a boat on a warm, sunny day.

After that, I watched Matt and Casey play an epic match against the Brazilian team, Harley and Alison. It was the most “jawing” I have ever seen at a volleyball match. From the first few points, the testosterone was high and both teams were more than emotionally engaged. Matt and Casey dropped the first set, but won the second 37-35. All the Americans were cheering and going crazy for them. They were leading in the third as we watched one phenomenal play after another. The match lasted over 1 hour and 40 minutes and you could tell that both teams had given it everything they had. Unfortunately, Matt and Casey came up short in the end, losing 17-15. It was such a heart breaker for us to watch, I can only imagine how disappointed they were. We all were very proud of them for the incredible effort they put forth.

After that match, we watched Jen and April in the gold medal match against Julianna and Larissa of Brazil. Jen and April were incredible. April was absolutely bombing her jump serves, getting ace after ace or getting them in passing trouble. The girls looked aggressive and confident. They won in two close sets, which was very exciting for Team USA! Jen and April are the World Champs for 2009! It definitely makes me feel better that our loss in the tournament came at the hands of the World Champs.

It is now Sunday and we are in Gstaad, Switzerland. We had a very early morning flight and arrived here this afternoon. It is currently raining very hard and is a bit cool... sort of what we expected in Norway.

Gstaad is a beautiful little village set in the mountains. It makes me think of The Sound of Music.

We begin play here on Wednesday. Our schedule will be much faster paced than it was in Norway. We are only here for 6 days before we head to Moscow.

Tomorrow we will practice and possibly do a little sight seeing. Right now, sleep is what I need, so off to bed I go!

More later!

Angie Akers

5th Place at World Champs!

(Tyra and Angie celebrating a big win over Goller/Ludwig of Germany.)

I was extremely disappointed yesterday after our loss to Kessy/Ross, only because of the way sets two and three went down. We played extremely well in the first and then it all disappeared. I stewed in it for a long time and had trouble sleeping last night, but am now beginning to realize and understand that I can and will learn so much more from a loss like that to a team like that and it will only make me/me and Tyra better. That realization does not take any of the pain away, but it is helping me to move forward.





Don't get me wrong, I am extremely proud that in our second international event together, (my second FIVB ever), we finished 5th place overall. 5th place at World Championships...with all the very best teams in the entire world! Yes, I am very proud of that!





Now the tournament is down to three Brazilian teams and one American team. Jen and April play Ana Paula/Shelda to see who goes to the gold medal match. Go USA!





Now that this tournament is over for me and Tyra, we will take today off to recover. We plan to do our laundry, which has been piling up for 10 days now, do a little shopping, watch some of the matches, and then go to the player party tonight!





Our flight leaves at 8:30 tomorrow morning for Switzerland, so it will not be a late night for us. We go to Gstaad for one week. Canyon, our coach, is meeting us there, so we are very excited to see him again. It will be great to have him with us at this next Grand Slam event.





It is breakfast time, so I am going to sign off... but first I have to check AVP results from Day 1 of Coney Island! I am sure it was a great day at the beach and I look forward to hearing about it!

(I did not forget about posting the videos. It is not working right now for some reason. I will keep trying until I figure it out.)





All my best,





Angie Akers

Three American Women's Teams in the Top 5!

Here is a little view of the action from our match versus Goller/Ludwig of Germany. We won another nail biter in 3 sets!

I just spent the last two hours trying to download some videos, but it did not work for some reason. I will try again tonight after our next match. We are running out the door to go play Jen and April for a spot in the Semi Finals!

More later!

Angie Akers

Single Elimination Starts Today

Tyra and I are excited to start this part of the tournament. We play at 5PM tonight against a small, but very scrappy and tenacious Canadian team. They are both around 5'6, but these girls can ball! We must play smart, ball-controlled volleyball on our side of the net. It will be a good challenge for us.

We keep talking about what would happen if these Canadian girls played Katie and Tracy Lindquist. We really want to see that match-up! We have asked several of the Americans who have seen both teams and everyone is split. It would surely be a very fun match to watch!


Unfortunately, Nick and Brad are matched up against Jake and Rosie so only one will advance to the round of 16. Big bummer when countries are matched against themselves at World Champs. They are playing right now as I am writing, so by the time you are reading this, the results will be in.

OK...gotta get ready to go kick some butt!


That is all for now...GO USA!!!

Angie Akers

Team USA

Norwegian fans of all ages are really into the volleyball action. I could not pass up this photo opportunity...his hat, his stance, his attitude... all so cute I had to take a picture.

Here are the ladies of Team USA watching Nick Lucena and Brad Keenan play against Norway in the stadium. The boys won in two sets and will advance out of their pool. After the day of play, we went out to dinner in town. On our way to the restaurant (at 9:45PM) we came across this hot air balloon. We watched as they filled it up and raised it in the sky. Pretty cool.

We ate at a Mexican restaurant in Norway! Not exactly authentic Mexican, but pretty close! At least they had a sombrero! It was my birthday, so I got to wear the "birthday sombrero." It was so much fun hanging with everyone.

Today we will go cheer on the USA teams that play today. We have the day off, but we will practice at 5PM. After that, they have the "drawing of the lots" to see who plays who and at what time.

It is another beautiful day here. We packed our winter clothes because it is usually cold and rainy. We brought scarves, jackets, raincoats, hats, layers and layers of warm weather gear, but it has been in the 70s and sunny every single day! Perfect!

Coney Island starts this Friday and we are very bummed to miss it. If we were home, we would be flying there today. I am sure it will be a great event with some great competition. We will be following online.

We plan to celebrate the 4th of July with a big Team USA celebration. That is the last day of the event, so we can all relax a bit and have some fun.

We are heading out to the site now to cheer on EY/Nicole against the German girls. Maybe I will stop by and get strawberries while I am at it! ;)

More later!

Angie Akers