We are in the heart of our season right now with several back to back tournaments. After leaving Boulder, I went home for 2 days before leaving for Chicago. I went out early because I had the opportunity to coach a few clinics at Montrose Beach.
I had an interesting trip out there. First, I was running late, as usual. My friend, Jamie, picked me up to take me to the airport. We got to the freeway when I realized I forgot my phone. I knew I couldn't live without it for 12 days on the road, so we turned back to get it. I got to the airport 45 minutes before my flight, but by the time it was my turn to check my bag, I had missed the cutoff by 2 minutes. My bags were small, so I decided to take them with me on board. I got through security and only had to throw out a few things like toothpaste and hair spray. Once I got to the gate, just in time to board, I was told that I could not bring two carry-ons on the plane with me. I had to check one of my bags. I was thinking, "Make up your mind!" So I checked the bigger of the two, the same bag that was lost coming home from Boulder which was returned to me just in the nick of time. Frustrated that I had to throw out my toothpaste and hair products for nothing, I boarded that plane and got comfy.
I arrived around the time the Cubs were finishing their game. I stayed in Wrigleyville with some good friends, Billy and Kathy, from the Ixtapa trip. My cab driver could not get me to their house because of the blocked roads, so I got out with all my luggage and walked. I got some interesting looks as I walked, luggage in tow, along the busy streets past the bars filled with Cubs fans.
The next day, I had some free time to sleep in and get everything together that I would need for the weekend. I found a Whole Foods (which I think should sponsor me for as much money and time as I spend in their stores across the country!) I did three newspaper interviews, one radio show interview, and then got in a light workout before I coached a clinic that evening. It was fun to meet some new people and get them excited about the tournament coming to town.
Thursday, I got up early for a CBS morning news show appearance at the site of the tournament. After that, I stayed to help "coach/cheer" on my friends in the qualifier. Tony Akers, my long lost brother who is no relation at all, played with Jim Sias (team Cuervo leader extraordinaire). They met for the first time an hour before their match and pulled out a very entertaining and competitive performance. It was really fun to watch.
After that, I went to X-Sport Fitness Club for an appearance with Real Water. We did our best to promote the water and inform people of why Real Water is not JUST water. It was a nice visit and then we went to Whole Foods, of course.
Holly arrived in the later afternoon, so we planned to practice at the site around 5pm. I had made the trip to the site a few times that week, each time taking 10-15 minutes. I did not realize that the Cubs game let out at 4:30 right when I was trying to catch a cab. I walked around trying to get someone to stop, but by 4:45 no luck. My friends called and just happened to be driving by so they picked me up and offered to drive me down there. Not only was the game letting out, but a huge storm was getting closer. Traffic was inching along and the rain was getting harder and harder. We made it to Lake Shore Drive and went about a mile in 20 minutes. We started seeing enormous lightning bolts. I knew we should not be practicing in the storm, but we still tried to get there. After an hour and still not there yet, I got a text from Holly saying turn around. I did not get to practice, but that was okay.
Jeremy and I stopped in to say hello to a few friends and then made our way to, you guessed it, Whole Foods. We grilled out at Billy and Kathy's and then went to bed early.
Friday, we played our first round match at 9:45 versus Guerra/Ruen. We played terrible. Everything was out of sync. We won in 3 sets, but it was not pretty.
Our next match, we played Mason/Kropp. We played much better in that match. We served tough, we passed and set well, we controlled our side of the net. That was the key for us. That was our last match on Friday. We would come back on Saturday morning to play May-Treanor/Walsh.
Our next match versus Misty/Kerri started out really well. We traded sideouts with them for awhile before they turned it up a notch. They do not make mistakes.... EVER. In my opinion, in order to beat them, you have to be willing to take chances. Sometimes those chances pay off and sometimes they result in errors. That day, our chances resulted in errors. We lost in 2 sets.
That was our first loss, but we were still alive. We had to wait a few hours before our next match because of the men's final. We played Fendrick/Roca later in the day. Unfortunately for us, we did not play well and they did. We had trouble in our sideout game and did not convert some crucial plays. We lost 19-17 in the third set. Talk about a heart-breaker.
Two weeks in a row, our tournaments have ended in heart-breaking losses to teams that we know we can and should beat. That wears on you. I know we can bounce back and I plan to do that this weekend in Brooklyn.
Sunday after the tournament, I could not bring myself to go to the site to watch. Instead, I went to the Cubs game with my family and several friends. We had a great time! It was a much needed escape from volleyball.
I stayed in Chicago until Tuesday. Jeff Nygaard, John Mayer, and I coached another clinic on Monday at Montrose Beach. It was a great turnout. We plan to do it again next year.
Now I am in New Jersey at Aurora Fitness Centers with my friend, Vito. He always spoils me when I come to town, so of course I love to visit! We are riding in his RPM cycling class tonight and will probably get our butts kicked! Then we head to Brooklyn tomorrow to get ready for the tournament.
After Brooklyn, we have two California events back-to-back. It will be nice to sleep in my own bed again.
That's all for now... more after this weekend. Thanks for reading!
Angie
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Magnificent Boulder
First I would like to start with the announement of some exciting news: FUBAR, an all-organic energy bar that is a big supporter of the US military, has joined my team of sponsors! I am so excited to work with FUBAR not only because they make a great tasting, all-natural organic energy bar, but also because of their stong military support. "Fueled Up Beyond All Recognition" is the name. Check out their site at www.getfubar.com.
Now for an update on my trip...last Tuesday evening, I flew to Denver because early Wednesday morning I would be making appearances for my sponsor, Cuervo. It gave me and Jeremy the opportunity to visit with some great friends in the area. We stayed with Tom, Joelle, and Selby Davenport for the night before things got crazy.
The next day, Cuervo sponsored a sand court to be built in downtown Denver as a promotion for our Boulder tournament. It was a huge hit. A street was closed off and there was tons of pedestrian traffic stopping by to play or watch. We were on a morning news program and then hung out to sign autographs and take pictures. The people stopping by just loved it.
That evening, I made my way to Broomfield with fellow AVP pros Jeff Nygaard, John Mayer, and Alicia Polzin for a clinic at the indoor beach volleyball center, The Oasis. We had a great turnout and had some fun teaching an adult clinic to about 40 players from the Denver/Boulder area.
After the clinic, Jeremy and I made our way to Boulder to the Miller's residence where we would be staying for the weekend. Our good friends, Doug and Patti Miller were gracious enough to host several of us players. It was a big slumber party. They hosted a BBQ on Thursday where we got to see several of our good friends from the Ixtapa vacation. Earlier in the day, Holly and I practiced at the beautiful sand court at Ron Snyder's house. We played against Ron and Leonard and had fun getting used to the altitude and dry weather.
Friday was the start of the tournament. We played later in the afternoon so we slept in and arrived at the site mid-morning. The site was Fulsom Field. It is the football stadium where the University of Colorado's team plays. The setup was incredible. There were 5 courts spread across the field. As a player, I thought the site was fantastic. We were provided with awesome facilities including a top of the line training room with an incredible staff. I worked with Valerie who gave me acupuncture on my ankle and helped me get the swelling out. Then Leila taped me up and got me ready to play. The entire staff was so friendly and ready to help in any way.
Holly and I cruised through our first match winning 21-5, 21-8. Because of the single elimination format spread across a three day tournament for the ladies, that was our only match on Friday.
Saturday late morning, we played Keao Burdine and Jen Snyder to jump from 9th place into 5th. We played pretty well and won in 2 sets, 21-15, 21-17.
The women were then put on hold until after the men's final. We rested up and got ready to play DeNecochea/Fontana. We were in the stadium immediately following the final. We started slow in the first set, struggling in all areas. We lost 19-21, but could have won. We pulled it together in the second to win 22-20. The third set, we gave up some early points and dug a hole for ourselves. We fought back from a 6-9 deficit and were tied 12-12. We lost 13-15 and were absolutely heart-broken. We gave a good fight, but missed too many opportunities. I am super bummed about the loss, but we have to rebound and get ready for Chicago. All of the teams will be back so it will be a full field again.
I must say, the Boulder crowd was incredible! I especially appreciate all the awesome people there cheering for me. I love Boulder/Denver and can't wait to come back next year! What a great place full of great people!
Thanks for following!
Angie
Now for an update on my trip...last Tuesday evening, I flew to Denver because early Wednesday morning I would be making appearances for my sponsor, Cuervo. It gave me and Jeremy the opportunity to visit with some great friends in the area. We stayed with Tom, Joelle, and Selby Davenport for the night before things got crazy.
The next day, Cuervo sponsored a sand court to be built in downtown Denver as a promotion for our Boulder tournament. It was a huge hit. A street was closed off and there was tons of pedestrian traffic stopping by to play or watch. We were on a morning news program and then hung out to sign autographs and take pictures. The people stopping by just loved it.
That evening, I made my way to Broomfield with fellow AVP pros Jeff Nygaard, John Mayer, and Alicia Polzin for a clinic at the indoor beach volleyball center, The Oasis. We had a great turnout and had some fun teaching an adult clinic to about 40 players from the Denver/Boulder area.
After the clinic, Jeremy and I made our way to Boulder to the Miller's residence where we would be staying for the weekend. Our good friends, Doug and Patti Miller were gracious enough to host several of us players. It was a big slumber party. They hosted a BBQ on Thursday where we got to see several of our good friends from the Ixtapa vacation. Earlier in the day, Holly and I practiced at the beautiful sand court at Ron Snyder's house. We played against Ron and Leonard and had fun getting used to the altitude and dry weather.
Friday was the start of the tournament. We played later in the afternoon so we slept in and arrived at the site mid-morning. The site was Fulsom Field. It is the football stadium where the University of Colorado's team plays. The setup was incredible. There were 5 courts spread across the field. As a player, I thought the site was fantastic. We were provided with awesome facilities including a top of the line training room with an incredible staff. I worked with Valerie who gave me acupuncture on my ankle and helped me get the swelling out. Then Leila taped me up and got me ready to play. The entire staff was so friendly and ready to help in any way.
Holly and I cruised through our first match winning 21-5, 21-8. Because of the single elimination format spread across a three day tournament for the ladies, that was our only match on Friday.
Saturday late morning, we played Keao Burdine and Jen Snyder to jump from 9th place into 5th. We played pretty well and won in 2 sets, 21-15, 21-17.
The women were then put on hold until after the men's final. We rested up and got ready to play DeNecochea/Fontana. We were in the stadium immediately following the final. We started slow in the first set, struggling in all areas. We lost 19-21, but could have won. We pulled it together in the second to win 22-20. The third set, we gave up some early points and dug a hole for ourselves. We fought back from a 6-9 deficit and were tied 12-12. We lost 13-15 and were absolutely heart-broken. We gave a good fight, but missed too many opportunities. I am super bummed about the loss, but we have to rebound and get ready for Chicago. All of the teams will be back so it will be a full field again.
I must say, the Boulder crowd was incredible! I especially appreciate all the awesome people there cheering for me. I love Boulder/Denver and can't wait to come back next year! What a great place full of great people!
Thanks for following!
Angie
Monday, June 23, 2008
Disappointment in Belmar
I am flying home from Belmar now cramped with my husband on a small plane because of a connection in St. Louis.
I will say it was a disappointing finish considering the top 4 teams were gone competing overseas. We finished 5th place but I had my mind and heart set on winning the tournament. We had made significant gains in our game leading up to Hermosa and I think I fell back into the bad old habits. My blocking was horrendous. It is embarrassing when a blocker comes away from an entire tournament with only 3 blocks. That is my job. If we are going to do well and win, I have to start blocking balls.
We won our first match versus Snyder/Davis but then lost to the Lindquists. They dug like crazy and won the points that made the difference. We did not take care of our opportunities and we lost.
Next we had to battle back against Pavley/Polzin. We jumped to an early lead but quickly gave it up and had to battle point for point till the end. We won in two close sets.
Next we faced Lewis/Lima. We were not playing our best volleyball. I wish I could say we had a turning point here, but we didn't. We battled with them for two close sets and won, but it wasn't pretty.
We were done for the day and we were sitting in 5th with a great road ahead of us to the finals. We had 2 teams in front of us that we had beaten before. We had Fontana/DeNecochea first thing in the morning. We had an opportunity to close out game one and let it slip. The second set was just as close but we lost.
It is very frustrating because we did not play good volleyball. We have lots to work on and I cannot wait to get back home and start working.
We have another week off and then we go to Boulder for the first single elimination tournament of the year. We must be on our game there. Its do or die! The top teams will still be out of the country so it is a great opportunity to take it while they are gone.
This is our last weekend off before the August break for the Olympics. We have six back-to-back tournaments then three weekends off while our top two teams compete in Beijing. This week is important for making improvements in our game.
That is all for now. Still 2 hours left in the flight so I am going to try and get a little sleep.
I hope all is well and thanks for reading.
Angie
I will say it was a disappointing finish considering the top 4 teams were gone competing overseas. We finished 5th place but I had my mind and heart set on winning the tournament. We had made significant gains in our game leading up to Hermosa and I think I fell back into the bad old habits. My blocking was horrendous. It is embarrassing when a blocker comes away from an entire tournament with only 3 blocks. That is my job. If we are going to do well and win, I have to start blocking balls.
We won our first match versus Snyder/Davis but then lost to the Lindquists. They dug like crazy and won the points that made the difference. We did not take care of our opportunities and we lost.
Next we had to battle back against Pavley/Polzin. We jumped to an early lead but quickly gave it up and had to battle point for point till the end. We won in two close sets.
Next we faced Lewis/Lima. We were not playing our best volleyball. I wish I could say we had a turning point here, but we didn't. We battled with them for two close sets and won, but it wasn't pretty.
We were done for the day and we were sitting in 5th with a great road ahead of us to the finals. We had 2 teams in front of us that we had beaten before. We had Fontana/DeNecochea first thing in the morning. We had an opportunity to close out game one and let it slip. The second set was just as close but we lost.
It is very frustrating because we did not play good volleyball. We have lots to work on and I cannot wait to get back home and start working.
We have another week off and then we go to Boulder for the first single elimination tournament of the year. We must be on our game there. Its do or die! The top teams will still be out of the country so it is a great opportunity to take it while they are gone.
This is our last weekend off before the August break for the Olympics. We have six back-to-back tournaments then three weekends off while our top two teams compete in Beijing. This week is important for making improvements in our game.
That is all for now. Still 2 hours left in the flight so I am going to try and get a little sleep.
I hope all is well and thanks for reading.
Angie
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Hermosa Beach
It was really nice to have a home tournament after so many weeks on the road. It makes a big difference to me to sleep in my own bed and cook in my own kitchen. Plus, it is nice to be back in the deep sand. There are very few tournaments now that are on actual beaches and Hermosa is one of those.
The first match of the tournament I felt really out of sorts. I ate something different for breakfast and I think it really affected me. I am a creature of habit so I think it really threw me off. Anyway, Holly played great and carried us through that match. I was able to work out whatever was going on without too much pressure.
Our next match, we played really well. Leading up to Atlanta, we were having troubles with our sideout game and our point scoring. We worked out a few kinks and made some big improvements. We were really starting to play well together. We cruised through the first game and were up 18-13 in the second when I came down on the attacker's foot and sprained my ankle. It was not really painful, but I felt it really stretch so I knew it needed taped. We called the medical timeout and I got it wrapped up. We finished the match fairly quickly and then had about 2 hours before our next match.
I sat for the entire time in between matches and did a minimal warm up for our next match versus Davis/Jordan. That was a mistake. I did not know what to expect so I thought it would be better to stay off of it. It seemed to stiffen up pretty good by not moving it around. I had a lot of trouble in that match. We were downright terrible. Holly tried to compensate for me and I could not move. My focus was completely lost.
Thankfully, the ibuprofen kicked in for our next match and I was still warm from our loss against Davis/Jordan. We faced the Lindquists and decided to split the blocking duties so that I would not have to run up to the net. It worked out very well. We had some of the longest rallies I have ever witnessed in beach volleyball. The ball must have crossed the net at least 30 times in one rally. My ankle felt great in that match. We won in two games and were finished for the day.
I went home and iced like crazy. When I woke up the next day, I had a little swelling and bruising. I got taped up and got in a good warm up. We played Roca/Fendrick to get to 5th place. I could move pretty well, but the pain was starting to become significant. We won in two games and then faced Dodd/Minello.
In the time between matches, my ankle must have started to swell because the tape job became excruciating. I took more ibuprofen and tried to ignore it, but was having big troubles moving. After getting whooped in game one, I finally got smart and called a medical time out to have it re-taped. The new tape job felt 100% better and I could move again. We were neck and neck the entire game. We had 3 game winning opportunities, but did not convert any of them. That was frustrating. So our run stopped there. We finished 5th place.
That was Holly's last Hermosa Beach Tournament. I wanted to make it really special for her by getting to the finals, but it was not in the cards for us.
I went to the doctor on Monday and got an X-Ray taken. I tore a ligament from the bone which caused an avulsion fracture. That is when the torn ligament takes a piece of the bone with it. Although it sounds sort of bad, my case is not serious. I have spent the last 5 days doing little but icing and elevating on the hour. It is extremely boring, but I know that a week off will help tremendously in the long run. It was a hard decision for me to go along with because I am one of those stubborn people who do not respect ankle injuries. I have always thought, "tape it up and go!" I am in physical therapy and diligently doing all of my rehabilitation exercises so that when I get back in the sand next week it will feel great.
I am catching up on movies, television, and reading some books. It is painful for me to not exercise right now, but I know I have to do it.
I am really looking forward to Belmar in 10 days! New Jersey is the home of my newest sponsor, PNY. Check them out at http://www.pny.com/. It is also a great opportunity to get the East Coast excited about Real Water. I am confident that once people learn about all the amazing benefits of drinking Real Water, it will spread like wildfire. Read about the benefits at http://www.drinkrealwater.com/. It was a pleasure to have the Real Water team out at the Hermosa Beach event. The crew is new to beach volleyball and I think the Hermosa event is a great one for an introduction. I know we all are pleased to have Real Water be the official water of the AVP Tour. I also want to thank Jose Cuervo for being such supportive sponsors. I am so excited and feel very fortunate to have such a great team this year. PNY, Real Water, and Cuervo have helped me tremendously in the pursuit of my dreams. Thank you all!
Have a great week and if you are of age and enjoy Cuervo, please do so responsibly! VIVE Cuervo, VIVE Real Water, and VIVE PNY!
Angie
The first match of the tournament I felt really out of sorts. I ate something different for breakfast and I think it really affected me. I am a creature of habit so I think it really threw me off. Anyway, Holly played great and carried us through that match. I was able to work out whatever was going on without too much pressure.
Our next match, we played really well. Leading up to Atlanta, we were having troubles with our sideout game and our point scoring. We worked out a few kinks and made some big improvements. We were really starting to play well together. We cruised through the first game and were up 18-13 in the second when I came down on the attacker's foot and sprained my ankle. It was not really painful, but I felt it really stretch so I knew it needed taped. We called the medical timeout and I got it wrapped up. We finished the match fairly quickly and then had about 2 hours before our next match.
I sat for the entire time in between matches and did a minimal warm up for our next match versus Davis/Jordan. That was a mistake. I did not know what to expect so I thought it would be better to stay off of it. It seemed to stiffen up pretty good by not moving it around. I had a lot of trouble in that match. We were downright terrible. Holly tried to compensate for me and I could not move. My focus was completely lost.
Thankfully, the ibuprofen kicked in for our next match and I was still warm from our loss against Davis/Jordan. We faced the Lindquists and decided to split the blocking duties so that I would not have to run up to the net. It worked out very well. We had some of the longest rallies I have ever witnessed in beach volleyball. The ball must have crossed the net at least 30 times in one rally. My ankle felt great in that match. We won in two games and were finished for the day.
I went home and iced like crazy. When I woke up the next day, I had a little swelling and bruising. I got taped up and got in a good warm up. We played Roca/Fendrick to get to 5th place. I could move pretty well, but the pain was starting to become significant. We won in two games and then faced Dodd/Minello.
In the time between matches, my ankle must have started to swell because the tape job became excruciating. I took more ibuprofen and tried to ignore it, but was having big troubles moving. After getting whooped in game one, I finally got smart and called a medical time out to have it re-taped. The new tape job felt 100% better and I could move again. We were neck and neck the entire game. We had 3 game winning opportunities, but did not convert any of them. That was frustrating. So our run stopped there. We finished 5th place.
That was Holly's last Hermosa Beach Tournament. I wanted to make it really special for her by getting to the finals, but it was not in the cards for us.
I went to the doctor on Monday and got an X-Ray taken. I tore a ligament from the bone which caused an avulsion fracture. That is when the torn ligament takes a piece of the bone with it. Although it sounds sort of bad, my case is not serious. I have spent the last 5 days doing little but icing and elevating on the hour. It is extremely boring, but I know that a week off will help tremendously in the long run. It was a hard decision for me to go along with because I am one of those stubborn people who do not respect ankle injuries. I have always thought, "tape it up and go!" I am in physical therapy and diligently doing all of my rehabilitation exercises so that when I get back in the sand next week it will feel great.
I am catching up on movies, television, and reading some books. It is painful for me to not exercise right now, but I know I have to do it.
I am really looking forward to Belmar in 10 days! New Jersey is the home of my newest sponsor, PNY. Check them out at http://www.pny.com/. It is also a great opportunity to get the East Coast excited about Real Water. I am confident that once people learn about all the amazing benefits of drinking Real Water, it will spread like wildfire. Read about the benefits at http://www.drinkrealwater.com/. It was a pleasure to have the Real Water team out at the Hermosa Beach event. The crew is new to beach volleyball and I think the Hermosa event is a great one for an introduction. I know we all are pleased to have Real Water be the official water of the AVP Tour. I also want to thank Jose Cuervo for being such supportive sponsors. I am so excited and feel very fortunate to have such a great team this year. PNY, Real Water, and Cuervo have helped me tremendously in the pursuit of my dreams. Thank you all!
Have a great week and if you are of age and enjoy Cuervo, please do so responsibly! VIVE Cuervo, VIVE Real Water, and VIVE PNY!
Angie
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
A Few Weeks On The Road
It has been awhile since I last wrote and so much has happened. We had tournaments in Charleston, Louisville, and Atlanta. We are a day away from the Hermosa Event. I will go through the highlights to catch you up to speed.
Charleston - What a beautiful city! The tournament is held at the Family Circle Tennis Center. I love playing there because we are spoiled with really nice facilities. There is a players' lounge with couches, television, showers and real bathrooms as opposed to a tent and port-a-potties that we usually have at tournaments.
Besides the nice facilities, the landscape is gorgeous. There are tons of trees and green grass and the air is so fresh.
I am not going to go into much detail about the tournament because if I do, this posting would be way too long to read. I am only going to write about the highlights.
We lost a close match to Boss/Ross in the third round. We played pretty well parts of the match, but could not close it. After that match, we did not play well the rest of our tournament and finished 7th place.
After Charleston, we had two weeks off. We took a few days and went on a mini-vacation. We worked hard all of January, February, March, and April so a few days off was much needed. I ignored all of my dietary restrictions and really enjoyed myself. It took me a few days to detox my body from the sugar, wine, and heavy foods, but it was well worth it!
Our next trip was to Louisville. Jeremy traveled with me on this trip. While the volleyball part of the trip did not go so well, we had a fantastic weekend with some new friends that we met. That is the wonderful thing about beach volleyball. We travel all over the country and get the chance to meet some really wonderful people. On this occasion, we met Mr. Paul Perconti. We stayed at his residence while in Louisville. We shared some wonderful meals with him and some other new friends. It was really enjoyable and made up for the disappointment of a 9th place finish.
After Louisville, I drove straight to Atlanta with John Hyden and Brad Keenan. We arrived on Tuesday evening. I got in a workout at the gym along with a few practices in the sand. I also did some promos for Cuervo. We got into a wreck coming home from our last promo. Thankfully it was not serious and no one got hurt. The poor Cuervo Escalade got its front bumper torn off and the other van had a few dents in it, but that was the extent of the wreck.
The next day, we played one match against Lewis/Lima. We lost in three games and were very disappointed, angry, frustrated, and generally pissed off! We were in a rut of poor play and did not break it there. We had all night to stew in it. We came out the next day on a war-path. We got better and better as the day went on. We won our three matches and felt much better about our play. The next morning, we faced DeNechochea/Fontana. We played really well and won in two games. The win put us into the semi-finals.
Our next match where the winner would go to the final, we faced Jordan/Davis. We all fought so hard in this match. We split the first two games. In the third, we were tied at 10-10 when they pulled away. It was disappointing to be that close and not be able to finish it, but at the same time, it was encouraging because we were so close.
Overall, I am extremely pleased that we fought our way back from our first round loss. We turned what could have been a disasterous weekend into a very successful one. We still have so much to improve on, but it was a good confidence boost. Besides, we want to be peaking around Manhattan Beach time! That is the big one for us!
Tomorrow is the first day of Hermosa. It is a two day tournament for the women so we will get in more matches than normal.
I am pleased to announce a new sponsorship! PNY joins the AVP and is also sponsoring me and Holly for the season. PNY is a leading manufacturer and supplier of memory upgrade modules, high capacity flash memory cards, USB flash drives, portable hard drives as well as consumer and professional workstation graphics cards. The company's photography, mobility, 3D gaming and business solutions are widely available from major retail, e-tail and wholesale outlets internationally.
I again want to thank Real Water, Cuervo, and PNY for all their support! These wonderful companies make living my dream a realistic and successful adventure!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
All my best,
Angie
Charleston - What a beautiful city! The tournament is held at the Family Circle Tennis Center. I love playing there because we are spoiled with really nice facilities. There is a players' lounge with couches, television, showers and real bathrooms as opposed to a tent and port-a-potties that we usually have at tournaments.
Besides the nice facilities, the landscape is gorgeous. There are tons of trees and green grass and the air is so fresh.
I am not going to go into much detail about the tournament because if I do, this posting would be way too long to read. I am only going to write about the highlights.
We lost a close match to Boss/Ross in the third round. We played pretty well parts of the match, but could not close it. After that match, we did not play well the rest of our tournament and finished 7th place.
After Charleston, we had two weeks off. We took a few days and went on a mini-vacation. We worked hard all of January, February, March, and April so a few days off was much needed. I ignored all of my dietary restrictions and really enjoyed myself. It took me a few days to detox my body from the sugar, wine, and heavy foods, but it was well worth it!
Our next trip was to Louisville. Jeremy traveled with me on this trip. While the volleyball part of the trip did not go so well, we had a fantastic weekend with some new friends that we met. That is the wonderful thing about beach volleyball. We travel all over the country and get the chance to meet some really wonderful people. On this occasion, we met Mr. Paul Perconti. We stayed at his residence while in Louisville. We shared some wonderful meals with him and some other new friends. It was really enjoyable and made up for the disappointment of a 9th place finish.
After Louisville, I drove straight to Atlanta with John Hyden and Brad Keenan. We arrived on Tuesday evening. I got in a workout at the gym along with a few practices in the sand. I also did some promos for Cuervo. We got into a wreck coming home from our last promo. Thankfully it was not serious and no one got hurt. The poor Cuervo Escalade got its front bumper torn off and the other van had a few dents in it, but that was the extent of the wreck.
The next day, we played one match against Lewis/Lima. We lost in three games and were very disappointed, angry, frustrated, and generally pissed off! We were in a rut of poor play and did not break it there. We had all night to stew in it. We came out the next day on a war-path. We got better and better as the day went on. We won our three matches and felt much better about our play. The next morning, we faced DeNechochea/Fontana. We played really well and won in two games. The win put us into the semi-finals.
Our next match where the winner would go to the final, we faced Jordan/Davis. We all fought so hard in this match. We split the first two games. In the third, we were tied at 10-10 when they pulled away. It was disappointing to be that close and not be able to finish it, but at the same time, it was encouraging because we were so close.
Overall, I am extremely pleased that we fought our way back from our first round loss. We turned what could have been a disasterous weekend into a very successful one. We still have so much to improve on, but it was a good confidence boost. Besides, we want to be peaking around Manhattan Beach time! That is the big one for us!
Tomorrow is the first day of Hermosa. It is a two day tournament for the women so we will get in more matches than normal.
I am pleased to announce a new sponsorship! PNY joins the AVP and is also sponsoring me and Holly for the season. PNY is a leading manufacturer and supplier of memory upgrade modules, high capacity flash memory cards, USB flash drives, portable hard drives as well as consumer and professional workstation graphics cards. The company's photography, mobility, 3D gaming and business solutions are widely available from major retail, e-tail and wholesale outlets internationally.
I again want to thank Real Water, Cuervo, and PNY for all their support! These wonderful companies make living my dream a realistic and successful adventure!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
All my best,
Angie
Monday, May 5, 2008
Huntington Beach - Week 3
This past weekend's tournament did not go according to our plans. It was a rough weekend and I am happy it is behind us. Our entire week was out of sorts and I was sick so we were not able to get in our usual practice.
On Tuesday, we flew to Louisville to promote the AVP Louisville Open. What a great volleyball community! It was Derby week, so there were all sorts of events going on around town. We went to Baxter Jack's where a sand volleyball tournament was being held. We played two exhibition games and talked to the media promoting our event Memorial Day weekend at Waterfront Park in downtown Louisville. It was a very quick trip. We arrived at 4PM on Tuesday evening and flew back to LA first thing Wednesday morning. It was really fun, but it was hard to fly all that way for such a short period of time. I have no idea how Misty, Kerri, and our other top players in Olympic contention manage doing stuff like that all season long. I definitely have a new found respect for their ability to manage it all.
We were seeded 7th in the tournament. We had a first round bye, then we played Mason/Kropp again in the second round. We blew it. We were really off and did not take care of our side of the net. By the time we got our kinks worked out, we were chasing from behind. It was not an ideal situation to be in. We lost and had to battle our way back in the contenders' bracket.
We then faced the 9th seeds, Ivy/Lowe. They were upset first round of play. It is not good when the 7th and 9th seeds are playing off and the loser takes a 17th place. I did not feel great in this match, but Holly was on fire! She was serving really tough and digging everything! She carried us to a victory. The win put us in 13th place.
Next we played Smith/Knopf to get to 9th place. The wind started picking up and becoming a real factor. We did not play well, but we won.
Our next match was against the Lindquists. It was 6PM by this time and the wind was howling. Huntington Beach is their home and they always do well at this tournament. This year would be no exception. They played like it was their home turf and controlled the match from the very start. We could not find a way to put the ball away against them and we lost. It was extremely frustrating. We finished 9th place.
That is all behind us. We are optimistic and moving forward from here. We certainly learned a lot and will be better because of it.
Saturday after the tournament, I did a celebrity bartending stint at the Sharky's in Huntington Beach. It was an absolute blast! I had no prior bartending experience, but loved the fast-paced, friendly atmosphere. What a great time! My friends from Cuervo and Real Water were all there to ensure that I had lots of people to serve! I had so much fun!
Now we are preparing for the Charleston Open. I leave on Tuesday and will have a day to adjust before we play on Thursday. My fingers are crossed that the weather is nicer to us this year than last year. It was fine while we played, but a huge storm flooded the courts the day before the tournament. I am sure it will all work out.
I am really excited to announce that Real Water is now the official water of the AVP Tour! How exciting! Once you try it, you will be hooked! It should be available nationwide soon! Keep an eye out for it!
Thanks for reading!
Angie
On Tuesday, we flew to Louisville to promote the AVP Louisville Open. What a great volleyball community! It was Derby week, so there were all sorts of events going on around town. We went to Baxter Jack's where a sand volleyball tournament was being held. We played two exhibition games and talked to the media promoting our event Memorial Day weekend at Waterfront Park in downtown Louisville. It was a very quick trip. We arrived at 4PM on Tuesday evening and flew back to LA first thing Wednesday morning. It was really fun, but it was hard to fly all that way for such a short period of time. I have no idea how Misty, Kerri, and our other top players in Olympic contention manage doing stuff like that all season long. I definitely have a new found respect for their ability to manage it all.
We were seeded 7th in the tournament. We had a first round bye, then we played Mason/Kropp again in the second round. We blew it. We were really off and did not take care of our side of the net. By the time we got our kinks worked out, we were chasing from behind. It was not an ideal situation to be in. We lost and had to battle our way back in the contenders' bracket.
We then faced the 9th seeds, Ivy/Lowe. They were upset first round of play. It is not good when the 7th and 9th seeds are playing off and the loser takes a 17th place. I did not feel great in this match, but Holly was on fire! She was serving really tough and digging everything! She carried us to a victory. The win put us in 13th place.
Next we played Smith/Knopf to get to 9th place. The wind started picking up and becoming a real factor. We did not play well, but we won.
Our next match was against the Lindquists. It was 6PM by this time and the wind was howling. Huntington Beach is their home and they always do well at this tournament. This year would be no exception. They played like it was their home turf and controlled the match from the very start. We could not find a way to put the ball away against them and we lost. It was extremely frustrating. We finished 9th place.
That is all behind us. We are optimistic and moving forward from here. We certainly learned a lot and will be better because of it.
Saturday after the tournament, I did a celebrity bartending stint at the Sharky's in Huntington Beach. It was an absolute blast! I had no prior bartending experience, but loved the fast-paced, friendly atmosphere. What a great time! My friends from Cuervo and Real Water were all there to ensure that I had lots of people to serve! I had so much fun!
Now we are preparing for the Charleston Open. I leave on Tuesday and will have a day to adjust before we play on Thursday. My fingers are crossed that the weather is nicer to us this year than last year. It was fine while we played, but a huge storm flooded the courts the day before the tournament. I am sure it will all work out.
I am really excited to announce that Real Water is now the official water of the AVP Tour! How exciting! Once you try it, you will be hooked! It should be available nationwide soon! Keep an eye out for it!
Thanks for reading!
Angie
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Dallas - Tornados and Roller Coasters
This latest trip to Dallas was very interesting on many levels. First, we arrived on Thursday afternoon with thunderstorms in the forecast. Holly and I went to the tournament site to practice around 5PM. The qualifier was over and many of the main draw teams were getting ready to practice. The sand was so incredibly hard packed that we decided not to do much. We did a little passing and setting, but that was about it.
Later that evening, just as a tornado was about to hit, we went with about 10 other players in a stretch Hummer limo to a nearby club volleyball facility. Before we knew it, we were caught in a downpour and it started to hail. We stopped underneath an overpass on the freeway for a few minutes until it let up a bit. Being a Midwest girl, I was excited to see an intense storm with lots of lightning and loud thunder booms. Once the storm moved passed us, we made our way to the facility.
We met with hundreds of volleyball girls that were patiently waiting for us to arrive. We visited with them and signed autographs then ventured out in the storm again back to our hotel.
We woke up Friday morning to a beautiful day, however, the sand was too hard to play on. In order to protect the players from injury, the AVP cancelled play on Friday and ordered in new sand. The crew guys who work to put our sites together pulled 2 all nighters in a row. They worked non-stop until the site was playable. Our hard working crew members saved the Dallas Open!
Since we would not compete on Friday, I went to Six Flags over Texas with coach Mike Rangel, Misty, and some other friends and rode a few roller coasters. I stayed about 2 hours and then went back to my hotel.
Saturday Play: Because a full day of play was cancelled, the tournament had to be cut short. The decision was made to make the first round single elimination. That would cut out about 16 matches between the men and women which would save at least 3 hours.
Play started at 7AM. We were scheduled at 10AM, but our court was running behind because every match went to 3 games. We started our 10AM match at 12 noon. We played Katie and Tracy Lindquist. We were out of rhythm to start this match and had a difficult time pulling it together. We lost the first set and were down 20-17 in the second. We won the side out for 18, then I went back to serve and we fought our way back. I had a block, they had a hitting error, Holly got a dig and put it away, then another block and we won the second! It was really exciting. That was a huge boost for us going into the third set. We controlled the third and won the match! I was really happy with our composure under that sort of pressure.
Our next match was against EY and Nicole Branagh. This team is playing exceptionally well right now. Unfortunately for us, we could not stop them. They won the match in two sets.
The loss dropped us into the contenders bracket. We faced Nancy Mason and Jenny Kropp. We played really well in this match, finally pulling everything together. We had a great rhythm going with our side out and we were scoring points with our defense. It was a really fun match for us. We won in two sets which put us into 7th place and finished for the day.
Sunday morning, we faced Carrie Dodd and Tati Minello. We picked up right where we left off on Saturday evening. We battled back and forth in the first set until the end when we made a push and pulled away. We kept that momentum in the second set and pulled away early. We won the match in two games and secured a 5th place finish.
We felt great and were ready to go. We faced Jen Boss and April Ross to make it to the semi-finals. We jumped to an early lead, but did not keep it. We lost the first set, but stayed right with them all the way through the second set until the very end. It was very frustrating not to take that second set and push a third. The loss knocked us out of the tournament. We finished in 5th place.
I missed the semi-final matches, but watched the finals. It was the most exciting final I have ever seen. It was filled with hard hitting, incredible digs, and just one spectacular play after another. EY and Nicole looked like they were going to win this one, but Misty and Kerri's confidence in making big plays when it matters most is what won them the match. It was really fun to watch, but my goal is to be playing out there, not watching.
After the final, we went straight to the airport to fly home. We are back in California and training again in the deep sands of Manhattan Beach. We are getting ready for Huntington Beach where we hope to improve on our last two 5th place finishes.
Remember to drink your Real Water and support Team Cuervo!
All my best,
Angie
Later that evening, just as a tornado was about to hit, we went with about 10 other players in a stretch Hummer limo to a nearby club volleyball facility. Before we knew it, we were caught in a downpour and it started to hail. We stopped underneath an overpass on the freeway for a few minutes until it let up a bit. Being a Midwest girl, I was excited to see an intense storm with lots of lightning and loud thunder booms. Once the storm moved passed us, we made our way to the facility.
We met with hundreds of volleyball girls that were patiently waiting for us to arrive. We visited with them and signed autographs then ventured out in the storm again back to our hotel.
We woke up Friday morning to a beautiful day, however, the sand was too hard to play on. In order to protect the players from injury, the AVP cancelled play on Friday and ordered in new sand. The crew guys who work to put our sites together pulled 2 all nighters in a row. They worked non-stop until the site was playable. Our hard working crew members saved the Dallas Open!
Since we would not compete on Friday, I went to Six Flags over Texas with coach Mike Rangel, Misty, and some other friends and rode a few roller coasters. I stayed about 2 hours and then went back to my hotel.
Saturday Play: Because a full day of play was cancelled, the tournament had to be cut short. The decision was made to make the first round single elimination. That would cut out about 16 matches between the men and women which would save at least 3 hours.
Play started at 7AM. We were scheduled at 10AM, but our court was running behind because every match went to 3 games. We started our 10AM match at 12 noon. We played Katie and Tracy Lindquist. We were out of rhythm to start this match and had a difficult time pulling it together. We lost the first set and were down 20-17 in the second. We won the side out for 18, then I went back to serve and we fought our way back. I had a block, they had a hitting error, Holly got a dig and put it away, then another block and we won the second! It was really exciting. That was a huge boost for us going into the third set. We controlled the third and won the match! I was really happy with our composure under that sort of pressure.
Our next match was against EY and Nicole Branagh. This team is playing exceptionally well right now. Unfortunately for us, we could not stop them. They won the match in two sets.
The loss dropped us into the contenders bracket. We faced Nancy Mason and Jenny Kropp. We played really well in this match, finally pulling everything together. We had a great rhythm going with our side out and we were scoring points with our defense. It was a really fun match for us. We won in two sets which put us into 7th place and finished for the day.
Sunday morning, we faced Carrie Dodd and Tati Minello. We picked up right where we left off on Saturday evening. We battled back and forth in the first set until the end when we made a push and pulled away. We kept that momentum in the second set and pulled away early. We won the match in two games and secured a 5th place finish.
We felt great and were ready to go. We faced Jen Boss and April Ross to make it to the semi-finals. We jumped to an early lead, but did not keep it. We lost the first set, but stayed right with them all the way through the second set until the very end. It was very frustrating not to take that second set and push a third. The loss knocked us out of the tournament. We finished in 5th place.
I missed the semi-final matches, but watched the finals. It was the most exciting final I have ever seen. It was filled with hard hitting, incredible digs, and just one spectacular play after another. EY and Nicole looked like they were going to win this one, but Misty and Kerri's confidence in making big plays when it matters most is what won them the match. It was really fun to watch, but my goal is to be playing out there, not watching.
After the final, we went straight to the airport to fly home. We are back in California and training again in the deep sands of Manhattan Beach. We are getting ready for Huntington Beach where we hope to improve on our last two 5th place finishes.
Remember to drink your Real Water and support Team Cuervo!
All my best,
Angie
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