Hylte, Angelholm and a Holiday ahead

I felt very good about playing against Hylte. I thought we had a very good chance to beat them. We had a great warm up and were ready to go in the first set. Our team got to 6 points first and eventually 25 to finish off the first set with a win! The second set was a disappointment and we lost pretty badly. The next 2 were close with a win and a loss. So, we were at last in a 5th set with a team we could seriously beat. However, with our team being inconsistent in our play and the outsides (myself included) not scoring enough it was difficult to finish victorious. We ended the match with a loss, 8-15 in the last set. The up side, we got a point for taking it to 5 sets! I was awarded player of the match for my team however I didn't feel I deserved it. My attacking was not as it should be. Being consistent is the main thing that I personally need to work on, its important to the outcome of the match and my own game.

On a side note, Miss Sweden was there handing out the player of the match prizes. Apparently she is from Hylte and had just come back from competing in Miss World, taking 8th place in over 100 contestants. Anyway, she was wearing an eye catching gold sparkly dress that went to the floor in length. If you know me you know that I can be easily distracted, especially with shiny dresses. Well, her dress caught my eye a few times during the match but I tried to stay as focused as I could. After the match, I had to tell her that her dress was gorgeous. We then proceded to take a few pictures which I was not expecting and a little embarrassed about since I was still red faced from the match and sweating! It was like I was standing next to a barbie doll, she was tiny. The manager from the Hylte club sent the pictures to me and so I chose the one that was not so close up and you can also see the dress she is wearing, enjoy:

The last match we played before the holiday was non other then Angelholm, my old team. The trip down went fast since I had been sleeping most of the time. It felt almost surreal to play them. I didn't really know what to expect. When I walked into their new gym, things seemed slightly foreign to me. The people I saw and remembered were cordial and welcomed me back "home" with open arms. It was nice to see all my old teammates and coach as well.

 They are a strong team, on top of the league as always. Us being inconsistent in passing was a real problem this match. There was no way we could get ourselves out of a hole if things went awry. We started out great in the first set but the glory did not last long. We got to 6 points before they did but things went downhill after about point 8. They put a little more pressure on the serve and that was it for us. Our nerves got the best of us. We ended up lossing in 3 sets. It went by so fast for me, felt like it didn't even happen really. To beat them we would have had to play our top match. Unfortunately we were not on our game. Our blocking was weak making our defense even weaker by not being able to pick up hard hits. Our passing was inconsistent making our attack struggle as well. And our serving was not tough enough. We were all trying hard, I don't deny that, it just wasn't enough to win us the match or even a set. What we need is more confidence in ourselves to go out there and get the job done. 

After the match I talked to a lot of the girls from A-holm and the coach Tina. It was really nice to catch up a little. I just hope next time we meet them, we will be able to give them a lot more of a challenge. As a team we have a lot to work on but mainly its what is going on in our heads (nervousness and so on) that needs to be figured out. We have the skills to pass perfectly and make the ball better, its the nerves that blind us when it comes down to it. Practice makes perfect, lets hope that after the holiday break everyone will be ready to give it their best and to make the second half of the season better then the first. Making moves starts now! 

For Christmas I will be reunited with my parents in Stockholm. This will be the first time I spend Christmas with them in 2 years. I am super excited and very happy to have them here. Jake will be coming as well which will be even better. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! Take care! 

Win!

FINALLY! We won tonight and what a great win it was. The match began with a first point win taking it to a 6 point lead. Our goal was to get to 6 points before the other team did in every set of every match. That goal was achieved indefinitely. The team we played was not a very strong team which is why our coach put emphasis on what we do on our side of the court making all the difference in the match. It always makes us or breaks us in every match but this time we really had to make things happen and fast to win the match. This was the only match where we would be given time to get our team out of a hole we put ourselves in. I knew we were going to win and so did everyone else. It was a great feeling after the match to finally have a win under our belt. The girls were excited and over joyed. Now its time for more wins!

A Change is Going to Come.

We met up with one of the top teams, Katrineholm, this past weekend. Going in to the match I knew we were going to have a rough time trying to beat them. They had the height, the speed and the ball control needed to win matches. Which they have been successfully doing from the start. I had imagined us playing well and taking them to 5 sets at least. However, my thoughts did not materialize as I had planned them. We played inconsistent, again. There were some very good things and some very bad things through out the entire match. However, our spirits stayed high, we never let our heads hang or show that we were super down on ourselves through our facial expressions. We carried on like we were winning. The will to win was there, we did our homework and studied the other team, we understood and accepted their strengths and weaknesses. They were just a better team then us during the match. We ended up losing the 0 sets to 3. Hopefully further down the line, when we have more players in the second half of the season we will have more of a chance to beat them or make them really earn a win against us.

We have been playing hard in practice lately. Our goals as a team are stuck to my refrigerator door allowing me to look at them everyday. Friday night of this week was by far the best practice we have had this season. Things were flowing together and working beautifully. It felt great! I hope that we can take that feeling into the game tomorrow and kick some butt! This is our chance to play out all the skills we have been practicing and focusing 100 percent of our energy on. This is our chance to show this league and our fans that we are a team to be watched. I invision us taking advantage of every easy ball we get. Taking advantage of every hole in the block we receive. Of every serve they put over the net. I am so excited to get playing tomorrow that I am already fired up! I hope that the rest of the team feels the same and really goes for it tomorrow. Like my coach said, "The outcome of the match this weekend is based entirely on what we do as a team on our side of the net." I totally agree 100 percent. I have confidence in the team and in myself. I definitely think we can pull out a win tomorrow, in fact I know we can!

OREBRO VOLLEY ASSEMMMMMBBLLLLLLLE!!!!!

Next Match..

It seems the theme this season is lossing matches and players...It sucks for us but through it all I am proud to say we have kept our heads up and our faces smiling. If you haven't read about our team yet, we have lost every match we have played thus far and to add we have also lost two of our starters, Kiah Fiers. A very talented setter and an awesome roommate to me and Nikki Bishop an Aussie outside hitter who has mad respect for the game and is also one of the more funnier Aussies I have met in my life. Can you say we have had bad luck so far? Yeah of course, but you could also say that this is a test for us. A challenge that our team can rise above and conquer in the end. I don't think I have to "admit" that winning is the best feeling, a safe feeling for everyone included. When you win, you don't have to explain how you did it, what happened, etc. You can just say "we won" end of story. With losing you need to explain every detail of the loss, not only because people ask but because you want to explain the faults that were had in the game. To go over some of the points in the match that if only you had a time machine you could go back and do something different.

I know that our team is going to win eventually. The teams that are winning a lot right now and are on the top may not realize that anything is possible in this league. Or they know because they have played it a million times, either way this league can flip around. Of course those top teams will continue to be top teams but maybe they won't win the championship. Its happened before, I have experienced it for myself. I believe we can win with the team we have right now at this very moment. In the second set of the RIG match we beat them 25-13....25-13! We took control of the match and never looked back. So it is possible. The fact that we are lacking players is a burden...yes, but once that is fixed or even before that, we are a team that people should be afraid of. Who would have thought that our Libero could be an affective outside hitter? Or that our second Libero had inner power to be a digging and passing machine and had more confidence then anyone of us could see? I saw it in practice and was so excited about the possibilities. Yes, we need a setter, a spiker and a middle to make ends meet but on Wednesday night we took advantage of the other teams weaknesses and went for it. We just couldn't finish again. Our energy on court (including my own in the last couple points, due to an on coming migrane from hell. However I really tried to push it away and continue although I was half blind in my right eye, I wanted to keep playing there is no question there) was lacking. We had them, we were so close.

Lately its been that way as well. We are so close and we can taste the victory but once we realize it might not happen the fighting begins to fade. A fighting spirit is something to be valued, never giving up is the key. Our team will never give up I assure you. Right now we are having a tough time but its what happens in the end that really matters and I have a feeling we will make things happen. No I believe we will make things happen. Its not a choice with us its a commitment to ourselves and to one another to make this team a powerful force in this league again. Bring back what was once a team that took Championships. Its time to get back on track, work harder then ever and to stay focused on the ultimate objective, winning matches! Not necessarily winning the Championship but winning matches. One game, one set, one point, one ball at a time we will end up successful. Its only a matter of time girls before we get ours :)

Positive thinking and hard work will get us there. Welcome to your committed relationship to the game enjoy it :)

Free Weekend Leads to Unfortunate Loss

Hey all! After the 3 losses in a row, the team had a free weekend to shake off the disappointment and have a little fun. Kiah (American setter and roommate) and I went to Vingaker (town Jake lives and plays in) to socialize with people other then our team, not that we don't like our team, its just a natural thing to want to do for everyone.

After the weekend it was back to work, we had an important game coming up against a top team in the league. We studied their tactics and our coach told us their 2 main middles would not be there for this game but that didn't matter, their outside and opposite were getting most of the sets anyway. There was so much desire in us to win and to get back what we had lost so many times before, however our team has been in a slow downward spiral this past week. Our outside hitter Nikki has been told by the team Physical Therapist that she has one ligament in her ankle left which is why she has been having so much pain in her ankle. Unfortunately the injury has led to the end of this season. It is frustrating to know that there is nothing any one of us can do to get her back to playing (unless one of us can perform orthopedic surgery for free...anyone? anyone?), however what we have succeeded in is comforting her by giving her chocolate and lots of hugs. We love her and want her to know that just because she can't play does NOT mean she is not part of this team anymore. She will always be an Orebro volley player no matter what.

To add to the heartache of losing a fallen teammate, one of the middle/outside fell during a blocking/hitting drill and fractured her toe. GREAT! Thankfully she will be back in about 3 to 4 weeks but she could not play this past wednesday. So our line-up was as follows: myself and one of the liberos as outsides (plus Anna subbing in occasionally who is getting better and stronger every day after being sick for about a month), our coach and Kiah as opposites/setters, our second libero as libero and in the middle was the same as previous matches. We went into the match knowing we may not win but we were going to give them a fight, which we most certainly did for two of the three sets. The first set was so much fun! We could tell the other team was struggling and were surprised at how well we could play with what we had. The energy on the court was some of the best energy I have felt on this team. We played with confidence and picked up where we were lacking on the court. Everyone helped and everyone was putting it all out there. Our second libero was all over the court, picking things up and digging like a mad woman.

With the good comes the bad unfortunately. When we hit the 20 point mark, it was difficult for us to finish the set. Our service was weak and only a few people could put any pressure on the other side. The middles were having trouble keeping up with the quick sets going pin to pin, something they have voiced to the team and the coach to practice this week, I agree. Our attack was also weak, we needed more hitters to share the load.

Overall a loss is a loss and it sucks! However, I hope we can take this match, learn from it and move on. The next time we meet this team and all the others we have played already, we will be stronger, healthier and will be ready to show them that they won because we had a lack of players not because they thought they were better then us. Our next opponent is the volleyball high school RIG. They have two good hitters on their team this year so if we shut one or both of them down we can shut their team down and get ourselves a win! Remember its not how you start that counts, its how you finish and we aren't finished yet. Practice hard this week and keep going, never give up.

3 Losses But Moving on Up!

The past 3 weeks have been a mini roller coaster of emotions. Orebro's volley went to our first match of the season in Stockholm and walked away with a crappy 3-0 loss to Sollentuna. Positive note: we played better then I was expecting from what we had on the court that night, a sick opposite, a setter who got to Sweden a week earlier, an outside whose arm was ready to fall off, 3 middles two of which have never played middle and me a nervous wreck.

The second match was a home opener against a usually weak team, Gislaved. It was a close match but we ended up losing 3-0. We were low in attack (especially me...) and were making way to many errors. Gislaved was a different team but they weren't unbeatable, no team is. Positive note: Our defense and passing was getting better and becoming more consistent.

The third match was last night against Ljungby. A team coming from the first division with a mission to let the league know they were a team to be reckoned with. The match started out like it was anyones game with constant jockeying for the lead. They came out on top. Second set went to us with a huge lead that shrunk to only about 6 point difference in the end. Third set went to them with 28-26 as the final score. Fourth set we had a fighting spirit in the start however it began to fade little by little once the other team hit 20 points and from then on there was not a whole lot we could do to bring it back. I don't remember how the last point of the game played out but I can remember the other team celebrating loudly and the crowd cheering wildly. It was their first win of the season. Positive note: despite us missing 2 key players that night (opposite still sick and middle working) we won one set! We just proved to ourselves that it is possible to win. We are continuing to improve in all areas, personally my hitting was a lot better last night, the passing and defense was almost perfect and we got to play with our coach and former national team setter. Over all the feeling on court was good and we felt like a team so I count that as improving. Once we get that first win the feeling stays and I know non of us want to lose it so we will continue to fight for that feeling the rest of the season.

Besides volleyball, Orebro is still awesome and alive during the weekends with people and students in the bars and clubs. The leaves are falling rapidly from the trees meaning only one thing, winter is on its way. I am so excited for the first snow, it will make things around here look brighter and believe it or not warmer. So heres to the first snow, Skoal!

TV bit for Orebro :)

Here is a local TV bit for our team, its the second team they talk about so if you don't see me or someone you recognize from my team in the first few seconds just wait a little. Kiah Fiers our setter was also interviewed as was our coach Matilda. Enjoy!

P.S mom your sweatshirt made the cut, look for my arms :)

Lindesberg siktar på guld - Tvärsnytt | SVT Play

www.svtplay.se

Orebro, Sweden

Hey everyone! Its been a while but I have finally made it to another season in my favorite country, Sweden! Thats not even the best part, but that comes later. I arrived in Stockholm on a Wednesday morning feeling like I had returned back home once again after only spending a brief time during Christmas break. I was greeted at the international terminal of the Stockholm airport by three of my teammates, one holding a sign with my name on it :) One was an Aussie and the other two were Swedes. I was happy to see them and was excited at how animated and fun they seemed to be already. In an almost drunken like stage I sat in the front seat on our way to Orebro. It took us around 2 hours to get to the apartment I was to stay at for the time being, it was occupied with yet another teammate, Sofia the libero. She wasn't home yet so I decided to post up on the couch and immediately pass out. Thankfully it was the one day off during the week so I was able to pretty much sleep all day, waking up to eat dinner and also in the middle of the night, since my body was still on USA time and all.

The next day I went to the morning practice and had a go to try out my court legs after the long trip over. I wasn't half bad. Still exhausted however I wasn't my best. That night was a lot of the same feelings although I tried hard to show that I was in fact good for the team and wasn't sand bagging because I had just gotten there. Practice seemed like a fog through the end of the week and then we had a weekend off! This was perfect because my boyfriend Jake signed with a team 45 minutes from me and was playing that weekend (this is the best part about being back in Sweden, hands down!) So I decided to go visit him for the weekend through monday afternoon. It couldn't have gone better, we had a lot of fun in the small town he is living in. Surprisingly there is quite a bit to do there. They even have cosmic bowling!

The next week flew by with practices, Jake coming to visit me, coffee's, moving into the new apartment, Kiah our new American setter arriving, getting internet, phone, etc. It was a whirlwind of excitement. Well the excitement ensues. This week we are getting ready for our first league match against Sollentuna. In the past this team has been slightly stacked with a good outside hitter, a setter and a libero who could all hold their own. This year both the libero and outside have left so it will be interesting to see what they "serve" up for the match. I believe that we will have challenges this season but with those challenges I see achievements and success. Maybe not all the time but I think if we come together as a team, focus and play smart then we will be able to win a lot.

Below are some pictures of where I am living this season before it starts to snow, which I assume will be coming along shortly. Enjoy and a new post will be along soon. Take care all!

First 2 Countries Pictures

                                     Jumping the Pond to Germany

                                Frankfurt, view from our hotel room :)

                                     Railroad tracks near the Rhine

Romer, old town Frankfurt

              Old Town, Frankfurt and the birth place of Apple Cider

      Amazing Church near old town with an even more amazing organist inside

                                      Flowers near the shopping district

                                           Beautiful Rhine River

                             Frankfurt Main Central Station and Becca

                                  Klagenfurt, Austria and the Americanos

                                   Viktring, Austria Monastery

                                           River by the lake

                                         Klagenfurt Center

                                        Easter Decorations

Prost!

Three countries+10 days= :)

Becca and I started our "fly by the seat of our pants" adventures through 3 different cities in 3 different countries at the Tampere, Finland airport. We arrived to find the airport was about the size of a small warehouse and looked like a bunch of portable classrooms duck taped together to make a terminal. We checked our bags and made our way to the restaurant section of the airport for a beer before our flight. Unfortunately for the both of us, we had to say a premature goodbye to our assistant coach Izmo that same morning, he wasn't going to be around when were to be back, to say the least we were sad and already missing him. Therefore the two beers we decided to purchase were just what the doctor ordered in that situation. Boarded the flight and were on our way to our first stop, Frankfurt, Germany.

Touching down in at the Frankfurt-hahn airport (approximately 2 hours by bus from the center) to the realization that the snow had melted long before we had gotten there and now it was what we thought was hot. The actual temperature was around 65-70, felt hot to us. With squinted eyes and already sweating armpits we de-planned, got our bags, grabbed a quick bite and headed to the bus for our 2 hour ride into the city. My dad was very kind to help us out with accommodations during our stay in Frankfurt, so our destination when we got to the central rail station was to head to the Marriot...which was 15 minutes walking down the main road. I had recently bought a new pair of high top shoes that I am in love with and thought it would be a good time to wear them...I was so wrong. By the time we got to the lobby of the hotel, I was hobbling around on the outsides of both feet, trying not to look like I was in extreme pain. What we didn't know was that there was a music trade show going on in the city at the time. There were a bunch of rocker style people walking around and a few world class musicians hanging out, some in our hotel. What we were not expecting was that the woman checking us in handing us an executive lounge key and then telling us that they were having happy hour at the moment...my heart just skipped a beat. We quickly got settled into our room, showered and headed up to the Exec lounge. They were serving food as well so we decided to eat a bit and have a couple drinks before we went out. To make a long story short, we ended our night at a salsa club with a world class Italian accordion player. I also met this man who apparently plays in a popular Hungarian heavy metal band, interesting night to say the least. 

The next morning Becca and I rose to a misty hang over. We headed up stairs for a wonderful breakfast, ate as much as we could to last us through the day, showered and headed out for the day of exploring Frankfurt. Walked to the old town Romerberg via the Rhine river. It was a beautiful day, we got very lucky with the weather while we were there, it was warm and sunny the entire time. The buildings that surrounded us were a mixture of old and new. It was interesting to look at the skyline and see much older buildings shadowed by high rises. The rivers edge was the destination of our spontaneous afternoon picnic, which wasn't an uncommon idea among the residence of Frankfurt on that beautiful day. After the impromptu picnic we headed back to the hotel pretty exhausted from the days walking tour of the city and the partying that was had the night before. There was a sauna and steam room in the gym at the hotel which we decided to take advantage of, I am so glad we did. Relaxed and super tired we headed upstairs to eat and drink a little at the happy hour only to come back to our room, settle into our beds and rent a movie. I actually fell asleep half way through the movie with how tired I was. Plus the next morning we had a long long day so it was good we stayed in that night. 

Woke up at 6:30am, took a quick shower and headed to the train station on foot. Being that it was a Saturday, there weren't very many people on the street which was great for us, since we were hauling our big bags. Got to the station and realized were all the people were, they were in the train station. Today we were on our way to Klagenfurt, Austria to see our guy friends who were playing volleyball there. Our time on the train was to accumulate up to 9 hours, yess! The ride wasn't that bad though, there was a lot to see and it was yet another beautiful day. Slept a little but the movement of the train kept me awake. Once we got close to Klagenfurt we both changed into something more appropriate for the match we were going to see. One of our mutual friends, Jake, gave my detailed directions on how to get to their gym from the station. Their match wasn't until 6 and we arrived at 5:20 so I believed we could afford to take our time. We grabbed a small sandwich each and some water then headed out on our trek. I must have read his directions wrong because we ended up walking 2 kilometers in the wrong direction. We gave up at a gas station and opted to call a taxi. Becca and I were a little tired and frustrated about going in the wrong direction that we also purchased beers while we waited for our savior to come get us. We arrived at the gym laughing about the whole situation and literally seeing where we had gone wrong. Walking inside the gym we were stopped by this guy who asked if we were Becca and Whitney. As he went to get something, we wondered what we had done wrong this time only to realize he was bringing back two white roses, from Jake for us both. He told us if we needed anything, beer, food, anything to let him know, so I said that we would love a beer when we got out of the bathroom. Walked into the gym and continued to watch our boys unfortunately lose the match. Only got to see two sets since we were 30 minutes late. We met up with one of our friends girlfriends who was visiting from the states, while we waited for them to shower and come out from the locker room. 

A small side story: Becca went to college with Jake and Matt. I met Matt for the first time at a mixed adults volleyball game happening every wednesday in El Segundo last summer. I was introduced to Jake at the same volleyball night but later on in the summer. I have been talking to Jake on skype a lot ever since then. Needless to say, it was a very happy reunion for us all. 

I got to meet a lot of the guys that I had been hearing so much about and one turned out to be the funniest Austrian I have ever met. I also met their famously confusing and weird coach, turns out, he was just the person I thought he was, no surprise there. We all piled into his van, some of us sitting on laps, and headed back to the boys flat in Viktring, 30 minutes away. Becca and I showered quickly, threw on some going out clothes and then headed to the bar the guys always go to. The boys decided to buy a huge over sized bottle of Jameson for the back room, which is where we were. Filled our glasses with Whiskey and coke, continued to drink in celebration of the boys being done with their season. The night was a glorious one thats for sure. The next day, Matt, Jake, Aryl, Becca, and myself walked to the Monostary located a couple blocks from where they lived. It was such a beautiful day for a walk and plus the trees were showing themselves in full bloom. Afterward we walked up to a restaurant the guys swore by and had a great meal outside on the patio in the sun. Heading back to their flat, Jake mentioned the lake near the town which was about a 30 minute walk, being that I didn't want to go inside and I was looking to hang out with Jake a bit one on one, I was down for that walk. We ended up walking down to and around the lake for about 2 hours, well worth the sore feet later. Got back to the house and was told it was to be a wine night, so perfect after the day of walking around in the sun was over. We decided on a movie that night which was a good call since the night before was a long one of partying. 

Visiting the center of Klagenfurt was top of the list the next morning. We headed out fairly early, stopping to get a chocolate dipped croissant on the way. The center was decorated in time for Easter weekend. There were many kiosks selling wooden bunnies, elaborately decorated eggs, fake colorful birds, countless assortments of jewelry, and food. The trees were adorned with egg ornaments and the streets were lined with egg lights. Needless to say they were ready for Easter. We met up with Aryl and Matt for a afternoon drink. I must say the European lifestyle is something to be valued, relaxing outside with coffee or beer at any time of the day is the norm. Im going to miss that about Europe. After the drink in the center we decided to make it sort of a sunday funday, only it was monday instead. The guys took us to a "locals only" bar, had a drink then traveled to the next bar which was the same bar we went to 2 nights before. A few drinking games later we were home getting ready for the night. Ate an amazing Italian dinner at a restaurant in Viktring, got ready, and headed out for night two in Klagenfurt. We went back to the bar we were at before and proceeded to have one of the best nights of the trip. The owner of the bar handed the keys over to a bartender and said to lock up when we were finished….we left at 5am that morning, great night! Our last couple hours of the trip were spent laying around and packing for Becca and my next adventure, London. We said our goodbyes to everyone and headed to the airport. Luckily Jake came, so he and I were able to say a proper goodbye :) London here we come. 

*Pictures of Frankfurt and Klagenfurt are on the next blog page.

Winners in the end!

This past weekend our team traveled yet again to Lapland to play the 1st league champs Wovo. This was to be our last match of the 3 out of 5 series. We had already won 2 matches so our chances were in our favor to winning. Every set we played we became more keen on what they were and were not capable of. Cutting to the chase, we killed them in the third match. The scores were 25-16, 25-12, 25-10. It felt great to put them where they belonged because of all the trash talk they had been doing since we began to play them. Saying the last two matches were given to us, they were "gifts"...the only gift would have been for them to forfeit so we wouldn't have had to go through all that traveling and could have began to celebrate sooner. Their Libero was quoted saying Rebecca's jump serves were not as hard as people said they were so in retaliation Becca aced her 5 times in a row in the last set. Pretty good way to shut her up I think. We celebrated the fact the team was going to continue on in the Premier league by popping champagne corks and taking time that night at the hotel to revel in the three most important wins of the season. I was and still am proud of the girls who stepped up and took charge of the game, we really came together as a team. I was asked to write up a little something about the match for the LP Kangasala website while on the 8 hour train ride home and this is what I came up with (the edited version):


"The final countdown came all too quickly in this best of 5 series. Match #3 was upon us and LP was ready, grrr! There had been so much said about the last two matches, 99% coming from the Wovo head coach, about how the last two matches were "gifts" from them...thanks, but no thanks. I believe we beat them with out their help. 

Although the simple mistakes, like serving out, hitting directly into the block, giving us easy free balls were welcomed with no complaints from our side. So thanks for that, but we are the better team in this situation, enough said. Personally, if you are going to give matches away, why even play them? The real gift would have been if they were to of forfeited the matches instead of us going through the torture of  traveling so many hours to Lapland (however I did enjoy taking the night train and visiting Santa's Village for the first time). 

Anyway, we arrived to the Wovo fighting grounds around 8:15 Friday morning. With sleepy eyes, we made our way to the gym for breakfast, reminding Erica to please try and refrain from eating 7 to 8 hard boiled eggs this time, misfortune claimed her stomach last time she made this fatal mistake. 

Our afternoon training session was mediocre at best however everyone was still pretty tired from the trip. In addition some were nursing injuries and exhaustion. We all were prepared for this match to be our last win of the season. After practice we ate and a few of us went to Santa's Village for a quick visit but were back in time for a nap before the match. Marko and Ismo fired us up with advice and pep talks for each of us individually. Ismo mentioned the fighting spirit of the "antelope and jaguar", an analogy he uses quite often before a match. As soon as we stepped into the gym our game faces were on and we all believed we were going to win. 

The beginning of the first set was a balls out, fight for the lead. Once we made point 8 there was no turning back, we took the lead and kept it finishing them off 25-15. An important part of our game strategy was to serve tough to the libero who was struggling. Their Libero had said earlier that Rebecca's serves were easier to pass then float serves. So, in return of that comment Rebecca had it out for the Libero at the service line and showed her exactly how hard her serves can be, she finished the match with 5 aces. The team together had 17 aces and 6 mistakes in three sets, got to be some kind of a record. 

Almost every person who served got at least one ace. The second set was a little easier then the first, however with the same scores 25-15. During the 15 minute intermission, Marko talked about making this last set memorable and to have fun. Bottom line, the match wasn't over until that last whistle blew. 

It was a special time for our starting setter Sanna Melonen, this was to be her last set for good. Retirement awaited and her knee injury had had enough. On a time-out the announcer spoke about it being her last time on the court in the Premier League and she will be missed. The entire Wovo crowd applauded as she nodded her head in appreciation. We will definitely miss her as an inspiring figure on and off the court and not to mention her more than exceptional technique as a setter.

The third set was a complete blow out, it felt like the other team fought for 2 or 3 points, then gave up on any possibility of a win. The scores were 25-10. We ended the match with a rally circle including the coaching staff. There were smiles all around, we knew we were still in the league, time to celebrate! On the train back to Kangasala with a mission: to have fun and enjoy the time we have together. As for Wovo, I think they are exactly where they are supposed to be, better luck next year. GO LP!"

Lucky for us the train ride home was only 8 hours instead of 10. Once back in Tampere most of the team headed to the bank where the sauna, food, and some "welcome home"drinks were waiting. Unfortunately everyone was so dead tired that most went home after a couple hours hanging out. Becca and I went for a drink with our manager but shortly after falling into our beds exhausted. 


Coming up now is Becca and my trip to Germany, Austria, and then to finish, London. We are both very excited and we hope that everything goes well.

Finland is Melting

I haven't "blogged" recently because nothing really important has been going on lately until this past weekend. We have been patiently, yet not so quietly, waiting to play the qualification matches (matches to play to stay in the league) for 3 weeks now and the time has been finally brought upon us. This past weekend we traveled 10 hours by night train to Roveniemi to play the winners of the first division league. When we saw them play last, they were competing in the finals against a team in their league. Their level of play wasn't all that impressive and it seemed they were going to be an easy team to beat. They must have pulled out the big guns for us because they were playing very well against us. We were able to still beat them 3-0 but all 3 of the sets were very very close. We have seen their best now, so there is no reason to be afraid of whats to come because we have seen and experienced it all. I was a bit nervous because of the pressure of winning was high. The next match I wont be as nervous because like I have said before I have seen what they can do and am ready for everything they have to give now. They travel to Kangasala this Wednesday and then we go to their house this Friday for what will hopefully be the final match of our season. I have no doubt that we can beat them this up coming match. Passing has been our main struggle the whole time I have been here. With confidence and good enough passing we can rise above and win.

Our traveling situation on the way up north was something I had never experienced before. We were traveling in a sleeping car. Becca and I shared a room with a bunk bed and barely enough room to stand side by side. The beds were very comfortable though and the rocking of the train was what I thought was going to put me to sleep....wrong. The train made many stops making it a bit hard to get to sleep. I finally konked out to the sounds of our coaches snoring in the next room around 3am. Woke up at 7:45 only to realize our alarm had not gone off! Our train was supposed to be arriving at the station at 7:50. Luckily we were late so we didn't actually get in until around 8. The "city" of Roviniemi was accompanied by 2 to 3 taxis that morning. It was, to say the least, a bit interesting getting to the gym. Once there, we enjoyed a very European breakfast, sandwiches and porridge. Our one hour practice was moved, thanks to the guys team, from 8am to 10 am. After, we had ourselves a little relaxing time and watched the guys practice. Our match started at 2pm with a pretty sizable crowd. I was surprised how they came out of the gates swinging, but I would have done the same thing. When you'r fighting for your spot in the top league, laying out everything you have is important.

On our way back to Tampere, we ran into some basketball players we had met at the gym in Tampere. They had just finished a game as well, but unfortunately they lost. Being that Becca and I could not sleep we ended up talking with them for about an hour in the food car. After which we hopped 10 train cars back to our sleeping quarters and proceeded to try and fall asleep. Oh yeah, forgot to tell you, the sleeping cars had 3 beds per room instead of 2.... I was on the top bunk, nose bleeding from being up so high, if I was to fall it would have been a long way down. Every time I moved around a little light show happened from all the static, felt good to touch metal later, only to get an electric shock that I could feel through out my body. We got home at 5am and I immediately fell into bed and said goodnight until 1:30pm the same day. With some regeneration at the local swimming hall and a good practice Tuesday run by our assistant coach, we felt we were ready to take this team on again Wednesday night.

Game day arrived and it felt all to much like a normal day in Kangasala, it didn't feel like we even had a match. This worried me a little because a game day should feel like a game day, excitement, pumped up, ready to rumble, those types of feelings. Don't get me wrong I was pumped to kick some tail that day, we had been hearing that the coach of their team was saying the first match was a gift, they had given it to us....what an insecure little jerk! I wanted them to swallow those words from the moment the first to the last whistle was blown, it was on! Got to the gym and began to warm up getting in the right mind set for the match. The first couple points of the set were shaky and we weren't able to pull out of our funk until about point 8 for them. That was when we said "enough" and caught up taking the set with a little room to spare point wise. The second set was a blow out, they didn't get more then 16 points. The 3rd set was a little more of a fight. We were neck and neck for a while but once we hit 20 we broke away to finish the match 25-21. To top off the night, I was awarded player of the game, exciting! It was a good night and the team did really well, I am confident that we can finish the series this Friday and be done with this season still in the premier league! Wish me and my team luck, back on the night train tomorrow and hopefully a win for us Friday night :)

Back to work...and some more waiting.

After 5 days off we were back to work with a physical practice on Monday...outdoor running (which I huffed an puffed through after doing nothing and being sick all weekend) plus weights with 2 kilos strapped to our ankles for that little something extra, thanks to our strength coach El Jarno. No, he is not Spanish, he is pure Finnish blood, someone started to call him that and it stuck. He doesn't seem too bothered by it...yet. Tuesdays practice was a match against a young "junior national" team. Becca was out from being sick so it was just Lauren and I on the court as the only foreigners. Being away from volleyball for a week really has its negative affects on the mid and body. We lost pretty horribly against them, passing was crap, our hitting was crap, defense was crap, serving was crap....you get it...pretty much everything was crap. Nothing was working for us and it was nothing less then embarrassing. After the embarrassment of "getting back into it" receded and the strong thought of getting a little more then tipsy that night was out of my mind, I looked to the rest of the week for some inspiration and motivation.

Wednesday morning we woke early for the gym, it was time for "Body Pump" with some of the team at Fressi. What "Body Pump" entails is a lot of weight lifting with a bar and free weights to a sound track meant for techno addicts and aerobic maniacs. Our instructor sounded like he was this Australian "Body Pump" expert with high energy techno music to back his loud cries through the microphone of "OK HERE COMES THE BODY PUMP.....TEMPO!!" It was a struggle to keep from busting out laughing sometimes. I snuck a look at Lauren to see I was not alone, she to was trying not to laugh. By the end of the class my 2 1/2 kilo weights on my 1 kilo bar were looking and feeling heavier then ever. My shoulders burned and I was positive I wouldn't have been able to punch my way out of a paper bag if my life depended on it. The instructor said goodbye at the door and asked where we were from. I in turn asked him and he surprised me by saying he was from London! When I told him he sounded like he was an aussie he immediately said "everyone says that!" Next week we do it again, I would honestly rather do the aerobics class over the "Body Pump" but I don't really have a choice here so, moving on.

Wednesday and Thursday nights practices were same old but a lot better then Tuesday. I believe that we need to take this time seriously if we want to stay in the top league. This is the time we need to work the hardest to prepare ourselves fully for what's to come. Even if what is to come is supposed to be easy, we don't know that for sure so we need to be able to cut the other team down and out of the picture from the start and not take any chances with a stupid loss. I just hope everyone else sees it that way too in one degree or another.

Friday Becca and I got intense massages so we were allowed to skip practice that night. After our agonizing beat downs by the talented Jenni, we decided to take a walk up to the tower looking over the city and grab ourselves one of their famous and oh so amazing donuts. The secret ingredient must be crack because they can only be described in one word, "addictive". After fulfilling our cravings and seriously considering just spending the day there stuffing our faces with those donuts, we made our way down to the main street to catch our bus back to home base. As we walked down the hill, however, I noticed a group of snowboarders doing tricks on the steps leading down to the main street. They were pretty talented so we watched them for a second, chatted and were on our way. Once at home, Becca and I exhausted from our massages, had a few beers to ease the pain...it worked. We ended the night at the local bar "The Caroline" with Lauren where we were joined by an overweight guy with a lion on the front and back of his t-shirt accompanied by his friend the "skinny/weird" one. Both were equally as nice and equally as creepy. Regardless we danced with them and had a great time people watching. There were so many different personalities in the bar it was incredible to witness. We went to the bathroom once and this guy yelled that he didn't speak Swedish to us....we never said we had. Assuming he was just really drunk we ignored him. The next day we went to a mens volleyball match where we got to see Kawika and Dustin (both play for the US national team) square off against one another. Kawika's team won, excited for him! Kawika is an amazing setter, every set he puts up is golden. No offense to the setters on our team but sometimes I wish that he would slap on a wig, don some spandex, put on a little rouge and play for our team. Now that I think about it, my setter from last year and Kawika are almost identical in technique...hmmm. Nah couldn't be possible, my setter last year is a lot shorter then Kawika. Anyway, it was a good match and both teams played really well.

That night we went out to the a club in Tampere called Kuuba. The place was packed and the music was so much fun however the majority age was 19-21 on the ground floor and older people but crappy music upstairs. Ok, question, what is it with people just letting their bodily functions go on the dance floor when they are drunk, or not drunk?! There were 4 specific times when I stopped dancing and looked around wondering what the hell was dying in someones pants. If your talking to someone and the smell of a fart creeps in (and you know it was definitely NOT yourself) the person your talking to might think its you or he or she might be the culprit. Either way, someone is embarrassed which makes for an awkward conversation. I guess some people get so drunk that they don't realize they are releasing tear gas/stink bombs on the people around them. Please, if you have stomach problems remove yourself from the dance floor so the rest of us can carry on with our super cool dance moves and refrain from pre mature vomiting.

After the club had closed around 3am we headed to the bus station to catch our ride home. While we were waiting and talking to friends in this crowded outdoor bus station, all of the sudden I turned around to see this chick popping a squat in the middle of a busy sidewalk and start to pee. She smiled and kindly waved at the people who blatantly were staring. It had been almost 2 minutes before she stood up and walked away, again waving at her "fans". To end the night we had to take a 35 Euro taxi home because our 4:20am bus never showed, S.O.B!! I was so happy to be home that I ended up not really caring to much at all about the taxi home.

Woke up late the next morning, made "Linner", watched "He's Just Not That Into You" (great movie), and then went to bed. Pretty boring Sunday but the weekend was worth the late sunday afternoon. This next week coming up is our last "week off" meaning a week not leading up to a match. I am so excited to get this season over with but at the same time I am sad to be leaving this place for the summer. Scandinavia is a place I never thought I would be experiencing at this stage in my life, its a wonderful area of the world even though its a freezing tundra for most of the year. There are so many beautiful things to see here besides snow and I am glad I got to spend another half year in this area of the world. I hope that I can continue to do what I do now for a little while longer, maybe play here again, you never know :) Until another time, take care everyone!

TV match, last league game, and a little misfortune.

After the loss against HPK, as a team we were determined to strike back with a win. How possible was it to accomplish this against a team at the 3rd spot on the totem pole in this league? Seemed a bit of an impossible feat for the team at the bottom of the rankings, some people would think. We were under our own pressure to win, even though people said the match didn't mean anything, that it wouldn't move us up or down in the rankings, blah blah blah. But wouldn't it be nice to win on Finish National television to a team that was supposed to kill us? Hell yeah it would. Well, thats exactly what we did! We played Orpo on national TV and beat them in 4 sets. This team is stacked with tall players, aggressive middles, a consistent setter and a pretty damn good libero. The odds were definitely not in our favor. People who bet against us losing, well, to bad for you! We all played consistent, shutting down the outsides, serving tough, hitting smart and most of all, we were passing. Personally, I wouldn't say it was my greatest match but it was a good one. I wasn't positive 20 points or anything but I contributed to the win with other areas of my game not just through attacking. Overall, I felt proud of my team. So what if it didn't matter who won or lost, it mattered to us and everyone who watched saw that we beat them, thats enough for me. A win is a win, no need for an explanation and I like that...a lot, who wouldn't? The one teammate who was killing it that night was Lauren Bledsoe. I believe 98 percent of the sets she received she put down...and hard. She was awarded best player on our team that match and I think she deserved it.

The last league match was two days later against Eura, the 4th place team in the league. Well, needless to say some of our heads were still in the clouds and just down right exhausted (including me) and we bombed the first 2 sets. We went into the locker room for the 15 minute break between the 2nd and 3rd sets for a chat. Our coach was pissed as were the rest of us. How could this be happening after such a great win? We needed to get our collective heads out of our asses and play. Which is what we ended up doing in the 3rd and 4th set, but unfortunately it was to late and we lost 27-25 in the 4th set. That, was a slap in the face. Our passing wasn't very good, some of us couldn't put the ball away, the referees were bothersome and our team confidence was a bit low. The fight was gone in a few teammates which hurt us. It was a hard loss but at the same time the momentum we gained at the end of the match will help us later when we play to stay in this league. I refuse to let this team drop down to division 1, it won't happen.

That night after the match we went to the ABC rest stop for some food and a little ice cream. The ABC menu is pretty good considering its a "rest stop" but rest stops here are not even slightly the same as ones in America, they are clean, safe, and the food is so much better then what you would find at an AMPM or 7/11. So I decided to go the "healthy" route and order salmon with shrimp and potato. I didn't realize that was going to be the worst decision EVER! A couple hours later, a cider and half a beer deep at home, I was full and feeling super tired. I went to bed only to wake up an hour later with a stomach ache and vomit sweats. Yep, you guessed it, I got food poisoning. I thought for a second that it was the alcohol I drank but I hadn't drank nearly enough to be sick, trust me. Then it flashed in my head the fish and shrimp I had eaten at the ABC and thats when I knew I had made a big mistake. Well needless to say I got to see it again that night...so fun. The following day I spent my day off going from the bathroom to the couch every hour. I couldn't eat very much for two days except over cooked rice, Ritz crackers (best decision ever), and chicken broth. Note to self: order pizza like a normal person from ABC next time. Now, I am happy to report that my stomach is back to normal and I am eating normal foods again :)

Tomorrow morning we are going to check out what brunch is like to the Fin's at a well known restaurant with some of the girls. I can only hope that it is very very good since I am coming off a bland food diet. Monday its back to work and I am very thankful, this time off has been long and with out working out (for obvious reasons). I am excited to get these 3 weeks off underway  and to work hard through them all finishing this season with a bang and hopefully another job :)

Great Feelings and endless views.

Its been a long time since I have blogged, written, caught up, whatever you want to call this, but I am here now ready to sit down and punch this out for whoever out there is reading and or viewing. Since my last entry the girls and I have moved upstairs to a bigger and brighter apartment. There are two bedrooms, a huge living room and equally as big a kitchen. The place in one word "dwarfs" the other apartment. Our view is really nice on sunny clear days and the sunsets we can usually see to the horizon.

Our setter Outi wanted to take us to a bright red tower a little outside of town one clear day. We drove up to this red and white painted tower on a hill that looked out over Kangasala and if it was really clear,which it was, all the way to Tampere. It was one of those buildings you only see in a place like Finland. Heights have never been an easy feat for me so climbing the wooden steps up to the top was dizzying and sometimes I felt I was holding my breath. Once at the top I stayed away from the edge even though it looked very sturdy and safe. The view was breath taking, everything was covered in snow and the sky was bright blue with a few whispy clouds here and there. That day we could in fact see the smoke from the factories in Tampere. I snapped a few pictures of the tower and the landscape and then we decided to head out. Luckily the weather wasn't so cold enabling us to stay for more then a couple minutes to take in the sites.

Last saturday we had our last home game against Pieksamaki. They are a pretty good team and are in the middle of the league. After my disappointment of the last match I had played I was ready to give it my all and not look back. Which is exactly what I did. We ended up winning in 4 sets and I was awarded player of the match! Felt good to finally be myself again and to show people in the league that I can be someone to watch out for. I feel like the last team I was on there was so much pressure to be perfect that I forgot how to play like me on the court. This team allows me to relax a bit and just play. I felt like I was totally committed to that match, I was in it, ready for anything. Plus I had my teammates out there supporting myself and each other. We all came together to win that match, out there was a team to be reckoned with. This league doesn't respect this team, therefor we have nothing to lose and everything to gain in each match. I honestly like being the underdog, no one expects us to do well so when we do, people start to second guess who we really can be, putting more pressure on themselves instead of us. Bottom line, it was a good win for us and a good win for the moral of the community. Three more league matches to go and then we have a long 3 and a half weeks off until qualifications.

This week has been extremely frigid and cold. The weather has gone from warm to ridiculously cold in about a day. Its been rough going outside at all. Walking to the bus stop which is 100 meters away is hard enough. Hopefully this week will be the only week that it is this cold. Its supposed to be Spring right? But I for one know that being this high up North, Spring doesn't really arrive until mid April. Heres to hoping for better weather and no more snow.

We had Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off after the last home match. Thursday night there was a dance at the school we play at for the seniors in high school, therefore leaving us no time to practice that night. Instead we all met up at the gym we are allowed to work out at and did an aerobics class. This woman kicked our butts! During the squats and lunges section I thought I was going to collapse because my legs were shaking so much. Needless to say, going to the gym out here and taking a class is just as hard or harder then going to the gym and taking a class at the Spectrum in MB. The only difference was the language. Luckily for the three Americans in the class, myself included, she opted to speak English and Finnish. She had great English so it all worked out for the best. Being who I am, I took a spot in the front with Outi. My Mom always said to sit in the front of the class as to get the most out of each session, thanks Mom! Friday Outi took us to another high tower that looked over the city of Tampere. On a clear day (the day we went luckily) you can see for miles. The cafe at the base of the tower sold these unbelievably delicious poppy seed donuts coated in sugar. After eating one of those, I was on an immense sugar high deciding after the elevator was not working for us, to run up the tower stairs. Bad idea. I was winded and also in need of some water. We snapped a bunch of really great pictures and then descended the tower to the mini pineapple (aka Outi's car) and drove home.

That Saturday night the girls and I went to a club in Tampere to celebrate the win and also to get in our own personal work outs on the dance floor. One of our teammates Triin came over before for some drinks and to play Quarters. I found out quickly that I was pretty bad at the game since I hadn't played since College...but lets be honest, when was I ever any good at that game? Mm never. We headed out to Tampere via bus ride around 10:30pm. We were told to go to this club called Tivoli and not to worry it was only a couple minutes walk off the main street. What I haven't told you was that night it was the coldest night I have ever experienced, in my life. We practically ran to the club only to realize there was a line that seemed to be getting nowhere fast. Reluctantly we got in line and proceeded to wait it out. One butt grab from a passer by, breathing in cigarette smoke, and some "VIP" walk ins later we were at the front of the line staring down at the door man. He checked our IDs and smiled seeing we were all from California, questioning us, asking if we liked Finland. We were all at our breaking points since all of us had ice blocks for feet and tears were starting to well up in my eyes (yes, it was that cold, -30 degrees celsius to be exact). Once we got in, checked our coats, and met up with the rest of the group of rowdiness we got to dancing. After being there once, I think that is enough for me. Tivoli reminded me to much of clubs in Hollywood, which I almost never go to because of all the egos that show up. Plus I'm no fashionista and definitely do not rock the latest brands so I leave the Hollywood style clubs and bars to the people who actually give a crap about that kind of stuff. I'll stick to the local bars where "everybody knows your name" and fun dance spots which allow you to wear shoes that don't ruin your feet and ankles by the end of the night (even tho I enjoy wearing those types of shoes on occasion). In conclusion, I would rather not go there again, it was a one time thing for me, glad I did it, over it, moving on.

We played a match this past Friday against the second place team HPK. Their coach is a highly mechanical, extremely stressed out, hyper active German coach. I believe some people come to their matches to watch him blow up about a call that was as clear as day and to yell at his team when they aren't doing exactly what he wants them to do. His quiet conserved "assistant" coach sits there on the bench and goes along with his tirades which makes me wonder, if he were to contest him at all, would the vein in the head coaches giant forehead pop? Anyway, enough about their insane coach, because he must be doing something right, they are winning. Would you say that instilling fear in his players "doing something right"? Eh, whatever, I have had my fair share of crazed coaches, he doesn't scare me, all his yelling and red faced anger does is make me smile and know that whatever we are doing on the court is working. Back to the actual game, we lost in three sets, bummer. However we were able to give them a run for their money and their coach most likely crap himself in the last set. The score was 27-29, enough said. It was a fight and I am proud of my team for how well we hung in there.  Its going to be a fight to the end and I'm ready to give it all I've got, it doesn't end until that final whistle blows.

TV match on monday, final league match on wednesday and then we are off for quite a bit until qualifications. I hope I can stay on top of this blog deal and get messages out every week, just been a little more busy then when I was in the middle of nowhere. Until then, take care all!

New Town, New Team, New Adventures

After a week and a half of being here in Kangasala, the two other Americans and I moved upstairs to a bigger apartment, have spent the better part of this week getting settled in to the new digs (however I am still sleeping on a mattress on the floor...hopefully a bed will be arriving soon) and continuing to explore the town and city near by. The weather has been more than bearable in the past couple weeks with temperatures dropping to about -2 degrees celcius at most. Practices have been pretty good however, the mentality here is different then my last team. The trainings are a little less strict and discipline can be lacking at times. I try to keep the mentality that I had with my last team, believing that someone is trying to take my spot giving myself motivation to work hard at every practice and eventually in every game. Its not that I "have" to think that way in order to work hard but it doesn't hurt. I believe the coach here has faith in me and trusts me to do the right thing. I just hope that I can deliver this weekend. I have been thinking a lot lately about how I need to just release the timid Whitney within. To let go of the immense pressure I put on myself whenever we begin to play, to let go of the fear of being yanked out of a game, letting go of the mistakes I make during a match because no matter what happens there will be a few. When I feel like I am needed on a team, I tend to play and lead better, so heres to hoping for the best, cheers!
This past weekend I went out for the second time since I have been in Finland (amazing I know!). However before we could have our fun night out, we had to endure a 3 hour long practice that afternoon, awesome. Once that practice was over, we were able to relax, make some food, get our make up on and get our butts to the city for some much needed and earned fun. Becca (roommate and fellow South Bay local), Erica (teammate), Kahwika (on the Tampere mens team hailing from Hawaii), and Dustin (another fellow Californian also playing on a team out here) went to a bar called Ale for some "cheap" beers ("its 9 dollar beer night", if you know where this quote is from you'r a champ!) and then on over to a club called Kuuba for some off the wall dancing. Unfortunately our other roommate Lauren was so tired that she passed out around 7:30pm and said she was done for the night,  hopefully next time. I am pretty sure the Americans and one Finish girl took over the club that night. At one point we developed a rally circle and jumped around for a solid minute yelling into the middle of the circle. Bottom line, we all had a really great time, and everyone went home with busted ear drums and a little sway to their step.
Sunday, Becca and I went to the Sauna down the back street from us on the lake to sweat off the night. The idea was to get really hot in the sauna first and then jog down to the lake, hop in and then jog on back to the sauna. We did this twice since we were not used to the traditional 4-10 times... The first time we went in up to our knees and the second up to our chins. Screaming the entire time as we dipped our soar bodies into the lake, taking relief and de-numbing our skin in the sauna after. It was truly amazing to see some people swimming laps in the water. I guess there comes a point when you just can't feel how cold it really is. My goal is to let go of the railing and tread water for at least 10 seconds before I go home. It starts to hurt after a while being that cold. Becca and I left the sauna house feeling refreshed, hang over free, and ready for a nap. That night all the roomies and a teammate went to the American Diner in Tampere. Best day after partying food ever! To finnish the meal we all ordered pancakes with ice cream, however these pancakes were small, thick, buttery, and dusted with powdered sugar.....perfect. Great end to a great weekend.
Our new place is starting to look more and more like people actually live in it. Club members arrived with our washing machine, a couch, two big rugs, and the hopes of another bed. So spirits are high in la casa de california natives. Tonight we have video and then practice, I am excited and pumped to rip it up tomorrow at the game and show the people who didn't believe in me that I can play well. Wish us luck :)

PS The pictures are of the sauna place and the church in Kangasala built in 1800. Enjoy!

"Lap pool"

















                                                                                  

Change of plans..

Ok, so its been almost an entire month since I have been back and a lot has happened. First off, we had a match 3 days prior to getting back from break. After a good showing at the last match we played before the break, I was not in the starting line up and barely saw court time during that match, bummer and slight confusion. Post match they told us that a player from Canada was coming for a try out. I knew my head was on the chopping block if she was any good. I had to buckle down and play hard in practices and hopefully get another chance to play in the matches. I had a meeting with the two coaches and a sponsor, in short I told them that I would not stop trying, that I was not going to quit unless they wanted someone else to come in for me. I am not a quitter and I made sure they understood that. She arrived on a Monday and was practicing with us by Tuesday. I knew of her since I played against her in Slovenia but I wasn't sure how she was playing now since that had been 2 years ago. I had heard that she hadn't played in about a year so I had a little bit of hope. At her first practice we got to talking and it turned out that we had a lot more in common then I was expecting. We clicked right away which was something I was not expecting to happen. Through the week I could tell that she was in fact a little rusty and was not really ready for the level of play at the moment, I think she knew this as well. Personally I was going for it, I didn't want there to be any reason why they shouldn't keep me on the team. I did everything I could do while in practice but still was not given a chance to play when it came time for our TV match. The coach told me that I had two very good practices but that she was going to start the other Finish right side over me. I would be lying to say that I was ok with this, I definitely was not. But I put on my game face and tried to cheer on my team as I tried to mask the annoyed feeling I had deep down. In all fairness I hadnt been doing that great a job all season (like a roller coaster) so I can understand why the coach didn't trust me but if I was showing that I could get the job done in practice then you would think she would give me at least a chance to show in the matches. Anyway, that is neither here nor there anymore. I ended up having a great time with the Canadian girl and was actually hoping that she would stay so the next couple months we had left would fly by. Unfortunately we were informed again that another Canadian from a team in the league was coming to us because she was out played by another foreigner who in turn took her job. After a week and a half of proving myself, I had to do it again with someone new. Once this other player showed up I knew I was on the outs. She walked in at 6'3-6'4, she was huge. She ended up wowing the club with her height and was starting in the next match while I watched from the stands. The worst that could have happened to me that night amazingly happened. She was awarded two awards for most points and something else, but since I can't speak or understand Finish I didn't know what for.

After the match I went to talk to the team we had just played since I knew two of the girls on the team. While I was talking to them about everything that was happening their libero was saying how they needed another hitter pretty badly and that I should talk to their coach. I didn't know what was going to happen with my current club so I wasn't sure if talking to their coach was even an option. The setter went and got their assistant coach and then asked me to come talk with him, so I did. Realizing that I probably wasnt going to see court time with the tall Canadian at my current club and the fact that they didn't have enough money to fund a 4th foreigner we (assistant coach, sponsor, and myself) decided as a group that it would be best if I went for a try out with this other club. I got on a train Tuesday morning with all of my stuff in tow and was on my way to Kangasala with a new motivation, to make that team. I met up with and have been staying with the two girls I know, Becca Sarenceno and Lauren Bledsoe who are from the South Bay area of Southern California (weird we all meet up here in Finland of all places). Rebecca went to Redondo Union High School who are rivals with Mira Costa High which is where Lauren and I went to. Crazy, this world continues to get smaller and smaller. I am glad to be here and ready to do work and get the job done. I hope this team want's to keep me here because it would be a great last couple of months and also a lot of fun to play on this team.                          

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Rebecca                                                                                                                    




......I made the team :)