Coming up!

Well like I stated in the last blog post, Hylte is a good team and it would be a fight, which it was. Which we lost...unfortunately. They stated in their local newspaper that we were the worst passing team in the league and would be surprised if they didn't walk away with a win. Personally, I thought that was a low blow, but gave us more motivation to kick some ass. The first 4 points of the game were aces...delivered from us on their side of the court. One of their players was struggling a lot in the passing line up that night. I think almost every one of us got at least one ace from the serving line. Our passing was up and down but I definitely don't believe we are the worst passing team in the league.

Hylte put up a good fight and had 3-4 hitters who could crush which eventually took the match from us  in the end. Like usual we had some spectacular and not so spectacular plays. I was also in it with the referee a few times since some of the calls that were a bit ridiculous. But I am not the old Whitney who irrationally argued with the ref's, I have calmed down a lot after being in Sweden for three years. I used to think that hot headed attitude was just part of the game I played but now that I look back on the times when I got yellow cards and so on, I think "what a bone head!". Plus its exhausting arguing or even trying to sway their opinion about a call because you know they won't change. I changed the ref's mind once against Hylte and was surprised. Better to learn from your mistakes then to keep doing them.

Next we played Gislaved for the League Cup. I thought that it was going to be somewhat of an easy win for us since we beat them pretty well before in the Series. However, the line up was different, meaning they were back to their old selves like last season, a lot better then how they started this season. They put their old setter back in the line up so the two main hitters on their team were getting set a lot more. I think they may have released the foreign setter who was there in the beginning. She would tend to put the ball over on two a lot, she never really gave her hitters a chance to get in a rhythm. Her type of play may work in other leagues but not this one and not for Gislaved either. With that, we unfortunately lost and are now out of the running to win the League Cup. Its not a huge loss for us since we have set much higher goals for our team in the Series, but I, like many on the team wish we could still be in it to win it.

This week we are preparing for Svedala. They have two Americans on their team, both of which are good players according to our setter who knows them. One is a good hitter (high on the kills league) and the other has a nasty jump serve. The rest of the team I think are made up of the same girls from last season. I believe we can win this match in 3-4 sets if we pass consistently well, put balls away when we get perfect situations, cover, serve pressure and play calm but intense defense. Of course the other team will make some good plays but I think we will be able to minimize them with a great game plan. I look forward to playing them and hopefully getting another victory which will edge us closer to making the cut for Grand Prix!

In unrelated news, eight members of the team joined in a Thanksgiving feast Sunday night. This was the first year that I prepped the turkey on my own. It was disgusting but kind of liberating knowing that I could do it. Kris did a great job of basting the turkey while I made the stuffing. Everyone else brought things to add to the table. We had sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, dinner rolls and since there is no cranberry sauce here we substituted it with lingonberry sauce instead. We finished the meal with a wonderful desert of apple and pecan pies with vanilla ice cream (made by Elsa). Everything tasted very good and I was proud of the girls for helping put it together. For some this was their first time which was very exciting. When we sat down, we all said what we were thankful for and then did a toast. After all this the girls and I were very happy to get into the food.

Thanksgiving thursday I was lucky to get to talk to some of my family. As corny as it may sound we did a group internet hug (I hugged my laptop) and when I leaned back to see them all again, we were teary eyed. I miss them so much but was so happy I got to see them.

Until next week, preparation for this sundays game started yesterday! Lets get it, wooop!

Tough Loss

After a three match winning streak we have hit the end....for the time being ;) We met Lindesberg Wednesday night (Halloween), the Swedish Champs from last season. Our coach prepared us with smart tactics and a plan on how to infiltrate their strong attack and three person block. However, when we got on the court, at times, it seemed that we were lost on what to do. Our blocking was weak and they continued to burn us on hard angle swings. Our passing was 50/50, too many missed serves and our defense failed at times due to our blocking mistakes. That being said, there were times when we played brilliantly and actually took a set from them to make it a 4 set match. Our assistant coach said after the match, she felt like there was anxiety on the court and that is something she hasn't felt ever with this team. I guess I am to caught up with whats going on at the moment on the court, that I don't notice the anxiety. I didn't feel like people were anxious, maybe more nervous to make errors and quiet occasionally. These things we will come away from the match with and continue to improve upon.

We met them again a week after for the League Cup. We played a lot better however our serve misses were over the top and our passing was lacking. Our blocking and defense was stronger. Also our attacking was better as well. In the end we lost but we took them to 4 when we could have easily gone to 5 sets, however the last set didn't feel like all of us were fighting for it. I could see that some were tired (including me) and maybe a little discouraged about how they were playing. I was jump serving this time, for the first time so I was missing quite a lot which was no good, but I tried not to worry to much about it since it was out of the ordinary for me. Next time my serving will be better and more consistent. Im more worried about hitting the backs of my teammates heads! In the end the match was well played but of course we could have pushed them further. We are bound to beat them this season I am certain.

This weekend we have Hylte/Halmstad. They are a good team so I think it will be a good fight that I hope we will win. If we focus on what we have to do on our side of the court then we will for sure win. Its all about the strategy that our coach gives us and our skills as a team that will help us succeed. Go Orebro Volley!