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 :)