We trained for a few days before the tournament started. Our first training day was cold and rainy, and when we arrived at the courts only one other team was there- our fellow Canadians! We did some drills with Kara Zakrzewski and Julie Rodrigue and a German team eventually joined us as well.
The next day we decided to get our practice session in just before the technical meeting. We started warming up on one of the empty courts as Larissa and Juliana (currently the top team in the world) came over and asked if they could share our court for their warm up. OBVIOUSLY we didn't mind. Asya was just serving some balls at me so I could practice my passing and Larissa and Juliana would spontaneously jump in and set the pass for me to hit. It was a really cool experience. I'm pretty sure I hit the ball harder than I ever have in my life!
When they left our court, we trained with a team from Latvia.
The weather finally cleared up for qualification day! The sun was shining, but the wind was pretty gusty. We were set to play a Japanese team for our first match. We know this team fairly well because we trained with them a couple of times in Brazil and China. Our first set started off well, but they pulled ahead with some tough serves for a final score of 15-21. The next set was tight! They were one point ahead at the technical time out, then we were ahead for most of the second half of the set. They ended up winning 21-19, taking the match. This was a disappointing result for us, but Asya and I are pleased with the way we played for the most part. We are definitely improving as the season progresses. There is still a long way to go and although the loss is frustrating, it's a good learning experience for us.
After our game, as I was watching another match, a woman came up to me and asked if I could do an interview on the radio. I was a little reluctant... still being depressed after the loss and all... but I grabbed Asya and it turned out to be a lot of fun!
Now we are going to do some sightseeing in this awesome city. Check out my
facebook page for more pictures!
The next day we decided to get our practice session in just before the technical meeting. We started warming up on one of the empty courts as Larissa and Juliana (currently the top team in the world) came over and asked if they could share our court for their warm up. OBVIOUSLY we didn't mind. Asya was just serving some balls at me so I could practice my passing and Larissa and Juliana would spontaneously jump in and set the pass for me to hit. It was a really cool experience. I'm pretty sure I hit the ball harder than I ever have in my life!
When they left our court, we trained with a team from Latvia.
The weather finally cleared up for qualification day! The sun was shining, but the wind was pretty gusty. We were set to play a Japanese team for our first match. We know this team fairly well because we trained with them a couple of times in Brazil and China. Our first set started off well, but they pulled ahead with some tough serves for a final score of 15-21. The next set was tight! They were one point ahead at the technical time out, then we were ahead for most of the second half of the set. They ended up winning 21-19, taking the match. This was a disappointing result for us, but Asya and I are pleased with the way we played for the most part. We are definitely improving as the season progresses. There is still a long way to go and although the loss is frustrating, it's a good learning experience for us.
After our game, as I was watching another match, a woman came up to me and asked if I could do an interview on the radio. I was a little reluctant... still being depressed after the loss and all... but I grabbed Asya and it turned out to be a lot of fun!
Now we are going to do some sightseeing in this awesome city. Check out my facebook page for more pictures!
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