Out with a bang!

 It’s been a long, cold winter, but we managed to survive! We were so excited to get to go to the first event of the year, a NORCECA in the Cayman Islands. We were really looking forward to getting back outside and getting used to the heat and wind. Cayman definitely has it’s fair share of both!

Jamie and I arrived a week early to get used to the conditions. We also ran a two-day beach clinic for the local kids who are into playing indoor volleyball and want to check out what beach is all about. It was really fun getting to know everyone, we all had a fun time. 

Definitely some super talent here! We better watch out... :)

The tournament organizers also offered complementary dolphin excursions, so I got to swim with a dolphin and kiss him too! (yes, this place IS paradise).

Getting things started at the technical meeting.

The tournament started on Friday with pool play. We defeated Mexico 2 and Barbados, and on Saturday morning we took down El Salvador to win our pool. Later in the afternoon we matched up against a Cayman Islands team in the quarter final to advance to the semis.

We were matched up against USA2. The sun was out, the wind was strong and Jamie and I were ready to battle!
Kind of. We had a shaky start, losing the first set 16-21… This team’s aggressive serving took us off guard a little. But we fought back in the second set and won 27-25 (despite a few questionable calls from the ref…). We found our groove and got a grip on the wind in the third set and finally beat them 15-11.

Then we had a couple of hours to rest before meeting USA1 in the finals. We had done all the hard work leading up to this game, so we were able to let ourselves enjoy being in the finals. The atmosphere was crazy. I took a deep breath and looked around before the first whistle blew. The stands were packed with so many Canadian fans. This was my first time in the finals at a NORCECA and I was SO PUMPED to be there. Jamie and I played like we were on a mission, playing smart with the wind and hitting balls as hard as we could whenever we had the chance. We beat the Americans  21-16, 21-13. Jamie served an ace to win the match. What a great feeling! We were exhausted and thrilled!! 

The water spider and the beast.

We started working with a personal coach this year, John May, and flew him down here to help us out with this tournament. It was great to have someone with us to keep us focused (and entertained in the down time!). I can't thank John enough for his support. We've learned so much from in the short time that we've been working with him, and we're looking forward to more big things in the future!

The next day we took a boat cruise with fellow Canadian teammates Heather and Liz. We checked out sting ray city and did some snorkelling. It was a nice recovery day, relaxing for the most part (except when we had to hang out with the sting rays. Those things are CREEPY!) 

Here are a few photos.