The past week marked the last week of the first half of our season. We played Jamper Aguere, the top team in the league right now, and we played Riobeo Xacbeo. Both matches ended in defeat. Not much morecan be said about it. No matter what happened, when the last ball hit the floor we were on the losing side of the coin. Again. This officially makes our losing game streak at 5 games.Jamper Aguere sqaurd presented a balanced attack, desent ball control and a very good block. Both of their middles are very agile and move very well to close the block. Acually one of their Brazilian middles reminds me of myself. Very athlete. So it was a good match up between us. I thought. Once again we could not compete with their team. Not because of lack of talent, but lack of wholeness on our side. The one thing I noticed about Jamper is that they are a very solid team. Every person seems to do their job to the best of their ability and although they may not have one superstar they have many players that are good at what they do. Together its a conducive unit. Something we are lacking. We were able to take a game off of Jamper in the 2nd set, but in the end we could not overcome their attack and they defeated us 1-3(10-25, 25-15, 12-25, 13-25).
Our next match was just two days later and it took us up to the northern part of Spain. It was very cold there. I was reminded of Indiana fall weather. Yes, I should be used to cold weather due to the fact that I grew up in the midwest and I spent a hard winter in Finland. Yeap, doesnt mean I have to like it though. Upon arriving in the gym to practice, it was clear that these people do not believe in central heating. Cold weather is not good for your joints, and my knees did not appreciate it. With all excuses aside, you have to push all the outside issues out of your mind when game time comes, and clearly we did not.
For some reason in this game we could not get going. We started all three games behind and I do not believe we ever had the lead at any point. In the first set we made a run towards the end on a service run from our side. We tied the score up, but after a service error Riobeo put the game away. After that moment I tried hard to forget the rest of the match. In the second set, their libero's defense came alive and she dug everything. I mean I hit a ball literally in the middle of the court and she dug it. Some chick from their side dug a ball off her foot. Talk about luck, but you create your own luck right? The second game brought out a lot of frustration and loss of confidence. This is probably why we only scored 9 points in the third set. It was a mess. I haven't lost a game that bad since the SEC Tourny my junior year, when I was benched and we scored 6 points.
Tempers flared and a lot of things were said that I am sured were regretable. One thing is for sure, we need to take Christmas Break to reevaulate our committment to this sport that we all supposedly love. When we come back, it is possible to turn this thing around. We just have to go out their and do it. We are going to have to work harder, train longer and love the game more then the other teams. I am fully aware of what I need to do to help my team and I hope they know too. When we come back its pedal to the medal, but one game at a time. Thats all we can control.
Till then... Vamos Finestrat......
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