Saturday- Team Finestrat had a great opportunity to distance ourselves in this race for a spot in the playoffs. Unfortunately we did not take advantage. We were defeated by C.V. Playa de las Canteras 0-3 (21-25; 26-28; 18-25). A match that seemed pretty evenly matched on paper, ended with Team Finestrat being terribly defeated and outplayed on our "home" court. I say "home" because we do not have a home court. We dont play where we practice. And I can sit here and spit out all these excuses about why we are not prepared. Some of which I really believe matter and others are just frustratation. But the point is when we lose, its simply because we did not play. We didnt show up. There were some games this season that I truly believe we should have won. And then there are games where we flat out got beat fair and square. The opposing team came in, outplayed, and out-strategized. And that is what it is. Nothing more, nothing less.First, lets get the excuses out: Three out of the six starters are still plagued with this viral throat infection; three players are have intensely strained I T bands and hamstrings (mine is to the point where it hurts to walk or bend my leg); we dont actually practice volleyball stuff that pertains to an actual game; we dont scout or watch video of the opposing team until five minutes before we warm up; our head coach was out sick the whole week (thanks to me I guess). So on and so forth. We could recite these things every week like clock work, but at the end of the day, they shouldnt matter. When that whistle blows its pedal to the medal volleyball. The adrenaline kicks in, and you feel nothing but the game, the kill you just got or the block that reached the floor before you hit the floor. None of this happened yesterday.
I am a not a practice player. Im a gamer. Yes, I know that is bad because there is the saying that you practice how you play. But not me. Usually in a game I am ready to go no matter what hurts. But this match, the lingering pain in my leg stayed with me the whole game. It was like I was having surgery with no anesthesia. I could feel every jump and land, every dive and every swing. Im not gonna lie, I was not ready for this competition. It sucked. But had to do the best I could. We came out really flat. Every weak aspect of our game was exploited. Our passing broke down, their hitters were getting balls through, and we were getting blocked off the court. They outblocked us 13-4. Mentally we were not making good decisions on the court as well. For example forcing the outsides to hit through a double block, because the other team's middles were releasing. We got lazy and started to do things the easy way instead of the right way. I might add that Katia did a terrific job in the first set of finding the court. So kudos to her.
Game two started off differently with us unprecedently on top for once. With the work of Naomi and Lindsay, we got off to a 5-0 start and quickly opened up a pretty nice lead. But Canteras never left and hung on to the very end. We could not defend their middles behind or their opposite at all. I honestly do not believe we dug one ball from zone 2 in that set. With many unforced errors on our part, they stole the second set 28-26. It was a heart-stabbing blow to our egos and confidence. The third set went pretty much the same as the first. Canteras took the lead and never really relinquished it. Blown opportunities and undiscipline play resulted in Team Finestrat being defeated 3-0. Might I add that I feel we just didnt match up well with this team. Offensively their setter spreads the offense around. She will go back to a hot player, but she will not forget her other hitters. That is because it obviously takes more than one person to win a game. Especially a game like volleyball, where one outcomes depends upon another. Honestly its hard to defend a team when you have to look out for everyone instead of just one person.
With that said.. You win as a team and you die as a team. I wish other people would realize that. Not one person can win a game nor can one person lose a game. This was a collective team effort for Team Finestrat. Even though I wish I could have contributed more, opportunities were not there and at the end of the day the only name on the jersey that matters is the one on the front. Team Finestrat will have to regroup, put this behind us and focus on next weeks match. Can't cry over spilled milk.
Leading all scorers was Vera Willis from Canteras with 18+ 12 on 17 kills and Dani DaSilva from Finestrat with 15+ 5 on 13 kills. By the way Vera is an old friend from Costa Rica. It was good seeing her here in Spain. :)
We will travel next Saturday to face off against Jamper Aguere, the #1. We are still very much in the playoff hunt and a win or points here would be critical to us maintaining our position. Vamos Finestrat.
"Turn "I can't" into "I can" and pretty soon it'll be "I did" - The Daily Love
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