Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Busy Year!

Hey guys!

Sorry it's been so long between posts here I've really fallen behind!

So where I last left off we were heading into a weekend of exhibition play against Winnipeg! We won both games against Winnipeg 3 sets to 1. These games were a great test for us because Winnipeg played great defence, kept balls alive and made us have to work the whole game long to get through rough plays and make runs to stay in the game. We experimented with some different lineups as well, with Eivind our starting right side moving to libero to finish both games, and myself (Logan) moving from middle to right side. Brett LeDrew came in to play middle, replacing me. This really showed off how deep of a team we have this year, and our ability to perform with guys coming off the bench and moving into different positions! Right side was interesting for me, staying on court all set long without subbing out back row to the libero was very different, and hitting out of the back row is still something I'm working on. Overall this weekend really helped test us and show us what we are capable of as a group!

Next up we had a bus ride to Queen's University for their annual exhibition tournament. Approximately 12 hours on a bus with a full volleyball team can be a little uncomfortable, but it's great for team bonding! You have to find ways to pass the time and sometimes you might end up talking to a guy for half the trip who you don't really know that well.
On to the games! We had our first game Friday night against the hosts Queen's, and swept them 3 sets to none. It was a good game for us, we played consistently throughout, and made some good adjustments early on to counter a great Queen's team.

Next up we played Montreal on Saturday. We were excited about this game since Montreal is a regular opponent for us during our interlock tournaments with the Quebec conference. We won the game 3-1. It was another good test, and a bit of wake up call for us. Montreal came out playing strong, and showing off their usual defensive intensity that can be frustrating. Again we had to make some adjustments, particularly on blocking for middles, making sure we're penetrating on block early and really taking away angles. After some runs, including Julio serving a series of aces, we got back in control to take the game.

Our final game was against Manitoba for the tournament title. This match turned into a brawl, with us losing in 5 sets. It was a disappointing end to the exhibition season, suffering our first loss in a game we feel we jsut did not perform. There was some lack of communication, and guys getting out of rythm, not focusing as Manitoba made runs and comebacks. This was a real wake up call to us, that we need to bring our best every time if we expect to make it to the very end of the season, and make waves at Nationals.

League play then started off in DAL with our first Interlock of the year. A loss to Montreal in 5 sets to start off was not what the team wanted. We had to have a serious talk after this game and reaffirm that we need to work together, support each other when we are playing well and playing bad, and when the other team is making great plays, we need to make great plays to stay in it.
We went on to win the next 2 games of the interlock, including beating Laval for the first time in my 5 year vreds career.

I don't want to make this post too long so I'll save some more for another post later this week! I'll also start introducing you guys to some of the new faces on the team!

thanks for all your support!

Logan

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