	Sooo close in Santa Barbara
Soooooooo close……. The adventure continues and Brooke and I had another fun time in Santa Barbara AVP over the weekend. I flew into town on Wednesday and changed clothes in the airport to rush to the beach after landing for a practice with Brooke to prepare for our 2nd tourney of the year. Luckily I had some help from my good friend Fabrizio (in pic) who picked me up at the airport to take me to my car rental to save time. That felt like I was a rockstar! Since we haven’t had much time together , we had only a short window to get some practice in. That was quite an adventure but not as adventurous as finding a place to say in SB. Luckily my brother Eric came up huge for me and found a old college friend who that day said that I could stay at his place. Little did I know that I would be so blessed by these guys! Brooke and I got up to practice on Thursday since once again we didn’t have to play in the qualifier and this time we were seeded #20. Just like Florida it was crazy windy and tents and signs were blowing all over the place. Not really the ideal OUTDOOR volleyball conditions! J Luckily we had the Florida tournament to prepare us for another windy weekend. I just need to pay about 30 people to stand arm and arm around our court to block the wind! Ha ha! After practice I drove to my brother’s friend, Jason and Michaels house and I was so excited after learning that I would have my own room and my own bed to sleep in! Not only that, but I was in a super cool house with great people! This is what makes my traveling way more fun when I get to meet awesome people and share my time with them. After a much needed shower I got to hang out with Jason and Zoe (Jason’s friend) and watch American Idol, The office and the Blazer game! It was such a great and relaxing night!! Staying in hotels is okay sometimes, but sharing a home with new friends really is the highlight for me! Friday morning was game day and we had the 10am match against the #12 team. This was especially a big match for me since I knew one of my opponents pretty well. It was Raquel from last year, who dumped me 2 hours before registration closed for the Huntington tournament and to make matters even worse my parents and great friends the Cooks had already bought airline tickets to come watch me play. Since she only gave me 2 hours to find a new partner, I couldn’t find anyone who didn’t already commit to play with someone else and had to sit out the entire tourney. Needless to say I REALLY wanted to beat her ! Game 1 we played amazing! Everything was clicking and we crushed them 21-11. Game 2 the other girl started to play really well and they beat us 21-18 to force a game three to 15 points. We were down a bit before tying the game at 14-14. We had a shot to take the lead but barely missed it and then they made good shot to win 16-14 in the 3rd! OUCH! We were so close and I wanted to win that so badly. Sometimes you wish you could get a break with all that happened, but I can’t control my circumstances, I just tried to play the best I could. After an hour rest, we played the next team in the windiest (did I just make up a word?) court possible. It was right next to the water and far out on the sand. It felt like playing all the way in Idaho! One ball I passed in front of me and then the wind took it and it flew behind me down the beach. Yikes! So this game was a battle and we barely won it 21-19, 19-21 and 15-12. In the third game we were actually down 9-4 and 12-8 before making a huge comeback to win the match. Shortly after we had to play #11 team of Kropp and Mason. Mason who was “supposed “ to be retired came back to play in another tournament. Game 1 was awesome! Brooke and I played so well and just felt so great out there together. They had 6 game points and we had 1 before they finally beat us 28-26. Then we lost a little steam and lost game two 21-16. After the loss, Tom (in picture from last year) who had driven up and was supporting us the whole time came over to give me a big high five which put a smile on my face. Seeing him I realized how even though we lost, we played well and I get to meet some great, supportive people along the journey. He even brought me a chocolate covered strawberry for my birthday! Mmmmm!! :-). Although we lost two close matches I felt so great about the weekend with Brooke. I am enjoying playing so much and it’s great to play when you like your partner and at the end of the day, I get to go back to CO and be home. Our potential is exciting to think about. I just wish we would have been able to capitalize on some of our chances to put us in a better position to do some damage! One of the other teams seeded lower than us did extremely well so it looks like we will for sure be bumped into the qualifier for Huntington June 3rd. After the tournament I actually drove 4.5 hours all the way to Palm Desert to spend some much needed time with my grandma who always knows the best way to spoil me. I remember running away to her house when I was 5 and still run there even now when I am 30. Nothing beats some good time with grandma. I also got to see some of wonderful kids who I tutored out in CA and it was so fun seeing them again. I sure miss those families and grateful they are still a part of my life! I leave for my next tourney in Huntington on May 26th (we play June 3rd) and I really need to ask for prayer regarding a possible amazing opportunity. Last year I was so blessed to be able to be coached a little by Liz Masakayan. She is my beach role model and I have learned so much from her. Just google her and you will see all the amazing accomplishments she had as a player. And she’s that much better of a coach. She coached one of the teams at the last Olympics and just took her latest team to a final appearance in SB beating Misty May’s team. Anyway, I had lunch with her and talked about the possibility of her coaching Brooke and me for the 3 CA tournaments. She seemed open to it, and Brooke and I are really seeking some sponsor leads to help us pay for her. She is not cheap but think she could really help Brooke and me on game days maybe get to the next level. So if I can ask for prayer, it is that Liz would accept coaching us and somehow Brooke and I would find sponsors to help us pay for her. I appreciate you support and help so much! Brooke and I had 2 practices with her after we got done playing and already felt like we improved.. I am grateful to play with someone I enjoy playing with and am also so grateful for the Kranske’s who let me stay at their place for a couple of days in LA while I trained and got to tutor some of my old kids. If it weren’t for all of you that God put in my life, I know pursuing my dreams wouldn’t be an option. Thanks for all you do for me!

Sooo close in Santa Barbara

Soooooooo close…….

The adventure continues and Brooke and I had another fun time in Santa Barbara AVP over the weekend.

I flew into town on Wednesday and changed clothes in the airport to rush to the beach after landing for a practice with Brooke to prepare for our 2nd tourney of the year. Luckily I had some help from my good friend Fabrizio (in pic) who picked me up at the airport to take me to my car rental to save time. That felt like I was a rockstar! Since we haven’t had much time together , we had only a short window to get some practice in. That was quite an adventure but not as adventurous as finding a place to say in SB. Luckily my brother Eric came up huge for me and found a old college friend who that day said that I could stay at his place. Little did I know that I would be so blessed by these guys!

Brooke and I got up to practice on Thursday since once again we didn’t have to play in the qualifier and this time we were seeded #20. Just like Florida it was crazy windy and tents and signs were blowing all over the place. Not really the ideal OUTDOOR volleyball conditions! J Luckily we had the Florida tournament to prepare us for another windy weekend. I just need to pay about 30 people to stand arm and arm around our court to block the wind! Ha ha!

After practice I drove to my brother’s friend, Jason and Michaels house and I was so excited after learning that I would have my own room and my own bed to sleep in! Not only that, but I was in a super cool house with great people! This is what makes my traveling way more fun when I get to meet awesome people and share my time with them. After a much needed shower I got to hang out with Jason and Zoe (Jason’s friend) and watch American Idol, The office and the Blazer game! It was such a great and relaxing night!! Staying in hotels is okay sometimes, but sharing a home with new friends really is the highlight for me!

Friday morning was game day and we had the 10am match against the #12 team. This was especially a big match for me since I knew one of my opponents pretty well. It was Raquel from last year, who dumped me 2 hours before registration closed for the Huntington tournament and to make matters even worse my parents and great friends the Cooks had already bought airline tickets to come watch me play. Since she only gave me 2 hours to find a new partner, I couldn’t find anyone who didn’t already commit to play with someone else and had to sit out the entire tourney. Needless to say I REALLY wanted to beat her !

Game 1 we played amazing! Everything was clicking and we crushed them 21-11. Game 2 the other girl started to play really well and they beat us 21-18 to force a game three to 15 points. We were down a bit before tying the game at 14-14. We had a shot to take the lead but barely missed it and then they made good shot to win 16-14 in the 3rd! OUCH! We were so close and I wanted to win that so badly. Sometimes you wish you could get a break with all that happened, but I can’t control my circumstances, I just tried to play the best I could.

After an hour rest, we played the next team in the windiest (did I just make up a word?) court possible. It was right next to the water and far out on the sand. It felt like playing all the way in Idaho! One ball I passed in front of me and then the wind took it and it flew behind me down the beach. Yikes! So this game was a battle and we barely won it 21-19, 19-21 and 15-12. In the third game we were actually down 9-4 and 12-8 before making a huge comeback to win the match.

Shortly after we had to play #11 team of Kropp and Mason. Mason who was “supposed “ to be retired came back to play in another tournament. Game 1 was awesome! Brooke and I played so well and just felt so great out there together. They had 6 game points and we had 1 before they finally beat us 28-26. Then we lost a little steam and lost game two 21-16. After the loss, Tom (in picture from last year) who had driven up and was supporting us the whole time came over to give me a big high five which put a smile on my face. Seeing him I realized how even though we lost, we played well and I get to meet some great, supportive people along the journey. He even brought me a chocolate covered strawberry for my birthday! Mmmmm!! :-).

Although we lost two close matches I felt so great about the weekend with Brooke. I am enjoying playing so much and it’s great to play when you like your partner and at the end of the day, I get to go back to CO and be home. Our potential is exciting to think about. I just wish we would have been able to capitalize on some of our chances to put us in a better position to do some damage! One of the other teams seeded lower than us did extremely well so it looks like we will for sure be bumped into the qualifier for Huntington June 3rd.

After the tournament I actually drove 4.5 hours all the way to Palm Desert to spend some much needed time with my grandma who always knows the best way to spoil me. I remember running away to her house when I was 5 and still run there even now when I am 30. Nothing beats some good time with grandma. I also got to see some of wonderful kids who I tutored out in CA and it was so fun seeing them again. I sure miss those families and grateful they are still a part of my life!

I leave for my next tourney in Huntington on May 26th (we play June 3rd) and I really need to ask for prayer regarding a possible amazing opportunity. Last year I was so blessed to be able to be coached a little by Liz Masakayan. She is my beach role model and I have learned so much from her. Just google her and you will see all the amazing accomplishments she had as a player. And she’s that much better of a coach. She coached one of the teams at the last Olympics and just took her latest team to a final appearance in SB beating Misty May’s team. Anyway, I had lunch with her and talked about the possibility of her coaching Brooke and me for the 3 CA tournaments. She seemed open to it, and Brooke and I are really seeking some sponsor leads to help us pay for her. She is not cheap but think she could really help Brooke and me on game days maybe get to the next level. So if I can ask for prayer, it is that Liz would accept coaching us and somehow Brooke and I would find sponsors to help us pay for her. I appreciate you support and help so much!

Brooke and I had 2 practices with her after we got done playing and already felt like we improved.. I am grateful to play with someone I enjoy playing with and am also so grateful for the Kranske’s who let me stay at their place for a couple of days in LA while I trained and got to tutor some of my old kids. If it weren’t for all of you that God put in my life, I know pursuing my dreams wouldn’t be an option. Thanks for all you do for me!