	Miracle In Manhattan
Miracle in Manhattan! This past weekend was truly one weekend that I will forever remember. It was magical and such a blessing. Through the many struggles I have had this year, this really was such a gift to experience and be a part of. I have been praying specifically to be able to play to my potential and to play with a partner who I enjoy. I also wanted to be able to share it with my family and community. Going into the weekend, I wasn't too optimistic about our chances to go far in the tournament. The Players: Imagine taking a 6'1 girl who played defense all year last year and hasn't been the blocker at all. Then take a 5'3 defensive genius, who looks really young. Pair them together and place them in the largest tournament of the year with 64 teams in the largest most renowned AVP event, The Manhattan AVP open. Coming off a 25th tough finish in NYC, seed them at 26 and make them play 19 games in 2 days in blistering heat. Promise the 6'1 girl she will play 3 former partners and have to run to the net every play of those 19 games. How do you think these two would fair? Hurdle 1: When I first started playing volleyball I knew only one girl in CA. She was a friend from high school who also played VB. She was my first partner on the beach and our 1st match of this past weekend was against her. It would be an emotional one, due to the history of the friendship. Chrissie and I would take game 1: 21-14, and then lose game 2: 22-24. Game 3 wasn't too good of a start and we were at 11-13 before making a late comeback to win the match 16-14. A large part of the comeback was credited to the cheering and support of my family who flew in and Chrissie's parents who were also there. Both my parents and my younger brother were there to experience it with me. Also some of my wonderful kids I tutor (Gustafson's, Frapech) came out to support me! Hurdle 2: With that win, we only had 45 minutes of rest before playing the #6 team, and one player was 6'4. They didn't seem to warm-up all that much and I think they kind of underestimated us. Game one started and we were neck and neck the entire game. 19-19, 20-20, 21-21, then the ref made a really bad call that gave them game 1: 24-22. At this point I stopped to look around our court and it was lined with people 2-3 people deep. We had developed a little cheer squad. They actually became a huge factor in game two and we beat them 21-19 to go to another game 3. Chrissie is only 5'3 she is truly inspiring to watch play and so fun to play with. Her ability to play defense and do what she does makes people's jaws drop. Both of us were really clicking and playing well together and even though we had about 120 people cheering for us, we lost the 3rd game 17-15. Afterwards, I told Chrissie I was so proud of us, and thought that the game was so fun and really enjoyed playing with her. When you are able to play against the best competition, really compete and play to your potential, there really isn't anything better in a professional sport. Afterwards I was able to talk with Liz Masakayan (my coach/former legend beach player) who actually came down to support us! I was so thankful for her taking the time to come and watch! Hurdle 3: With 35-minute rest, we had to run to the tent to grab some quick food and didn't really need to warm up for the next match since we were already warm from that previous 3 game battle. Our next opponent was the team that beat us the previous weekend in NYC. We battled and came out victorious 21-19, 21-14. At this time it was 7:00 pm and we were exhausted. Thankfully we were done for the day and I headed to a great dinner with my family before crashing as soon as we got home. Hurdle 4: Our first match the next day, Saturday, was at 8:30 am and it was against my old partner from last year, Sarah Straton. Sarah and her partner had won the local tournament the weekend before and were playing well. Fortunately we made such an impression with a lot of local fans the day before, they kept following us and came out to watch us at 8:30 am. With our family and friends cheering for us, we took the match, 21-19 and 21-18. This put us at 17th place. I had many great friends and people from my church come throughout the day! Hurdle 5: In the time it took for me to walk across the beach to see when we would play again, the tournament director had already assigned us another court for our next match. Arg!!! So I walked to the tent to grab some Gatorade and headed to play our next opponent the #12 team of Stacey (old partner from last year again) and her partner Whitney. They have been playing really well, but Chrissie and I were in a rhythm that I can't explain. We just simply played together and somehow beat them 21-17, 21-16. It was unexplainable. We just had fun playing and having most of the beach crowd cheering for us, really inspired us. This put us at 13th. Hurdle 6: Still in a bit of shock of beating my former partners, I walked yet again to the board to see that already we had to play again, but not for 45 min this time. Yay! So I put my feet up and then headed over the court. At this point Chrissie and I hardly warmed up, since it seemed like we were playing non-stop. And the sand was so hot that our feet were burning through our "sand socks." So I started to become nervous of potential cramping. Fortunately we didn't and played the team of Masler/Ruen who also beat us the previous weekend in NYC. It was the weekend of old partners and people who had beaten us previously. Game one we had the lead and then they came back to win game 1: 22-20, then with our families and the crowds encouragement we came back to win game 2: 21-16 to play another game 3. When the score was 7-11, we started our comeback and we won game three 15-12. The crowd erupted and I seriously couldn't believe what was happening! After the match I found out Masler/Ruen had a forfeit from their previous match so they didn't have to play as many games as us. So we really pushed through to win that one! This gave us a 9th. Hurdle 7: After that emotional win, I collapsed in the sand from exhaustion and emotional stress. It was such an intense game and was thrilled to finish that one with a win! The fans afterwards were all coming up to us and encouraged us more than I could ever ask! They constantly rooted us on and cheered every point! However, no matter how loud they cheered, I always heard my mom, dad and little bro every point! It made me smile and made me realize how much I love having my family around me! Praying for some freak thunderstorm to delay the next match didn't happen and we had 35 minutes before playing our next opponent for a 7th place. I just laid in the tent for a while, grabbed some food, and at this point I knew I was on empty and it was taking everything in me to keep fighting. I just went into the "zone." Our next match was against a really good team who had upset some of the top teams and was playing well. But once again Chrissie and I pulled it together and with the help of the crowd once again, we won the match 21-15, 24-22. I dropped to my knees in exhilaration after we won the match and couldn't believe what we had just accomplished. This placed us with a 7th!! This was Chrissie's 1st 7th and my 1st one was last year with Lauren when we beat Holly McPeak. As sweet as that one was, this one was particularly sweet to win with my family and friends there and to win with an unlikely partner who is 5'3. It really was a magical time. Everyone started calling Chrissie, Tinkerbelle! (Actually after my mom started it) Haha! Hurdle 8 As badly as we wished we could have been done for the day, we had one more that night. We got to the beach at 7:30 am for our 8:30 am 1st match and now it was 6:30 pm and we were playing our last match of the night for a 5th place finish! We were playing a team who just re-united but they were too much for us to knock down. We gave it all we had! We fought but they beat us in 2 and thus ended our magical day at the Manhattan Open. I never have felt that kind of emotional exhilaration combined with physical exhaustion. My face and lips were severely sunburned even though I was putting sunscreen on all day, but when you play 5 matches in one day, you are pretty much out in the sun all day! After the match I picked up Chrissie and gave her a huge hug, turned to the amazing, supportive crowd and waved in thanks for all they did for us! It was almost like we had a 3rd person on the court due to all their support and encouragement! So we started out an unlikely team to succeed but ended the day with a 7th place finish, new friends and smiles on our faces! Indescribable strength Throughout this season, and offseason I have worked harder than I ever have and over these past 5 months it seemed not to pay off..... until this weekend. Pete Kranske (a close friend) has sent me some texts about how to keep fighting and pressing on! Many times this season I have wanted to be done, but I kept fighting! Playing a total of 19 games (5 more than ANY other team!), taking 267 hits (next highest was 237), and running to the net every play was totally exhausting. Honestly, it was amazing the strength I was able to draw up. I think it stemmed from an experience I had in college. I went to an Athletes in Action camp and at the end of the camp they put you through the "Special," which was 24 continuous hours of competition of various sports. They didn't let us sleep and broke down any human capability to keep going. This is truly how I felt playing those 5 matches (11 games in one day). The other strength I drew on was that of God. I kept praying for Him to give me 1 more game! And each time we won, I asked for one more! I don't know if I will ever be able to repeat what we did, but I know that the strength I was able to have was not from me. Earlier I talked about my prayer, and really feel that God granted me the blessing to play to my potential with a partner I enjoyed. It was even greater than I dreamed. And to have my family, friends and new friends there meant so so very much to me. The best days of my life are when people I love and care about can come together and share experiences together! So this weekend will be one of the greatest of my career! Celebration: After this magical/miraculous day, my family and friend all went to dinner to celebrate the amazing weekend we all were able to be a part of. And I also invited my coach Liz and she came!! She was so amazing the whole weekend watching and supporting us. I never knew working with her would have such a huge impact on me. I remember her working on my jump serve and "hitting on 2" all off-season which made the difference in my performance this weekend. Honestly, those two things were the game changers at certain points and she gave me confidence to really go after it. So to celebrate it with her and my family meant so much! Pinch me! The next morning I woke up and laid there wondering if what had happened was only just a dream. Then I felt my lips (swollen from being sunburned) and realized it was all true. It really happened and was just so thrilled and blessed to be able to experience what I got to experience. Although the circumstances going into the weekend weren't optimal, I know God really is big enough to make something out of nothing. He took two struggling players, against all odds and made a magical weekend. Next... After we finished the match and earned our 7th place finish, I told Chrissie we better keep playing with each other for the next tournament! J So we will try to continue this magical run in Hermosa Beach, CA on Aug 7th-9th. Even better I think with our great finish it bumped us up in ranking so we don't have to qualify too!! Yay!!! So if you are near Hermosa Beach we would love to have you there to cheer us on! We definitely appreciate our 3rd person (crowd) on the court who helps us so very much! Thanks for those of you who came and supported us and even more, thanks for those of you who have faithfully been praying for me. I honestly feel God honored me and those prayers this weekend and I am very grateful. Thank YOU!

Miracle In Manhattan

Miracle in Manhattan!

This past weekend was truly one weekend that I will forever remember. It was magical and such a blessing. Through the many struggles I have had this year, this really was such a gift to experience and be a part of. I have been praying specifically to be able to play to my potential and to play with a partner who I enjoy. I also wanted to be able to share it with my family and community. Going into the weekend, I wasn't too optimistic about our chances to go far in the tournament.

The Players:

Imagine taking a 6'1 girl who played defense all year last year and hasn't been the blocker at all. Then take a 5'3 defensive genius, who looks really young. Pair them together and place them in the largest tournament of the year with 64 teams in the largest most renowned AVP event, The Manhattan AVP open. Coming off a 25th tough finish in NYC, seed them at 26 and make them play 19 games in 2 days in blistering heat. Promise the 6'1 girl she will play 3 former partners and have to run to the net every play of those 19 games. How do you think these two would fair?

Hurdle 1:

When I first started playing volleyball I knew only one girl in CA. She was a friend from high school who also played VB. She was my first partner on the beach and our 1st match of this past weekend was against her. It would be an emotional one, due to the history of the friendship. Chrissie and I would take game 1: 21-14, and then lose game 2: 22-24. Game 3 wasn't too good of a start and we were at 11-13 before making a late comeback to win the match 16-14. A large part of the comeback was credited to the cheering and support of my family who flew in and Chrissie's parents who were also there. Both my parents and my younger brother were there to experience it with me. Also some of my wonderful kids I tutor (Gustafson's, Frapech) came out to support me!

Hurdle 2:

With that win, we only had 45 minutes of rest before playing the #6 team, and one player was 6'4. They didn't seem to warm-up all that much and I think they kind of underestimated us. Game one started and we were neck and neck the entire game. 19-19, 20-20, 21-21, then the ref made a really bad call that gave them game 1: 24-22. At this point I stopped to look around our court and it was lined with people 2-3 people deep. We had developed a little cheer squad. They actually became a huge factor in game two and we beat them 21-19 to go to another game 3. Chrissie is only 5'3 she is truly inspiring to watch play and so fun to play with. Her ability to play defense and do what she does makes people's jaws drop. Both of us were really clicking and playing well together and even though we had about 120 people cheering for us, we lost the 3rd game 17-15. Afterwards, I told Chrissie I was so proud of us, and thought that the game was so fun and really enjoyed playing with her. When you are able to play against the best competition, really compete and play to your potential, there really isn't anything better in a professional sport. Afterwards I was able to talk with Liz Masakayan (my coach/former legend beach player) who actually came down to support us! I was so thankful for her taking the time to come and watch!

Hurdle 3:

With 35-minute rest, we had to run to the tent to grab some quick food and didn't really need to warm up for the next match since we were already warm from that previous 3 game battle. Our next opponent was the team that beat us the previous weekend in NYC. We battled and came out victorious 21-19, 21-14. At this time it was 7:00 pm and we were exhausted. Thankfully we were done for the day and I headed to a great dinner with my family before crashing as soon as we got home.

Hurdle 4:

Our first match the next day, Saturday, was at 8:30 am and it was against my old partner from last year, Sarah Straton. Sarah and her partner had won the local tournament the weekend before and were playing well. Fortunately we made such an impression with a lot of local fans the day before, they kept following us and came out to watch us at 8:30 am. With our family and friends cheering for us, we took the match, 21-19 and 21-18. This put us at 17th place. I had many great friends and people from my church come throughout the day!

Hurdle 5:

In the time it took for me to walk across the beach to see when we would play again, the tournament director had already assigned us another court for our next match. Arg!!! So I walked to the tent to grab some Gatorade and headed to play our next opponent the #12 team of Stacey (old partner from last year again) and her partner Whitney. They have been playing really well, but Chrissie and I were in a rhythm that I can't explain. We just simply played together and somehow beat them 21-17, 21-16. It was unexplainable. We just had fun playing and having most of the beach crowd cheering for us, really inspired us. This put us at 13th.

Hurdle 6:

Still in a bit of shock of beating my former partners, I walked yet again to the board to see that already we had to play again, but not for 45 min this time. Yay! So I put my feet up and then headed over the court. At this point Chrissie and I hardly warmed up, since it seemed like we were playing non-stop. And the sand was so hot that our feet were burning through our "sand socks." So I started to become nervous of potential cramping. Fortunately we didn't and played the team of Masler/Ruen who also beat us the previous weekend in NYC. It was the weekend of old partners and people who had beaten us previously.

Game one we had the lead and then they came back to win game 1: 22-20, then with our families and the crowds encouragement we came back to win game 2: 21-16 to play another game 3. When the score was 7-11, we started our comeback and we won game three 15-12. The crowd erupted and I seriously couldn't believe what was happening! After the match I found out Masler/Ruen had a forfeit from their previous match so they didn't have to play as many games as us. So we really pushed through to win that one! This gave us a 9th.

Hurdle 7:

After that emotional win, I collapsed in the sand from exhaustion and emotional stress. It was such an intense game and was thrilled to finish that one with a win! The fans afterwards were all coming up to us and encouraged us more than I could ever ask! They constantly rooted us on and cheered every point! However, no matter how loud they cheered, I always heard my mom, dad and little bro every point! It made me smile and made me realize how much I love having my family around me!

Praying for some freak thunderstorm to delay the next match didn't happen and we had 35 minutes before playing our next opponent for a 7th place. I just laid in the tent for a while, grabbed some food, and at this point I knew I was on empty and it was taking everything in me to keep fighting. I just went into the "zone." Our next match was against a really good team who had upset some of the top teams and was playing well. But once again Chrissie and I pulled it together and with the help of the crowd once again, we won the match 21-15, 24-22. I dropped to my knees in exhilaration after we won the match and couldn't believe what we had just accomplished. This placed us with a 7th!! This was Chrissie's 1st 7th and my 1st one was last year with Lauren when we beat Holly McPeak. As sweet as that one was, this one was particularly sweet to win with my family and friends there and to win with an unlikely partner who is 5'3. It really was a magical time. Everyone started calling Chrissie, Tinkerbelle! (Actually after my mom started it) Haha!

Hurdle 8

As badly as we wished we could have been done for the day, we had one more that night. We got to the beach at 7:30 am for our 8:30 am 1st match and now it was 6:30 pm and we were playing our last match of the night for a 5th place finish! We were playing a team who just re-united but they were too much for us to knock down. We gave it all we had! We fought but they beat us in 2 and thus ended our magical day at the Manhattan Open. I never have felt that kind of emotional exhilaration combined with physical exhaustion. My face and lips were severely sunburned even though I was putting sunscreen on all day, but when you play 5 matches in one day, you are pretty much out in the sun all day!

After the match I picked up Chrissie and gave her a huge hug, turned to the amazing, supportive crowd and waved in thanks for all they did for us! It was almost like we had a 3rd person on the court due to all their support and encouragement! So we started out an unlikely team to succeed but ended the day with a 7th place finish, new friends and smiles on our faces!

Indescribable strength

Throughout this season, and offseason I have worked harder than I ever have and over these past 5 months it seemed not to pay off..... until this weekend. Pete Kranske (a close friend) has sent me some texts about how to keep fighting and pressing on! Many times this season I have wanted to be done, but I kept fighting! Playing a total of 19 games (5 more than ANY other team!), taking 267 hits (next highest was 237), and running to the net every play was totally exhausting. Honestly, it was amazing the strength I was able to draw up. I think it stemmed from an experience I had in college. I went to an Athletes in Action camp and at the end of the camp they put you through the "Special," which was 24 continuous hours of competition of various sports. They didn't let us sleep and broke down any human capability to keep going. This is truly how I felt playing those 5 matches (11 games in one day). The other strength I drew on was that of God. I kept praying for Him to give me 1 more game! And each time we won, I asked for one more! I don't know if I will ever be able to repeat what we did, but I know that the strength I was able to have was not from me.

Earlier I talked about my prayer, and really feel that God granted me the blessing to play to my potential with a partner I enjoyed. It was even greater than I dreamed. And to have my family, friends and new friends there meant so so very much to me. The best days of my life are when people I love and care about can come together and share experiences together! So this weekend will be one of the greatest of my career!

Celebration:

After this magical/miraculous day, my family and friend all went to dinner to celebrate the amazing weekend we all were able to be a part of. And I also invited my coach Liz and she came!! She was so amazing the whole weekend watching and supporting us. I never knew working with her would have such a huge impact on me. I remember her working on my jump serve and "hitting on 2" all off-season which made the difference in my performance this weekend. Honestly, those two things were the game changers at certain points and she gave me confidence to really go after it. So to celebrate it with her and my family meant so much!

Pinch me!

The next morning I woke up and laid there wondering if what had happened was only just a dream. Then I felt my lips (swollen from being sunburned) and realized it was all true. It really happened and was just so thrilled and blessed to be able to experience what I got to experience.

Although the circumstances going into the weekend weren't optimal, I know God really is big enough to make something out of nothing. He took two struggling players, against all odds and made a magical weekend.

Next...

After we finished the match and earned our 7th place finish, I told Chrissie we better keep playing with each other for the next tournament! J So we will try to continue this magical run in Hermosa Beach, CA on Aug 7th-9th. Even better I think with our great finish it bumped us up in ranking so we don't have to qualify too!! Yay!!! So if you are near Hermosa Beach we would love to have you there to cheer us on! We definitely appreciate our 3rd person (crowd) on the court who helps us so very much! Thanks for those of you who came and supported us and even more, thanks for those of you who have faithfully been praying for me. I honestly feel God honored me and those prayers this weekend and I am very grateful. Thank YOU!