Norway has continued to be wet, cold and dreary. Phil and I have been fortunate that we have not played in the rain yet. Yesterday we played in between downpours.
So far Norway has been good to us. We have won all 3 of our pool play matches. We beat Japan in 2 games. We had a lead for most of both games. It was very cold during that match. During timeouts and breaks I didn't stay in the bench area very long. Phil and I were wearing long sleeve shirts under our jerseys to stay warm. Lot of people have been wearing leggings and long sleeve shirts. The high temp. has been around 55 degrees. Add in rain and wind and you see where that can go. Still not nearly as cold as Tahoe when it snowed last year though.
Our second match was against the Netherlands. They are a good team and beat Wong/Ring in the qualifier. The little left handed guy was crushing his serve in the first game. He had 4 aces and forced another 2 or 3 bad passes for points. That was pretty much how they won that game. He ended the first game with an ace off Phil down the middle and then an ace in Phil's deep angle. Both of them were crushed serves. The second was a battle. We limited him to only 1 ace but he did create several bad passes for points. We were able to end the match with a dig and putaway by me and a big block by Phil. The third was close until 8-7 and then we pulled out ahead by a couple of points and won by 3 or 4.
Those first two matches were on Thursday. Our only match on Friday was against a very good Estonian team. They won a couple of weeks back by going all the way through the losers bracket after losing in the first round. It was pretty much a sideout battle that in the end we scored a few points and that was the difference. So we came out of our pool is the number 1 team.
This gives us a bye in the first round straight to 9th. We do have a tough draw as we play either the Germans that beat Stein and Mike or the third seeded Brasilian team of Franco and Pedro. Probably the brasilians. They lost to the Netherlands in pool play to take second in their pool. They have been playing well though with 2 second place finishes to Ricardo/Emanuel in the last 2 tourneys. Should be a fun one regardless of who we play and hopefully the weather will be decent.
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5 comments:
Taking the Brazilian teams to 3 games in France and Norway....tough draw again...but a good finish for you and Phil. Weather is sure to be warmer next week in Seaside!!
Good job escaping the first two FIVB events with the USA points lead Todd.
Looks like all the competition is quite good even outside of the Brazilians. The gold winners one week taking a 25th the next. The bronze winners a 17th. You and Phil did remarkably well against many great teams.
What goals do you set out as a team going into an international competition?
How do you feel about Round Robin?
Amazing that Jen and April can lose twice in pool play and come storming back to win Gold.
Finally, what kind of reception do the Americans get from fans in Paris and Norway? Do they appreciate the level of play you bring or do they root against you?
Get the Gold in Seaside!
Todd, Well done! Like Ty said way to leave Norway with the USA points lead.
Welcome back to the States.
A12
I noticed in the pic of the Chinese team that took third place in Norway they are wearing the Phiten magnetic necklaces that almost every Major League Baseball player now wears. They are suppose to reduce stress and aid in the bodies recovery from fatigue. I have been wearing one for about a year and I would have to say it is pretty good but maybe just psychological. You and Phil should give them a try. Josh Beckett wears like 3 of them when he pitches and he is having a great year for the BoSox! Scott from Cape Cod
Garret and A12 thank you.
Scott - The japanese wear them as well and have been sponsored by them. For the most part, I think they are psychological. If you don't believe in it it won't work, if you do, it probably will.
Ty- Phil and I want to win. We won last year and can beat any team in the world. That is our goal every tourney. I don't like round robin/pool play. You get forfeits in meaningless games or you even worse, you get two teams that have nothing to play for and you can tell it when they play the game. I have found the fans enjoy the level of play that the american players bring to tour. The other players on the FIVB would probably be happier without us around. In Norway they like americans. I won't even bother saying what the majority of the french feel about americans. We did have a few fans and I appreciate them, but in general we were the underdog.
Todd
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