Came out on top of the pile again. We were strongly tested by Jake and Rosy in both matches we played against them though.
Friday's play was cancelled due to very poor and packed sand conditions. The weather Thursday night played a small factor as well. There was a tornado warning and a downpour as well. Because of the tourney delay the AVP decided to do the round of 24 in single elim. format. Phil and I as well as the other top 8 teams had a bye into the round of 16 and the double elim. format.
Our first game we played Placek and Marchewka, a qualifier team. They had beaten ALB and Rester in a bit of an upset. In both games we pulled away about mid game and beat them around 15 and 15 or so. They have now qualified in the last two tourneys and have played most teams pretty tough. I suspect they will be in the main draw here fairly soon if they keep up their solid play. Our second game was against Ratledge and Mariano who upset Loomis and Stolfus. 9 seed vs. 8 seed. We were down 9-12 at the break in the first but roared back as Ed made a bunch of unforced errors combined with a dig and block to win 16 or so. The next game we pulled ahead quickly and won by about the same score.
Saturday night we played Jake and Rosy in the winners semis. I was terrible in the first game making a ton of unforced errors. We got smoked and at one point were down 14-5. The second game was a reversal as we smoked them. The third game both teams played well and we were able to pull it out 17-15 for the win.
On Sunday we played Mark and Aaron in the crossover semis. They came out strong as Mark was touching a lot of my shots and hits at the net and they were converting them for points. We were down 14-8 when Phil took over. We won the match 21-16. We scored about 8 points in a row and about 6 of them were blocks by Phil. The second game we maintained our momentum and cruised to the win.
In the finals we played Jake and Rosy again. They came out strong in the first game and won 21-16. We didn't play bad so much as they played great. Particularly Rosy. He saved at least 5 points with great covers and hitting on two. In the second game we got the points he was saving in the first and won 21-16. The third game we were down 6-4 and then sided out and scored a point. We took the next switch up 8-7 serving. At the end we pulled ahead 13-10 but Rosy made a diving pass on my jump float and put it away. Jake then blocked Phil to make things interesting with a 13-12 side switch with them going to the good side. Jake served me and I put it away with a cross court hit. The next play Rosy hit a shot long down the line and we won 15-12.
7 comments:
All things considered not a bad start to the season, 2 wins and a bronze. I would hate to play against you guys when all engines are clicking.
Come on Todd hang the championship bannners on the fence, you deserve it.
Arsenal 12
Todd,
As always, thanks for posting. And enjoy your week off from travels. BTW, kudos to Phil for landing his pic on the recent DIG mag cover.
- Steve
Todd-
Who do you think you guys are....The Patriots? Are you going to go undefeated this season too? I know..I know..."taking it one match at a time"..."a lot of good teams out there"....but you must really be thinking "we are going to load all of these ham and eggers on a yellow bus this season and take them to school!" I havent caught any of the matches on TV yet but I am looking forward to seeing some AVP action soon. With the Bruins going 7 games, the Red Sox, the Celtics Playoffs and NFL draft plus the kids are on school vacation this week here, I havent had time to breathe. It has actually been warmer here this week than it was last July when the AVP came thru Boston. No travel horror stories yet? I miss the stories of you driving thru the desert at 4am with a bag of Doritos and sunflower seeds. Maybe you have a corporate jet this season? Anyway congratulations on the victories and on all the hard work this off season that is paying off now. We are all pulling for you and Phil! Scott from Cape Cod
Hey Scott,
Sorry but the Canadiens rule! LET'S GO HABS!
Sorry Todd but I love my hockey, Montreal is my team.
Arsenal 12
Todd,
Congrats on the start of another great season for you and Phil. I was wondering if you know why the AVP went away from having a qualifier at every stop? Was it a space issue or a money issue? I know they are starting a developmental leauge but the majority of those are in So Cal, makes it hard on us East coast guys. I was just wondering if you had any insight on the matter. Hope to catch you in Charleston. Thanks.
T.J.
I see where Mark Heese and Ahren Cadieux earned a nice ninth this week.
Todd, Ran across your blog looking for some decent sand courts in vegas for a trip im taking this weekend.
Snapped a couple decent frames from this AVP stop. Available here in full resolution if interested (just click on the thumbnail to get a preview size and click on that preview to get the massive original).
One of the continuous shots was your great rip right down the seam. You can see Jake and Rosy both falling away in successive shots (1, 2, 3). Gave me the idea to frame pictures in triples when i can capture moments like this. Wish you guys returned to Austin instead of Dallas soon but maybe playing in parking lots is more fun than it looks. I'm sure the Hicks family pays better anyway. ;)
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