Rough matchups for Wong/Olson and Furbs/Mayer. They could both end up losing their games and then play each other in the losers bracket. Wong/Olson have no points so are playing the #2 seed in the tourney, Spain. Could be a good match if they serve the right side guy and stay away from Pablo. They could win but I would favor Spain. Furbs/Mayer are the 15th or 18th seed and play Russia. Barsouk is solid so it will depend on how good his new partner is. I have heard he has a ton of potential but is a little raw. I favor the Americans slightly in this game. The last team is Brad and Nick. I think they have a great draw as the 12th seed. They should win their first game and then play a team they could beat in Thiago/Benjamin from Brazil. If they can win their first two I think they should win their third game as well probably vs. Norway who is the #4 seed. They could make it all the way to the winners semis if they play well. The last team was Morrison/Jackson. They won their first match in the quali but lost their second match to a solid team from Italy.
On the women's side the main draw has yet to be set but Hanson/Rutledge are in the quali. They have a tough draw as they play a good Japan team. I think Brooke is going to have to sideout well and pick up and put away a lot of balls on defense. Hopefully they will make into the main draw though.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
AVP Awards
Not to bad on the predictions. Was correct on the Women's side with the exception that I favored EY over Nicole. Not bad on the men's side too. For those of you that have not seen who won what:
Men:
MVP - Phil
Best O - Phil
Best Blocker - Phil
Best D - Hyden
Most Improved - John Mayer
ROY - Jonathon Acosta
Women:
MVP - Nicole
Best O - Nicole
Best Blocker - Lisa Rutledge
Best D - Brooke Hanson
Most Improved - Lisa Rutledge
ROY - Rachel ? - Can't remember her last name. From Brazil
Men:
MVP - Phil
Best O - Phil
Best Blocker - Phil
Best D - Hyden
Most Improved - John Mayer
ROY - Jonathon Acosta
Women:
MVP - Nicole
Best O - Nicole
Best Blocker - Lisa Rutledge
Best D - Brooke Hanson
Most Improved - Lisa Rutledge
ROY - Rachel ? - Can't remember her last name. From Brazil
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Predictions - AVP Banquet
AVP Banquet tonight. Here are my predictions for who wins what.
MVP - Phil
Best O - Phil
Best B - Phil
Those 3 were easy. I think if he doesn't win all 3 it is a major upset.
Best D - I think John Hyden will win it but not as sure on that as with Phil. I think Nick and Rosy will be close with Matt Olson and John Mayer as dark horses.
Most Improved - Tough again. You can make an argument for either Sean Scott or John Hyden. You can also throw in Nygaard, Mayer, Olson, and a handful of others. Really up for grabs here.
ROY - I think it will be Jonathon Acosta. There are 5 or so other guys but he had the best season out of all of them.
Women will be much tougher to predict.
MVP - Should be either EY or Nicole. I will go with EY as Nicole could get a couple of these in the future.
Best O - Nicole
Best B - Lisa Rutledge - I watched her block and she is impressive up there. EY could also win it but she split a lot of time with Nicole up at the net.
Best D - Brooke Hanson - scooped up more balls than anyone else on tour by a lot. I think the fact the top teams split block and split defend will make it tough to give it to one of them.
Most Improved - Lisa Rutledge - She went from pretty low down in the rankings to a top 8 team.
ROY- I have no idea who is considered a rookie on the women's side so I can't venture a guess here.
We shall see tonight.
MVP - Phil
Best O - Phil
Best B - Phil
Those 3 were easy. I think if he doesn't win all 3 it is a major upset.
Best D - I think John Hyden will win it but not as sure on that as with Phil. I think Nick and Rosy will be close with Matt Olson and John Mayer as dark horses.
Most Improved - Tough again. You can make an argument for either Sean Scott or John Hyden. You can also throw in Nygaard, Mayer, Olson, and a handful of others. Really up for grabs here.
ROY - I think it will be Jonathon Acosta. There are 5 or so other guys but he had the best season out of all of them.
Women will be much tougher to predict.
MVP - Should be either EY or Nicole. I will go with EY as Nicole could get a couple of these in the future.
Best O - Nicole
Best B - Lisa Rutledge - I watched her block and she is impressive up there. EY could also win it but she split a lot of time with Nicole up at the net.
Best D - Brooke Hanson - scooped up more balls than anyone else on tour by a lot. I think the fact the top teams split block and split defend will make it tough to give it to one of them.
Most Improved - Lisa Rutledge - She went from pretty low down in the rankings to a top 8 team.
ROY- I have no idea who is considered a rookie on the women's side so I can't venture a guess here.
We shall see tonight.
Friday, October 2, 2009
AZ: Last AVP Tourney of the Year
Last tourney of the year in AZ this past weekend and it was the funnest one of the year too. What a great feeling to have all of the other American players cheering us on while the Brazis cheered Harley and Alison on. I was really pumped up to play as not only was it the finals of the tourney for Phil and I but it would determine the outcome of who won the country vs. country contest.
Flew in on Thursday midday and did a clinic with Phil at the Victory Sports Complex in conjuction with the AZBVA. It is the 4th or 5th year I have done the clinic and every year it has grown. Good to promote the sport to the locals and hopefully it helps Jeff and Marina at the AZBVA as they try and grow beach volleyball too. Special thanks out to Brian as well for all the hard work he puts in and Jan too for letting him do it.
On Friday we played our first match vs. Billy and Bruno at 9am. Phil hurt his back in the finals in Vegas and wasn't sure if he was even going to be able to play at all. He said it was really tight and hurting as he warmed up that morning. Fortunately it was hot in AZ as expected and getting a good sweat going is pretty easy. Billy and Bruno mostly served me throughout the match and we won in 3 games 21-18, 17-21 and 15-10. They have been in and out of the main draw all year and I expect they may take over a main draw spot in the future depending on what the other brazilian teams do as far as partners ect... are concerned. Our second game on Friday was against Harley and Alison at 8pm at night. The early morning and evening games are nice to play in Glendale. It isn't cool but not blazing hot with the sun beating down on you. Phil was still hurting but they brazis did not realize it at all and I probably sided out the best I have ever sided out against them. The first game was tight but the second game we won going away to go to 2-0 overall with scores of 23-21 and 21-14. At the end of the day the Americans were up 10-6 thanks to a late push in the evening session. Misty/Kerri and Jen/April were 2-0 and EY/Nicole were 1-1 with Jenny/Annette at 0-2. On the men's side we made a late push after a bad morning as Sean/John, Nick/Brad and Jake/Matt were all 1-1.
On Saturday we again played at 9am vs. Benjamin and Pedro. We controlled the game for the most part. They came out serving Phil short and he did not appreciate that due to his back. It worked a little at first but as Phil warmed up into the game he started being more aggressive and at the end of game 1 he actually hammered a couple like he normally does. This made them switch to me but the end was pretty much the same. We won 21-19 and 16. Our second game this time was at noon vs. Emanuel and Ricardo. It was hot as smokes at noon and the game was hotly contested as well. At 2-0 Emanuel poked a ball off of me but the refs did not see it and it went out of bounds. They argued the call and were looking at me to call the touch. I didn't call the touch as it is the refs job to do that. They got super pissed and were yelling at Phil and I. I told them it was the refs job not mine to call the touch. After the game Emanuel came up to me and apologized and explained that he felt that ref had screwed them the day before on a call. No harm no foul and they ended up winning the match with scores of 21-19 and 23-21. Phil and I moved on into the finals the next day as we were 3-1 overall and the other teams were all 1-2 as they had all lost their morning matches. I guess the mornings were tough for the american men as we went 2-7 overall for the whole tourney. We did better in the evenings as we went 5-3 in the later matches. Fortunately the women did not have the same troubles as us. They went 5-4 in the mornings overall and 7-1 at night.
On Sunday morning the score was 18-14 in the red, white and blues favor. Jen/April started the day off right by defeating Talita/Maria for the bronze medal and an extra 3 points. We were now ahead 21-14. But Brazil came storming back to win the men's bronze medal match as Emanuel/Ricardo beat Nick/Brad to put the score at 21-17 USA. If Misty/Kerri could win their Gold medal match then we would win. They lost though as Misty just ran out of energy. I will say the night before Misty played an amazing match. Considering she hasn't played at this level, coming back from an injury, and playing arguably the best team in the world and they beat them down in 2 games. WOW!!!! Kerri played great but Misty was simply amazing when you throw all of that out there. I was astounded and am amazed at how damn good she is! But the score was now 22-21 in the brazis favor and it would come down to our match. It was the first time since the Olympics that I was actually nervous. I think the adrenaline was running high for Phil and I before the match as Phil told me before the match that he felt pretty good and was going to try and jump serve. He had been jump floating all tourney long as he hurt his back in Vegas on a jump serve. I said go for it and boy did he ever. He played fantastic and the Brazilians were shell shocked. He served 7 or 8 straight points in the beginning of the first game. I think he had 4 aces and 3 stuffs during that run. It was Phil at his finest and simply amazing to watch. That game was pretty much over at that point and we cruised to a 21-14 win. The second game was a little bit closer but both Phil and I were playing well and we steadily pulled away to win 21-15 on a Phil dribbler ace. We were mobbed by the rest of the american players and it was a really cool feeling. All the American players who were there and the next top 4 teams on the AVP split an extra $50,000. Great tourney and I hope they do it again next year either in Brazil or in the USA.
Flew in on Thursday midday and did a clinic with Phil at the Victory Sports Complex in conjuction with the AZBVA. It is the 4th or 5th year I have done the clinic and every year it has grown. Good to promote the sport to the locals and hopefully it helps Jeff and Marina at the AZBVA as they try and grow beach volleyball too. Special thanks out to Brian as well for all the hard work he puts in and Jan too for letting him do it.
On Friday we played our first match vs. Billy and Bruno at 9am. Phil hurt his back in the finals in Vegas and wasn't sure if he was even going to be able to play at all. He said it was really tight and hurting as he warmed up that morning. Fortunately it was hot in AZ as expected and getting a good sweat going is pretty easy. Billy and Bruno mostly served me throughout the match and we won in 3 games 21-18, 17-21 and 15-10. They have been in and out of the main draw all year and I expect they may take over a main draw spot in the future depending on what the other brazilian teams do as far as partners ect... are concerned. Our second game on Friday was against Harley and Alison at 8pm at night. The early morning and evening games are nice to play in Glendale. It isn't cool but not blazing hot with the sun beating down on you. Phil was still hurting but they brazis did not realize it at all and I probably sided out the best I have ever sided out against them. The first game was tight but the second game we won going away to go to 2-0 overall with scores of 23-21 and 21-14. At the end of the day the Americans were up 10-6 thanks to a late push in the evening session. Misty/Kerri and Jen/April were 2-0 and EY/Nicole were 1-1 with Jenny/Annette at 0-2. On the men's side we made a late push after a bad morning as Sean/John, Nick/Brad and Jake/Matt were all 1-1.
On Saturday we again played at 9am vs. Benjamin and Pedro. We controlled the game for the most part. They came out serving Phil short and he did not appreciate that due to his back. It worked a little at first but as Phil warmed up into the game he started being more aggressive and at the end of game 1 he actually hammered a couple like he normally does. This made them switch to me but the end was pretty much the same. We won 21-19 and 16. Our second game this time was at noon vs. Emanuel and Ricardo. It was hot as smokes at noon and the game was hotly contested as well. At 2-0 Emanuel poked a ball off of me but the refs did not see it and it went out of bounds. They argued the call and were looking at me to call the touch. I didn't call the touch as it is the refs job to do that. They got super pissed and were yelling at Phil and I. I told them it was the refs job not mine to call the touch. After the game Emanuel came up to me and apologized and explained that he felt that ref had screwed them the day before on a call. No harm no foul and they ended up winning the match with scores of 21-19 and 23-21. Phil and I moved on into the finals the next day as we were 3-1 overall and the other teams were all 1-2 as they had all lost their morning matches. I guess the mornings were tough for the american men as we went 2-7 overall for the whole tourney. We did better in the evenings as we went 5-3 in the later matches. Fortunately the women did not have the same troubles as us. They went 5-4 in the mornings overall and 7-1 at night.
On Sunday morning the score was 18-14 in the red, white and blues favor. Jen/April started the day off right by defeating Talita/Maria for the bronze medal and an extra 3 points. We were now ahead 21-14. But Brazil came storming back to win the men's bronze medal match as Emanuel/Ricardo beat Nick/Brad to put the score at 21-17 USA. If Misty/Kerri could win their Gold medal match then we would win. They lost though as Misty just ran out of energy. I will say the night before Misty played an amazing match. Considering she hasn't played at this level, coming back from an injury, and playing arguably the best team in the world and they beat them down in 2 games. WOW!!!! Kerri played great but Misty was simply amazing when you throw all of that out there. I was astounded and am amazed at how damn good she is! But the score was now 22-21 in the brazis favor and it would come down to our match. It was the first time since the Olympics that I was actually nervous. I think the adrenaline was running high for Phil and I before the match as Phil told me before the match that he felt pretty good and was going to try and jump serve. He had been jump floating all tourney long as he hurt his back in Vegas on a jump serve. I said go for it and boy did he ever. He played fantastic and the Brazilians were shell shocked. He served 7 or 8 straight points in the beginning of the first game. I think he had 4 aces and 3 stuffs during that run. It was Phil at his finest and simply amazing to watch. That game was pretty much over at that point and we cruised to a 21-14 win. The second game was a little bit closer but both Phil and I were playing well and we steadily pulled away to win 21-15 on a Phil dribbler ace. We were mobbed by the rest of the american players and it was a really cool feeling. All the American players who were there and the next top 4 teams on the AVP split an extra $50,000. Great tourney and I hope they do it again next year either in Brazil or in the USA.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Slacking on Vegas Post
About this time of year I began to slack. I would apologize but in truth it wouldn't be a meaningful apology. It is the end of the year and that is going to be my only explanation.
Vegas is always a player favorite to play in and this year was no exception. It was hot, which is normal, and the courts were very very hard packed but that is normal too. It was at a different location though. We were at Mandalay Bay this year. Almost as big as Ceasar's! Took a good 10 minutes to walk from my hotel room to the site and that was going through the Casino the entire time. Crazy huge.
The event itself had the top 16 players from each gender split into 4 pools of 4 players. I was in a pool with Anthony Medel, Brad Keenan and Jeff Nygaard. A good pool for me as I would be playing with 3 left siders and 2 of them would be big men. On Thursday morning at 8am I played with Jeff vs. Brad/Anthony. The first game was back and forth with Jeff and I pulling it out 25-23. The second game Jeff and I put it together and we won 21-12 which gave Jeff and I a huge upper hand to get out of pool. In the second game I played with Anthony against Jeff and Brad. Normally big/big beats little/little but Anthony sided out great and we scored just enough points to win 22-20 and 21-19. That meant all I had to do was score a total of 32 points with Brad and I would get out for sure. Early Friday morning, Brad and I ended up winning the match in three games. They won the first but Brad and I played well in the second and third and won the match. That meant that Jeff and I would get out of the first round of pool play.
In the second round of pool play I was with Jeff Nygaard again as well as Jake Gibb and Matt Olson. I have played with Jake a couple of tmes before and we have been pretty solid together with Jake playing the left side. Friday night my first match was with Jake and he started off on the left side. He was struggling to sideout and Matt Olson, who normally plays the left side was siding out like a god from the right side. Down 10-16 Jake had had enough and told me to go to the right side. They continued to serve Jake on the right side and we basically played them even and lost 21-14. In the second game they started serving Jake but he sided out at will and they went over to me on the left side. When I passed well I sided out well. We were up several points when I passed two balls poorly and they got it back to within about 2 points. I righted the ship and we ended up winning 21-16. In the third it seemed like we never got a clean side out but somehow kept managing to sideout. We won that game and I have to say I had a blast playing with Jake and having Mike Dodd in the box.
Saturday morning I partnered up with Matt Olson. I have never played with Matt so was looking forward to seeing how we did against the two big men. The odds were against us and we couldn't pull off the upset as they won 21-15 and 21-16. I had fun playing with Matt though. I think we were both a bit tired and sore from jumping on the hard pack sand and we just couldn't get up high enough to score points against the big boys. That loss meant that Matt and I were out of it and to go to the finals would be between Jake and Jeff. Saturday midday Jeff and I played Matt and Jake and we went at Matt. He was still sore and tired and wasn't as crisp as he normally is. Jeff played great the entire match. At 15-8 with us up in the second game, he re-injured his bum knee. We pulled the game out 21-19 to send him to the finals.
In the finals Phil picked John Hyden and Jeff picked me. Frankly the finals was ugly. Jeff struggled valiantly through it and we had some fun points but we got smoked. I think the scores were 21-15 and 21-10 or 12. Like I said, it was ugly. I was stoked for Phil though as that is the one title that has eluded him in his career. I would have liked to keep him from it but it was not to be. Congrats to Phil!
Vegas is always a player favorite to play in and this year was no exception. It was hot, which is normal, and the courts were very very hard packed but that is normal too. It was at a different location though. We were at Mandalay Bay this year. Almost as big as Ceasar's! Took a good 10 minutes to walk from my hotel room to the site and that was going through the Casino the entire time. Crazy huge.
The event itself had the top 16 players from each gender split into 4 pools of 4 players. I was in a pool with Anthony Medel, Brad Keenan and Jeff Nygaard. A good pool for me as I would be playing with 3 left siders and 2 of them would be big men. On Thursday morning at 8am I played with Jeff vs. Brad/Anthony. The first game was back and forth with Jeff and I pulling it out 25-23. The second game Jeff and I put it together and we won 21-12 which gave Jeff and I a huge upper hand to get out of pool. In the second game I played with Anthony against Jeff and Brad. Normally big/big beats little/little but Anthony sided out great and we scored just enough points to win 22-20 and 21-19. That meant all I had to do was score a total of 32 points with Brad and I would get out for sure. Early Friday morning, Brad and I ended up winning the match in three games. They won the first but Brad and I played well in the second and third and won the match. That meant that Jeff and I would get out of the first round of pool play.
In the second round of pool play I was with Jeff Nygaard again as well as Jake Gibb and Matt Olson. I have played with Jake a couple of tmes before and we have been pretty solid together with Jake playing the left side. Friday night my first match was with Jake and he started off on the left side. He was struggling to sideout and Matt Olson, who normally plays the left side was siding out like a god from the right side. Down 10-16 Jake had had enough and told me to go to the right side. They continued to serve Jake on the right side and we basically played them even and lost 21-14. In the second game they started serving Jake but he sided out at will and they went over to me on the left side. When I passed well I sided out well. We were up several points when I passed two balls poorly and they got it back to within about 2 points. I righted the ship and we ended up winning 21-16. In the third it seemed like we never got a clean side out but somehow kept managing to sideout. We won that game and I have to say I had a blast playing with Jake and having Mike Dodd in the box.
Saturday morning I partnered up with Matt Olson. I have never played with Matt so was looking forward to seeing how we did against the two big men. The odds were against us and we couldn't pull off the upset as they won 21-15 and 21-16. I had fun playing with Matt though. I think we were both a bit tired and sore from jumping on the hard pack sand and we just couldn't get up high enough to score points against the big boys. That loss meant that Matt and I were out of it and to go to the finals would be between Jake and Jeff. Saturday midday Jeff and I played Matt and Jake and we went at Matt. He was still sore and tired and wasn't as crisp as he normally is. Jeff played great the entire match. At 15-8 with us up in the second game, he re-injured his bum knee. We pulled the game out 21-19 to send him to the finals.
In the finals Phil picked John Hyden and Jeff picked me. Frankly the finals was ugly. Jeff struggled valiantly through it and we had some fun points but we got smoked. I think the scores were 21-15 and 21-10 or 12. Like I said, it was ugly. I was stoked for Phil though as that is the one title that has eluded him in his career. I would have liked to keep him from it but it was not to be. Congrats to Phil!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
'Nati and Dallas
Well just got back from the Red Bull Spiked event in Dallas. Phil and I went out there Thursday and did a bunch of media on Friday and Saturday. Also on Saturday we played 3 games to 15 points against three 4-man teams in the rain. It was pretty fun. Red Bull put on this challenge essentially and 16 teams qualified over the last several weeks to play in a qualifier with the top 3 challenging us. I thought it would be pretty tough for us but we ended up winning 15-4, 15-8, and 15-8. All good times though.
In the 'Nati we ended up taking 2nd losing to Sean and John. In our first match we played Zimet and Morrison and won pretty easily 14 and 12. In our second game on Friday we played Loomis and Patterson. The first game we beat them fairly easily like 21-16. Then the second game was a battle with us coming out ahead 22-20. We had a bunch of fans from the Special Olympics out there cheering us on. It was very cool. Phil and I "sponsored" them and they got a cool t-shirt and we got some great fans.
On Saturday we only had the night game so we caught a movie. Do not go see Extract. Might simply be the worst movie I have ever seen. You have been warned. We played Nick and Brad at 9pm and won in two. I can't remember the scores though. On Sunday morning we played Aaron Watchfogel and Billy Strickland and beat them in two. They were close games though as they had a great tourney and finished 3rd. I kind of thought we escaped with the win. Then in the finals we lost in 2 games to Sean and John. The first wasn't that close like 16. The second we should have won as I had a sideout for game. John scooped me twice though and put it away and then Sean stuffed me and John scooped me. They again played well.
Nice to be home on the first weekend of NFL Sunday.
In the 'Nati we ended up taking 2nd losing to Sean and John. In our first match we played Zimet and Morrison and won pretty easily 14 and 12. In our second game on Friday we played Loomis and Patterson. The first game we beat them fairly easily like 21-16. Then the second game was a battle with us coming out ahead 22-20. We had a bunch of fans from the Special Olympics out there cheering us on. It was very cool. Phil and I "sponsored" them and they got a cool t-shirt and we got some great fans.
On Saturday we only had the night game so we caught a movie. Do not go see Extract. Might simply be the worst movie I have ever seen. You have been warned. We played Nick and Brad at 9pm and won in two. I can't remember the scores though. On Sunday morning we played Aaron Watchfogel and Billy Strickland and beat them in two. They were close games though as they had a great tourney and finished 3rd. I kind of thought we escaped with the win. Then in the finals we lost in 2 games to Sean and John. The first wasn't that close like 16. The second we should have won as I had a sideout for game. John scooped me twice though and put it away and then Sean stuffed me and John scooped me. They again played well.
Nice to be home on the first weekend of NFL Sunday.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Chicago
Quick 30 hour tourney in the windy city. I expected heat and humidity but got mostly cold temps. Probably a good thing. If it had been hot and humid, guys would have been fallin' like leaves in such a quick tourney.
In our first match we played Jake Elliot and Jonathon Guida. Jake has been playing for awhile now as I remember playing he and Riley Salmons back in Belmar ages ago. Good guy and a really good player. We played well and served Jonathon most of the balls. He hit mostly and Phil had a lot of blocks. The scores were not close. Something like 8 and 13. In our second match we played Jeff Carlucci and Larry Witt who we had played the weekend before in Muskegon. In Muskegon it was a battle in the wind. This game the wind wasn't too bad and we played well. Won 21-13 and 11. In our third game on Friday we played Matty Furbs and Billy Allen who had taken a 25th in the wind of Muskegon. They were much better this tourney and had already won 2 matches vs. good teams. We again played well and beat them 13 and 13. With more time together this could be a solid team. Not sure what will happen with Casey and Matt in the future but certainly Billy is throwing his name in the hat to move up for next year. In our fourth and last game on Friday we played Nick and Brad in the semis of the winners. We again played well and won 13 and 13. At one point Brad said to me that it seemed like Phil was touching 14 feet. Never played 4 games in the winners bracket in one day before. Even at my elderly years new things are happening.
On Saturday we played Jake and Rosy in the semis of the winners. Rosy has been nursing a busted up wrist this past month and I think has to get surgery to fix it after the season. One thing I know for sure, it doesn't affect his hitting. He crushed some balls hard. Hopefully he can play out the end of the season and then take care of his injury. The first game was a battle that they won in the end, 25-23. The second game we pulled ahead and never let go winning 21-15. In the third they were just out of sorts and we won 15-5. They had lost in the second round and then grovelled through the losers bracket. They played 5 matches on Friday and 3 matches on Saturday, 2 of those matches in the early morning before we played them. In the finals we lost to John and Sean. John played some of the best volleyball I have seen. Sided out really well and scooped driven balls and shots. The first game they crushed us from the get go beating us 21-17. The score looks a lot closer as we scored some points at the end. In the second we were on and they were not and we won 21-15. The third was back and forth until 12-12. I believe John scooped me and put it away, then I hit a ball out by 2 inches down the line and then John scooped me and put it away for game. The first point might have been a stuff on me by Sean. Can't remember for sure. At any rate, they played well and we didn't raise our game to their level. Now on to Cincinnati and what I am hoping may be the biggest crowd the AVP tour has ever seen.
In our first match we played Jake Elliot and Jonathon Guida. Jake has been playing for awhile now as I remember playing he and Riley Salmons back in Belmar ages ago. Good guy and a really good player. We played well and served Jonathon most of the balls. He hit mostly and Phil had a lot of blocks. The scores were not close. Something like 8 and 13. In our second match we played Jeff Carlucci and Larry Witt who we had played the weekend before in Muskegon. In Muskegon it was a battle in the wind. This game the wind wasn't too bad and we played well. Won 21-13 and 11. In our third game on Friday we played Matty Furbs and Billy Allen who had taken a 25th in the wind of Muskegon. They were much better this tourney and had already won 2 matches vs. good teams. We again played well and beat them 13 and 13. With more time together this could be a solid team. Not sure what will happen with Casey and Matt in the future but certainly Billy is throwing his name in the hat to move up for next year. In our fourth and last game on Friday we played Nick and Brad in the semis of the winners. We again played well and won 13 and 13. At one point Brad said to me that it seemed like Phil was touching 14 feet. Never played 4 games in the winners bracket in one day before. Even at my elderly years new things are happening.
On Saturday we played Jake and Rosy in the semis of the winners. Rosy has been nursing a busted up wrist this past month and I think has to get surgery to fix it after the season. One thing I know for sure, it doesn't affect his hitting. He crushed some balls hard. Hopefully he can play out the end of the season and then take care of his injury. The first game was a battle that they won in the end, 25-23. The second game we pulled ahead and never let go winning 21-15. In the third they were just out of sorts and we won 15-5. They had lost in the second round and then grovelled through the losers bracket. They played 5 matches on Friday and 3 matches on Saturday, 2 of those matches in the early morning before we played them. In the finals we lost to John and Sean. John played some of the best volleyball I have seen. Sided out really well and scooped driven balls and shots. The first game they crushed us from the get go beating us 21-17. The score looks a lot closer as we scored some points at the end. In the second we were on and they were not and we won 21-15. The third was back and forth until 12-12. I believe John scooped me and put it away, then I hit a ball out by 2 inches down the line and then John scooped me and put it away for game. The first point might have been a stuff on me by Sean. Can't remember for sure. At any rate, they played well and we didn't raise our game to their level. Now on to Cincinnati and what I am hoping may be the biggest crowd the AVP tour has ever seen.
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