Game 5 - Colombia

sept 7

Even though the events of the days are getting more habitual (predictable meals, predictable transport, an acquisition for the paparazzis), the games continue to host our excitement. Every day is a new opponent, holding a new flag and singing a new song, and we are expected to perform at our peak regardless. Welcome to international volleyball, I guess!

Today it was our chance to face the red, yellow, and blue: Colombia (yes, that's with an 'o' not a 'u'). Since it's our fifth game in as well as their's, we had a small opportunity to collect stats and do our best at creating a plausible game plan. In it, we had decided that beating this team was do-able if we performed consistent. If we could bounce back and be resilient in the face of a defeating loss against Argentina.

And beat them we did. With close sets the entire match, the game boiled down to minimizing errors and improving defensively. With Amy Ott leading Team Canada in both kills and blocks, and Kristen Moncks patrolling the back row with leading digs, the team worked as a cohesive unit. The ghost of recent losses had no chance of haunting us as we fought hard with respect to our university and our country. With 11 blocks to Colombia's 4, we were a miniature version of a Canadian wall.

With Spanish in the ears and Maple Leafs on the mind, we defeated Colombia 25-23, 25-23, and 25-20. Because of the win, we move on to fight against Cuba for 5th place tomorrow. Wish us luck!

Win!

Game 3 - Costa Rica

sept 5
This post will be quick, just like our game against CRC. In under 70 minutes, the Trinity Western Spartans as Team Canada dominated the much shorter and younger Costa Rican team. The first two sets were slow to start, with both the technical timeouts initiated by the Costa Ricans. Slowly, though, Team Canada played its notorious game of catch-up and began to use their height + speed to their advantage. With leading kills from Carly Hamilton and Royal Richardson, Canada took control of the remainder of the sets and games. CRC's poor passing and inability to sideout killed much of the energy they had on and off the court. The score of the first set was 25-16. With Kelci French out due to illness, Lauren Moncks led the team with her nationally-trained skills to a 25-15 win.

After leading much of the intensity and wins, the third set saw the Canadian bench on the court. Chelsea Wand, Casie Gano, and Amber Brown stepped in and contributed great energy and fresh volleyball perspectives. We captured the third, and the game, with a 25-18 score.