Colorado State University Athletics
Volleyball European Travel Journal - Dispatch 10 & 11
5/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
May 24 & 25
Ljubljana & Venice
Where are the Rams? Check the itinerary & travel dispatches here!
The highlight of our final day in Slovenia was a match against the Ljubljana Women's Club team, the top club in the nation with four Slovenian National team players on the roster. The team is know for being very athletic, and in that sense would match up well with final four teams in the NCAA.
We came out strong, and got ahead 9-1 in the first game. Then, they turned it up a notch and the game was a battle until they won, 25-23. At that point, they seemed satisfied that they could beat us and pulled two starters out of the line-up for game two. However, we were excited to be playing at such a high level and came out swinging, winning both game two and three. It was a great match overall, and our team was very up-tempo and competitive, just what we needed before heading off to Italy.
We left Ljubljana early in the morning for the drive to Venice, about 130 miles. We arrived at our hotel at the same time as the Texas volleyball team. I've know the Longhorn's head coach, Jerritt Elliott for years, and Karrie played on the US National team with his girlfriend, Sarah Silvernail, who was traveling with their team. And, some of the players knew each other as well, so it was a great arrival for everyone.
While Karrie and Sarah swapped pictures and spent time catching up, and the teams went off for some shopping, Jerritt and I came up with a scavenger hunt for the team to do before dinner. We mixed the teams up and divided them into six groups, and gave each a list of tasks that they had to complete and document on digital cameras. The prize for the the first team complete all the tasks and meet us at a local ristorante was a special treat at dinner.
San Marco Plaza, the start of the scavenger hunt
Amazingly, the three of the four teams beat us to the location! In less than an hour they managed to locate local Murano glass to purchase for one euro, find a pair of Italian shoes that fit, take a group photo while modeling the famed Venice masks and another group picture on a moving boat, and finally a picture with the staff of a specific bistro. Hopefully we can add some of the photos before the end of the trip (a minor technical problem that we are resolving!).
Coach Hilbert and Becky smile for the camera on a water taxi
It was great to have a day off from volleyball and see the team relaxing, having fun, and being typical tourists. Tomorrow it's back to court for one of the final matches of our tour.
Tom
(Tom Hilbert, Head Coach)
