I am competing in the 12th annual VTV9 Binh Dien Cup hosted in Tam Ky, Quang Nam Province, Vietnam with a team put together by my agency, Bring It Promotions. We are the first team to represent the United States in volleyball in Vietnam!
GAMEDAY! Finally! vs. Ngân hàng công thương I woke up early with a ton of energy to spare. So I got up and called my mom and wished her a happy Mother’s Day (6:15am for me was 6:15pm the previous day at home). She helped me calm my nervous energy for the match and I headed to breakfast with the team. First we had serve and pass in the morning then a whole stupid afternoon of sitting, napping, eating and just waiting for the match. Patience is a virtue right?
Fast forward to getting to put on the USA jersey: it definitely didn’t help with my extra energy. Somehow I even got my own number (#1)! I leaned back on an old track warm-up track technique and jogged it out before warm ups. Not only does this get my adrenaline under control, but it puts me in the right mental space to compete. As a libero, I don't need to be jumping as high as possible and hitting every ball; I need to stay smooth and finish each play all the way through. I still want to bring a high level of energy and communication to the court, but its important not to be up too high. Feeling calm and focused, now all I had to do was wait for warm ups before the match started at last.
The match itself was a little up and down. It began with us up 16-8 and then dropping that lead to lose the first set. We got it together after that and took the next 3 sets 25-21, 25-20, and 25-21. The style of play from the Vietnamese team was a little different than most American and European teams. Using speed to their advantage, the team passed bullets at their setter and ran all kinds of combination plays to find holes in the block. We struggled a little bit to adjust, but ultimately got it together. American style play definitely relies on superior physicality and athletic ability. At the highest level, you rarely see speed leveraged like the Vietnamese was able to do. It was far from perfect, but a good step in the right direction for our team. And always great to get a win!
