Finally after a year of rehab it was time for me to step back on the court. After the team returned from World Grand Prix, it was time for me to start competing for a spot. I landed a spot on the roster for the Final 4 tournament in Lima, Peru. We arrived here on Monday the 7th after a long day of travel. I forgot after a year how this life was. We immediately got to our rooms and changed for practice. One of the things that I have to admit I did not miss. Luckily I wore thigh high compression socks on the airplane so I wouldn't swell. It was a short practice but I always feel better after. Competition started on the 9th and right away we had the Beijing Gold Medalist...Brazil.
All I can say is it wasn't a great 1st appearance back on the court for me. You would think that practice would prepare me...not at all. It was rough, but I am very hard on myself and I think that ultimately makes me the player that I am. We ended up loosing a close one in 5.
USA vs. Brazil 12-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 13-15
Next up we had the host Peru. The gym was packed and Peru was ready to play us. Too bad for them we came out firing in game 1. Game 2 was a close one, Peru got hot and we just could catch up. Fortunately in game 3 and 4 we settled down and played USA volleyball coming out with a victory.
USA vs. Peru 25-10, 20-25, 25-14, 25-20
Our final pool play game was our fellow NORCECA rival the Dominican Republic. They are a very young athletic team that has the potential to be very good. Hugh (my coach) decided to rest Heather Bown, Nancy Metcalf, and I knowing that we would face the Dominican again the following day. The Dominican came out strong and finished strong. We unfortunately were flat and never really got it rolling until the 3rd set, but too late to make a comeback.
USA vs. Dominican Republic 20-25, 19-25, 23-25
Like I said before, no matter what, we would face the Dominicans in the semifinals. This time it would be a different story. We had a great passing practice in the morning, and did a thorough video session on them. Going into the match we were very confident that it was going to be better then the first one. Luckily personal game decided to come back at the right time. The team played great. We were finally playing some good volleyball.
USA vs. Dominican Republic 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 26-24
Tomorrow we get another shot at Brazil in the finals. I think we have a great chance. We have already improved so much on this trip alone. But we are definitely tired. 5 games is a row is no joke.
Welcome back Lindsey Berg #4
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