Coppa Italia

Finally this past weekend we got to play again.  It was time for the Final 4 of Coppa Italia (Italian Cup).  The Italians take this Cup very seriously and they have it for every sport.  We practiced hard for two and a half weeks preparing for this weekend.  First up in the semi-finals we had Jesi (Heather Bown's team).  We came up with a big 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-15) win, and some confidence going into the final against Bergamo.  Bergamo just the other week won Champions League, which is the Cup for all of Europe.  We knew we had our work cut out for us.  We started the match off great with a 2-0 set lead and 16-11 lead in the 3rd...then...well something happened and we ended up in the 5th set.  But with the hard work of our team and coach we pulled out the victory (25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 17-25, 15-13).  This was my first time winning Coppa Italia, and also the first for our organization.  It was absolutely incredible.  The support from our organization, staff, and fans was tremendous.

Here are some pictures from the weekend...

Manu, Me & Vesna

Celebrating

Me & Manu

Unfortunately we had very little time to celebrate.  Playoffs start on Thursday and our focus is now directed to winning the Championship.

What a weekend...