Game 4: Orange Crush

0-3, 3-9 Overall

Complete and utter disappointment. It’s so tangible within our team that you can cut it with a knife. But great, hell even good, teams cry about it for 5 seconds then get up for next game and move on to something better.

We played a much more spirited game this time around but the errors killed us. Game 1 wasn’t even close considering we lost a 4-15 decision. Game 2 was much better as we rallied to within 14-12 after being down 12-4. But it was much too late, as it ended with a 15-12 decision in favor of Orange Crush. Game 3 was similar to the first but we kept it much closer losing with a score of 15-8.

Most of our hitters were off today, as well as our passers. We couldn’t hold serve, save for Game 2, and we couldn’t capitalize on our chances. ELIMINATING ERRORS SHOULD BE OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.

It’ll be hard to pick up the pieces after this game, but how we do the next game should determine the tone for the rest of the season. We’ve got to get out of rock bottom and show the rest of the league and more importantly ourselves, that this isn’t how we are. It’s like Josh said, it’s time we stopped playing to not lose and play to win instead. We can still make it to the playoffs if we play better. Let's turn this around guys.

Game 5 is against Strangers With Candy and I know we can beat them. We showed that during our first match by taking the third game with some good plays. August 25 at 9:00PM. Which team HIBACHI shows up is up to us. LET’S FUCKING GO.

Game 3: Builders and Roofers

0-3, 3-6 Overall

It’s hard to relive the disappointment that came after this game because I know our team thought this was a game that we were going to win. I know I came in with an attitude of this game being a “gimme-game.” But it didn’t turn out that way. Instead we were thumped or wacked 0-3, dominated by the last place team. This puts us at last place, tied with Builder’s and Roofers. It’s also important to note we were without two of our best players but that’s no excuse.

Hitting, blocking, passing, serving, and setting were all off this game. We couldn’t do anything right and it seemed like were just running around with our heads cut off. Confusion was the theme of this game. It’s been a roller coaster ride so far so maybe it’ll be a high for the next game.

Game 2: Louie's

2-1, 3-3 Overall

What a game. We were able to beat the current top team and now we’re at .500 in the mix for the playoffs and possibly a championship. Finally we played like we should’ve been playing. We dropped the first game due to nerves but after an adjustment in our rotation and calming down a bit, we were able to take the last two games and thump our opponents.

Credit Joey, Anthony, and Marc with some good hitting and blocking in the last 2 games. But it all starts with good passing to set up our hitters, which is what our passers did. Maude, Val, Christina, and Josh passed well in the back row and we got rolling thanks to them. Aa’s sets were on point as usual and got our hitters on their game. If we keep playing like this, it’d be hard to stop us. Let’s keep this up guys.

Game 1: Strangers With Candy

1-2

We lost the match 1-2 with scores of 10-15, 7-15, and 15-8. The first set was a tight game and we almost mounted a comeback, but it came too late. We were down by a considerable margin before things started clicking for us and we made too many mistakes in order to stave off the opponents. The second game was another story as we were down 7-0 before we scored our first point. Like Joey said, we were wacked(!) that game. Having lost the first two sets, we needed to win one for our self esteem, and that's what we did. An adjustment in the rotation seemed to be just what we needed as we jumped out to an early lead. But then again, nothing comes easy as the other team came close. But sensing the urgency we held on for the win, with the final point coming off a block by me.

Credit Anthony, Marc, and Joey with some good hitting towards the later games. Aa's sets and serves were on point as usual. Overall, team passing was pretty good. But then again, hitting errors, serve mistakes, and some miscommunication cost us the game.

There's not much that can be said about this game that hasn't been said already. Our inexperience, lack of team play, and overall nerves showed throughout the night. The team we played against was more comfortable with each other and like Marc said, it looked like we never played volleyball at all. But regardless, I think we came away with a better sense of what to do in order to be better. We are much better than how we played last Wednesday, and hopefully with practice, we'll be a top team in our division.

Thanks to our fans (Aubrey, James, Phil, Joanne, and Mel) for the support. And thanks to Aubrey for the pictures.

Practice is this Monday from 6-9 at the Werblin Gym in Rutgers-NB.

Next game is against Louie's this Wednesday at 7:45 PM at the ES-L Gym.

Let's get this one guys.