Well, It's All Over

It's been some time since my last update. VVK was up 2-1 over Tierp in the quarterfinals of the Elite Series Playoffs. The weeks have flown by, and even the months, as I now sit in my little hotel room dreaming of the long decent into the LA smog.

VVK was indeed successful in topping Tierp in the first round of playoffs. Our opponents all but laid down in the 4th match and we easily swept them in 3 sets. My parents, Melinda, Neal, and the new addition Kacie were all there to witness VVK's first-round playoff win in over 5 years. Pretty exciting.

The second round pitted the heroic VVK warriors against the evil Falkenberg Falcons. The first match proved that the series would be hard fought. Again, the family was in attendance along with some 50+ VVK fans to make noise in the Falk gym. VVK put up a hell of a fight, taking the first set, but lost the match in 5. I was very happy with my play, recording 22 points in the 4 sets. My only real foul-ups came in the final 3 points of the match when I hit a ball into the antenna, and 2 points later when I was THUNDERCLAMPED for the match. Under the wisdom of John Wooden I was able to walk away with my head-up, as I played with just about everthing I had to offer.

Match 2 of the best of 5 series was all-too-similar to match 1, except that VVK's cinderella magic lasted for not 1 but 2 straight sets. With a 2-set lead and the home court crowd at our backs heading into the third, we were confident we could come away with a victory. They romped us in game 3. We bounced back and even managed to have a 23-21 lead in the 4th. 4 straight errors (including one ball in the antenna from me) and we lost the set. The crowd went silent with nerves, as did the rest of our team and we failed to capture the match, losing set 5. I lead the team again with 22 points, again happy with my play.

Match 3 started and ended in a whirlwind. I could see death in my teammates' eyes at the first technical time-out when we were down 8-4. It was all downhill from there. No energy, no team play, and frankly, pathetic play from everyone. Linus managed to make me proud, stepping up in the second half of the 3rd set to put away some big kills. In the end though, we were obviously over-matched and severly lacked desire. I again lead the team with 18 points on 18 kills. I was shocked. Apparently I was hitting .930 after 2 sets having been dug once on a tip that barely came up (I thought it was a 'lift'). I finished hitting something around .750 according to Dave and Jonas.

Needless to say, we were swept in three matches and VVK ended the year in what could be considered a successful season by some. As far as I'm concerned, you play to win. However, I'm proud of the way I played the last 3 matches. I look at them and contemplate whether they are the last competitive volleyball matches I might EVER play. It's not a bad match to go out on. I kept telling myself to enjoy the match as it went on and I truly had a lot of fun. I only wish it would have lasted a little bit longer.

Still, it's all over. My time here in Vingaker could not have been better spent. I'm undecided in my future, but am looking forward to getting back stateside and figuring out where I go from here. I don't know what else to say; I could write volumes on the experiences, friendships, lessons, and developments I've made here. I hope to conclude my stay here with some sort of writing to recapture it all.

In any case, I'll miss this place, but I'm coming home! and I'm confused...