Brasil

Arriving at night in Macieo, Brasil, I had the pleasure of waking up in surprise to a beautiful beach in front of me. An early sun rise crusted the sand with golden rays of heat and a cool lively ocean awaited me. Overpowering all of this, was the smell of competition. My desire to win, conquer and defeat. My new partner Caleigh Whitaker and I spent the first two days training against other countries in preparation for the tournament to begin. The venue was great, sparkling white sand, a big stadium, four game courts and a couple practice courts on the side. The people of Macieo were very friendly and extremely welcoming. Perhaps it was the many whistles and hoots we received from the locals that made us feel like movie stars!

First day of competition we face a strong USA team and were not able to pull out a win. A close two setter but Caleigh and I were still getting used to playing with each other on the court. Communication is everything in volleyball! We learned that fast. Next up we faced the Suisse, a highly competitive main-draw team. Taking the first set 21-19, then just shy of winning in the second 20-22 and then a heart-wrenching loss of 13-15 in the third. This was by far our best performance thus far and gained us respect from other countries in the tournament.

Then it was playoffs, first round we faced a feisty Chinese Taipei team. We won in two straight sets but were definitely challenged by our opponents. Now in the third day of the tournament, we faced Spain. It took us a while to get into our groove early that Friday morning losing the first 15-21. But we were not going down without a fight. We came back to win 23-21 to take Luciano/Alvaro to a third. Point for point, again we could not capitalize on stealing a defensive transition and lost 16-14. Very frustrating!!! This team ended up winning the rest of the their matches and ended up in the finals against USA. 

Losing in second round we crossed over to the loser's bracket of the draw. Got a W against Germany and advanced to see another day of competition. Saturday morning we played Slovakia, a team that had a huge upset and also ended up in the loser's bracket. We battled long and hard but unfortunately were eliminated from the tournament.  

All in all, we played some of the strongest teams at the tournament which some can see as a negative by not getting "easy advances" to the next round however, this is what I want. I want to lose to the strongest teams now, to battle and fight and be just shy of winning. I don't want to learn how to win easily, I want to experience losing tough matches. Because right now, I am young and I am learning. I see my potential and I can see where I'll be in five years time. I was one of the youngest blocker's at the tournament. I'll be back next year in Russia to compete in the World University Games and I'll be kicking and punching! I have realized I learn a lot more from my losses than my wins. Next year it's time to start owning the podium and making my way into FIVB. I want to make a dent in the tour and I know it will take time. But it all starts here, training 6x a week at the National Team Training Center, conditioning everyday and striving for greatness. "Indoor Beach" may seem odd, but it's the countless hours of dedication and continuous reps that will separate those on the podium and those eliminated in the early rounds of playoffs. I am very excited to experience training full-time for beach volleyball for the first time!!

Thanks so much to everyone who supported me both emotionally and financially for this amazing event. It really means the world knowing I have a community and huge support system behind me. I look forward to representing my family and friends as well as my country as I continue to compete in events across the world. 

Namaste.

Ju