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Post by BIP on Jun 22, 2013 2:55:22 GMT -5
BIP/USA Development Team, Update #5 June 20, Huai'an City, Sightseeing and Match Day #2 By Bailey Hunter, Georgia Tech '12 (Played in Slovakia in '13)
Today was an exciting day. As a group we went sightseeing and saw the sponsor of the tournament's apartment community, Sunshine Lake and the Quingyan Gardens. The apartment community was a group of high-rise condos surrounded with beautiful landscaping, such as lakes, nice trees, and gardens. The tour was fun. Chen, our translator on the trip, was able to continue the wonderful translating so we knew exactly was going on at all times. There were over 12,000 units in this one compound, so walking around it was pretty crazy. At the end of the tour we turned a corner and there were balloons and people waiting to greet us for special ceremony. We were given bouquets of flowers and smiles as we walked into the special ceremony. Once in, we were asked to autograph a huge banner and some books. To say we felt like celebrities is an understatement. This whole experience here has been pretty humbling because everywhere we go people are extremely happy just to hold our hand or take a picture. The ceremony was beyond entertaining because 3 talented women were playing some native Chinese instruments. The sounds were definitely different but really lovely to hear. After that we wrapped up the tour with a few more pictures and some closing speeches and headed to the next adventure.
The next stop was a lake called Sunshine Lake, 3/4 of Huaiyan's water is from this one lake! We took some more pretty pictures and hopped back on the bus to head to our final site seeing destination called, Quingyan Gardens. This was my favorite stop of the day. The gardens consisted of intricate rock statues and buildings all over a beautiful lay of land. So much history was wrapped up in this one area. Chen had a lot of valuable knowledge to tell us about this garden. It felt like a mini school lesson almost! We were able to interact with some of the people from the community and snag some more pictures before heading back to the hotel for lunch.
We had started our exploring at 8:00am and finished around 11:00am, which was just enough time to grab a piece of Huai'an's culture to take with us forever! By the time we got home, everyone was very excited for a power nap before our games were at 2:00pm and 4:00pm.
Our match was after the PAC-12 Team's game at 2:00pm. We played a very talented Chinese team (Zheijiang) that had some powerhouse hitters and some scrappy defenders. All the matches here have been high intensity and fun to compete and play in. The first game we were neck in neck with them for most of the game, which was super fun and intense. Games 2 and 3 were a little bit different, but none-the-less really enjoyable! This whole experience is fun because we are all here competing and playing for the love of the game. All of us will be able to walk away from this experience a better player for so many reasons. Most of us have never played together but we have quickly adapted. Only a few of us have experienced international volleyball but we're figuring it out on the fly. And finally, we have never experienced a pace of game quite this fast, but are picking up our pace and are doing just fine!
In 2 days we leave Huai'an and head to Beijing, I am especially excited because my mom, aunt, and uncle will be there to watch! Keep reading the blogs because we are about to really pick up the pace and experience some even better opportunities!
Final Match Scores from Huai'an (Hoping to get some stats up soon):
Match Updates, 6/19 Zhejiang 3:0 Pac-12 (25-22, 25-18, 25-14) Jiangsu 3:0 BIP/USA (25-20, 25-20, 25-14)
Match Updates, 6/20 Jiangsu 3:0 Pac-12 (28-26, 26-24, 25-16) Zhejiang 3:0 BIP/USA (25-18, 25-18, 25-11)
Match Updates, 6/21 Zhejiang 3:0 BIP/USA (25-19), (25-16), (25-14) Jiangsu 1:3 Pac-12 (25-13), (25-23), (15-25), (26-24)
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Post by BIP on Jun 22, 2013 20:08:25 GMT -5
BIP/USA Development Team, Update #6 June 21, Last day in Huai'an and Match Day #3 By Alexis Austin, University of Colorado
Greetings from China! First, I just want to say that I'm very excited and blessed to be a part of this experience. It has been a great pleasure to explore the Chinese culture and to learn different things on & off the court. Today many of us woke up tired from the game last night and there was a bit of lack of concentration as we headed to our 8:00am practice. Coach Gregg told us to remember all of the people who helped us get to this point in our life, to think about different ways to score points, and most importantly to have fun during this experience. After having that little wake-up call, most of his words carried into our practice and we had a productive session. We were digging more balls, hitting more angles, and serving tougher! We left the gym with more confidence that we could compete at a higher level!
After practice many of my teammates went to Starbucks for coffee and free wifi, while I and two others headed back to the hotel for a little down time. Most of us had forgotten about the NBA finals until Skye and I walked by a room and it was on. So we relaxed in my room and watched the Heat take Game 7. I must say it was a little weird watching the game at 10:00 in the morning instead of 10:00 at night. Also not being able to understand the commentary as everything was in Chinese. But once the game ended I relaxed until lunch time. Lunch was at 12:30, but most ate a little earlier so they could take naps before the game! Our match was at 4:00pm, and we left at 2:45pm as the gym is just down the street.
As we arrived at the gym we reminisced on the things Gregg said earlier. From thinking about the people who have helped us in life to trying to make the right decisions when playing. During warm-ups we felt pretty confident that we could compete well and possibly win. The gym wasn't as loud as the first night but the heat continued! All the games were pretty much the same. We fought as hard as we could, but ended up giving a lot of points on errors. The passes were great and the sets were distributed well, but we have to come together on the hitting to put the ball away! After arriving to the hotel we had a team meeting about how important volleyball was for the girls on the Chinese teams and how we should have an urgency to want compete at their level. These last few days have been pretty rough volleyball but we have all learned something new and improved on many things personally. With that being said we look forward to a better start in Beijing as we take on some of the best volleyball players in the nation!
BIP/USA Development Team, Update #7 June 22, Off to Beijing… By Kayla Neto, CSU Fullerton '13
Today the team left Huai'an City to embark on the second half of this Chinese volleyball adventure. While all of us were excited to get to Beijing and ready to experience something new, it was difficult to say goodbye to our translator and newest friend, Chen. He also seemed distraught saying goodbye and may have even cried. After a short flight on China Eastern complete with breaded snacks we were almost to our destination.
The A-Loft hotel we are staying at in Beijing is absolutely wonderful, mainly because they served us our first American meal in six days. Everyone in our group seemed to have some extra pep in their step after some spaghetti and pineapple pizza.
Practice. The gym we will play in has a good vibe to it, although diving on the floor may be an issue. Our team practices a lot of ball control designed drills - emphasis on ball control. This gym is not as humid as the last and should make for a great playing arena.
Tonight was our first formal banquet and also the first time any of us has looked presentable on this trip. The food included a blend of Chinese and American style cuisine with some tasty desserts. Most of the coaches and staff enjoyed beer while the players sipped on some good old H2O. Overall, today was enjoyable and marks the half way point of this already interesting, yet exciting trip.
Updated Match Schedule for Beijing:
6/23 4:00pm: BIP/USA vs. Tianjin 7:30pm: Pac-12 vs. August 1
6/24 4:00pm: BIP/USA vs. August 1 7:30pm: Pac-12 vs. Tianjin
6/25 4:00pm: 3rd Place Match (USA 1 vs. China 1) 7:30pm: 1st Place Match (USA 2 vs. China 2)
And it looks like the matches will be put online about 24 hours after each match. We met with the director of CCTV5 tonight and he said we need to find the sports link on cctv.com or cntv.com. When we figure out the direct link, or more specific information, I'll post it here…
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Post by BIP on Jun 23, 2013 7:47:03 GMT -5
Match Updates for 6/23 in Beijing
4:00pm: BIP/USA 0:3 Tianjin: 11-25, 12-25, 13-25 7:30pm: Pac-12 0-3 August 1 (Army Team): 21-25, 23-25, 12-25
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Post by paloalto on Jun 23, 2013 11:15:52 GMT -5
BIP/USA Development Team, Update #6 June 21 And it looks like the matches will be put online about 24 hours after each match. We met with the director of CCTV5 tonight and he said we need to find the sports link on cctv.com or cntv.com. When we figure out the direct link, or more specific information, I'll post it here… I would be interested watching some of that video, particularly if it includes some of the Pac-12 team's matches.
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Post by BIP on Jun 24, 2013 9:31:08 GMT -5
BIP/USA Development Team, Update #8 June 23, First Full Day in Beijing & Match Day #4 By Allison Landwehr, Iowa State '12
Today was our first game in Beijing. Our team started the morning bright and early with breakfast at 8am. Everyone was excited to see many American options including bacon and hash browns. We left our hotel for practice and went an hour and a half of ball control drills and a serve and pass to help prepare us for the game later that night.
After practice, we came back to the hotel for lunch and had just a little bit of free time before the match. Some girls including myself got a little game day power nap in before we left again for the gym for our 4:00pm match. The atmosphere in the gym was great. We even had a couple of fans including Bailey and Zan's families.
Our opponent for the day was an impressive team that has won the Chinese national league several years in a row named Tianjin. We played hard but their consistency and ball control got the best of us and we lost in three sets. We were disappointed in our play but knew that we played a very seasoned Chinese team and would all take away something from the match. We talked about communicating better with each other and hope to do a better job moving forward.
After the match we came back to the hotel, cleaned up and went back to the gym to watch the PAC-12 team play and scout the other team in the tournament (the Army Team). We stayed for two sets before heading back to the hotel after a long day of volleyball. Some of the girls chose to walk around the hotel and explore what was around for a while while some others including myself went and got massages. There are massage places everywhere in China and they were very good! We felt very rested and refreshed afterward.
We enjoyed great competition and are continuing to grow and bond as a team. We are excited for the rest of the tournament as well as to see what other things the city of Beijing has to offer.
BIP/USA Development Team, Update #9 June 24, Beijing, Match Day #5 By Sara McClinton, University of Kansas
Today we went to the famous Silk Market in downtown Beijing. The shop owners were very aggressive and and will do anything to lure you into their shop. At the beginning bargaining was very intimidating and we got ripped off, but toward the end we finally got a feel for the game, and made some great deals. I personally bargained down a pair of chop sticks from 579 yuan to 20 yuan. That was only after I clearly irritated the store owner from intense bickering back and forth and she yelled "30 yuan take it or leave it!" I said no so she proceeded to say "get out of my store!" To her surprise I actually left the store peaked over my shoulder only to find her glaring at me. Then I briskly walked back into the store and sternly stated "20 yuan final offer" and she reluctantly gave in. After many transactions like this it was finally lunch time where we found some good old Subway. That was well needed. The whole market experience was quiet exhausting.
Later in the afternoon we played the Army Team (August 1 Team) and had a pretty poor performance. Final scores were 25-17 25-11 25-11. These pro teams seem much more cohesive than our team with a lot less errors. It makes sense though since a week is not very long to practice with a team. I only wish we had a little more practice as a team before facing such steep competition. The talent is definitely there but the team flow is lacking at times. I'd love to bring my college team over to face the China pro teams.
We have our final match vs. Tianjin again tomorrow night and then a full day of sightseeing (Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, etc) the next day prior to flying back to the USA...
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Post by goabroad on Jun 24, 2013 9:37:02 GMT -5
BIP/USA Development Team, Update #6 June 21 And it looks like the matches will be put online about 24 hours after each match. We met with the director of CCTV5 tonight and he said we need to find the sports link on cctv.com or cntv.com. When we figure out the direct link, or more specific information, I'll post it here… I would be interested watching some of that video, particularly if it includes some of the Pac-12 team's matches. I thought CNTV is not open to those audience outside mainland China?
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Post by BIP on Jun 25, 2013 4:06:01 GMT -5
BIP just lost 0-3 to Tianjin to finish up the tour... 10-25, 15-25, and 12-25...
Not sure about access to CNTV outside of China, but last year we had some videos on their site (I think)...
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Post by domingo on Jun 25, 2013 4:22:20 GMT -5
BIP just lost 0-3 to Tianjin to finish up the tour... 10-25, 15-25, and 12-25... Not sure about access to CNTV outside of China, but last year we had some videos on their site (I think)... Video of the 1st set was uploaded a short while ago - v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTc1MjY2NjU2.html
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Post by BIP on Jun 25, 2013 9:07:57 GMT -5
Scores from Matches on 6/24: BIP/USA vs. August 1, 0-3: 17-25, 11-25, 11-25 Pac-12 vs. Tianjin, 1-3: 25-23, 26-28, 19-25, 23-25
Scores from Matches on 6/25: BIP/USA vs. Tianjin, 0-3: 10-25, 15-25, 12-25 Pac-12 vs. August 1, 0-3: 17-25, 23-25, 17-25
Final Standings: PLA (August 1) Pac-12 Tianjin BIP/USA
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Post by BIP on Jun 25, 2013 22:57:23 GMT -5
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Post by BIP on Jun 26, 2013 11:57:20 GMT -5
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Post by BIP on Jun 26, 2013 19:54:29 GMT -5
BIP/USA Development Team, Update #10 June 25, Beijing, Final Match Day (#6) By Emily Helm, University of Arkansas
We woke up yet again in the beautiful city of Beijing with our last match to play later that day. The plan was to have a quiet day to prepare for our match against Tianjin; a team that has won 8 of the last 9 championships in China. Most of the girls hung out around the hotel during the day or went swimming. We played at 4:00pm and we left the hotel at 2:00pm to get a serve-and-pass in before our last match in China. It had been such an insane trip and crazy to think it was our last match that we would play together.
The game was intense with very tough competition on the other side of the net. Tianjin has multiple players who are starters on the Chinese National Team. Playing against these players was a great opportunity. Playing them encouraged me to play at higher level. We came out of the match with a loss, although I thought we gained a lot from playing such great players. After the match we headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up for the Closing Ceremonies.
We headed back to the gym one last time to receive awards and to close out the tournament. The four teams who competed all attended the ceremonies. People in the stands were infatuated with my team as well as the PAC-12 All Star Team, wanting pictures and autographs from us all. We felt like celebrities and had a great time, hanging out on the gym floor for almost an hour. Once the ceremonies died down we all headed back to the hotel to plan our night in Beijing. We got together with the PAC-12 all star girls to celebrate the trip at Vics and MIX. All I have to say is our night was one we all will never forget…
Tomorrow is our big site-seeing day, and we're getting excited to see the Great Wall, Forbidden City, and Tiananmen Square now that the volleyball portion of the trip is over.
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Post by BIP on Jun 26, 2013 21:52:50 GMT -5
BIP/USA Development Team, Update #11 June 26, Final Day in Beijing, Great Wall & Forbidden City By Kayla Neto, CS Fullerton '13 (Off to Switzerland for '13-'14 Season)
Today was by far the most exciting day of the trip! I finally got the opportunity to see one of the 7 wonders of the world: the Great Wall of China! To say it was beautiful is an understatement, it was absolutely breathtaking. The hike up to the actual wall was a trek and everyone was exhausted by stair #500 of 1000, but we continued on because we knew the view and experience up top would be unparalleled. After many pictures and laughs some group members rode the gondola down while others road a "luge" down.
Not only did we see the Great Wall of China, but we toured the Forbidden City where the Ming and Qing dynasties of China lived. It was amazing to see such a beautiful place preserved for so many years. We also saw Tiananmen Square which is one of the largest city squares in the world.
We finished our day with a fantastic dinner at the "Duck Club"; a famous Peking Duck Restaurant near Tiananmen Square. Most of the dishes were… unique… and the main course was duck wrapped in a taco style tortilla with cucumber slices and a special sauce.
Needless to say our time in China has been one to remember. The food, the hotels, the people, the volleyball and the nights out on the town will go down as some of the best memories for our group.
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Post by BIP on Jul 8, 2013 13:27:57 GMT -5
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