We were excited for this year’s Colorado Crossroads tournament. Last year was our first year, and a tough Saturday, but better Sunday and Mondays. Last year it was a long weekend, so I used my Hilton points to book a hotel downtown and avoid the drive. We got the Embassy across the street from the Convention Center, which was nice given the fact the forecast called for a foot of snow.
We left the house at 6am yesterday, heading down for a 7am meet. There was an 8 am first game, and since we seeded first in the pool, we had no idea what to expect. Kendall’s 14 National team is in the 14 American group, playing in the 11th pool of 32. The girls were excited and all the parents were hoping they bounced back after a tough tournament a few weeks ago.
Things didn’t start well. The first team had lots of tall girls and hit well. They were bigger and more talented, and not a good match for us.
That seemed to deflate the girls and they never really recovered. The second set wasn’t that close, and we were dejected after that.
Kendall played well, which we were glad to see. She had some long stretches on the bench, when we couldn’t get a point, but overall, she got lots of playing time in both games.
She was active at the net, up and down a lot for blocks against the other team. She had some nice touches, slowing the ball down for the back row to pass.
She had a few good hits as well, getting not that many sets, but a couple. Her serves were great, and I think she got them all over in these two sets.
Afterwards, she was disappointed, but not too much and had enjoyed the experience.
We had to ref, and then play again. The second match was against another good team, but I thought we matched up well.
We see-saw’d a bit in the game, went behind and came back.
We got it to 24-24, but then dropped two points to lose. A tough battle. Kendall played well again, and she’s somewhat cemented herself as the main middle hitter. She gets in every game, and the two backups take turns in the middle when Kendall rotates back.
Some good plays in there, and lots of excitement from the girls. They enjoy the wins, and fall down on the losses. Kendall’s more even keeled, but I wish the entire team wouldn’t celebrate quite so much because I think they a loss or a miss has them more down.
Kendall’s serves were awesome. I think she only missed one, and it seemed that she made the shots where the coaches called them.
The second set was a loss, and the girls were disappointed, but no time to feel bad. They played right away against the third team, who I was sure they’d beat.
I tried to loosen them up before the match.
And it seemed to work. They were smiling more.
They even got a bit silly
They started out well, but let the other team get back in the game. They ended up losing the first match, which was surprising.
We were worried this would be an 0-6 day, but they came back to play well in the second match.
They tried to lose, letting the other team back in there, but they eventually won to force a tiebreaker.
They let down and fell behind. Before we knew it, the girls were switching sides, down 4-8. It was 11-8 before we started to do well.
Kendall had some good serves, and completed a comeback, getting us up 14-13. However a couple mistakes dropped three points quickly and we lost.
A 1-6 day, not what we wanted, but fun and excited, with all the parents watching and enjoying the experience. At least I enjoyed it.
Later that night we had the boys come up and we all went out for a nice dinner. Good to see them, and neat that they can manage their way down here.
We’re in the lower division today, which is fine. We’re looking forward to some good matches, hopefully a few wins, and then the chance to play a final game or two tomorrow before heading home.
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