(Photo courtesy of Matt Hill)

As time permits during the season, Holly will share her thoughts on the 2008 beach volleyball season on this page. Check back soon for her latest entry.

Journal Entry #1

Date: April 14, 2007
Subject: AVP Cuervo Gold Crown Miami Open
Well, for the first tournament of the season, I was really anxious to play. It showed because my passing and sideout rhythm was way off. We were able to beat the teams seeded below us and we lost to the two teams above us. A 5th place finish is respectable, but I didn't feel like I played very well! We'll try to do better in Dallas! Thanks for reading and we'll see you on the beach in Dallas! – Holly
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Journal Entry #2

Date: April 21, 2007
Subject: AVP Cuervo Gold Crown Dallas Open
With our 7th seed, we get a first round bye in the field of 24. Our first match was against the ever scrappy Lindquist sisters. They don't block and dig everything. They also put a lot of pressure on us with great serving. Again I struggled in game one and we lost, but we were able to come back to win the next two games to take the match. We ran into a hot EY and Nicole team who were bombing their serves and siding out really well. It was not a great match for us and we lost. We battled through the losers bracket in windy conditions to beat Mason and Kropp and Tati and Dodd, and then had a rematch with Boss and Ross, who knocked us out in Miami. We battled tough and lost a super close game two, but eventually lost. So, another 5th place finish for us. Our goal is to get more consistent and to knock off a top team in Huntington Beach next week. Thanks for reading and we'll see you on the sand in Huntington Beach! – Holly
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Journal Entry #3

Date: May 4, 2008
Subject: AVP Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open
We had a rough week of training prior to Huntington Beach. Angie got the flu and then we had to fly to Louisville for a quick appearance and back. We were tired and unable to train much. It showed. We came out slow against Mason and Kropp, but came back, only to lose on a net-dribble serve 15-13 in the third game. We battled back through the losers bracket, beating Ivy and Lowe, and Knopf and Smith, both in two games. By the end of the day, the wind picked up and we played the ever frustrating Lindquist sisters. We didn't serve tough and my side out game struggled in the wind with no block. It was a very frustrating loss and I am disappointed in my play. Back to work and a much better result in Charleston, S.C. next week. Thanks for reading and we'll see you on the sand in Charleston! – Holly
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Journal Entry #4

Date: June 3, 2008
Subject: AVP Crocs Tour Atlanta Open
After a super disappointing finish and performance in Louisville, Ky. the previous week, Angie and I were focused on playing at a high level in Atlanta this past weekend. However, it didn't start out well. We lost to Lima and Lewis in the second round in a three-set battle. We had many opportunities to win the match, but didn't! Because of that loss, we created a long comeback trail in the loser's bracket, but went on a mission beating Knopf and Rouwenhurst, Fendrick and Roca, Dodd and Minello, and Fontana and DeNoccochea on our way back to the final four, before falling in three to Jordan and Davis. We had opportunities to win the third set and just couldn't execute, but we had won more consecutive matches than we had won all season. It was a confidence booster, and we look forward to continuing our momentum into Hermosa this week. We are matched up again to play Lima and Lewis if they win their first match, so we need to take care of the game plan and execute! Thanks for reading and we'll see you on the sand in Hermosa – Holly
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Journal Entry #5

Date: June 10, 2008
Subject: AVP Crocs Tour Hermosa Beach Open
We were excited to play Hermosa after a good performance in Atlanta with a 3rd. We started out strong beating a qualifying team and then in the second match against Fopma and Pavley, Angie sprained her ankle during a collision at the net with Pavley. It was at the end of game 2, so we were able to finish the game out.

Angie was taped up and we proceeded to play Davis and Jordan. I tried hard to overcompensate for Angie's ankle and I didn't do anything well. We lost. Next we would face the always frustrating Lindquist sisters who specialize in running teams ragged. Not a fun idea when your partner has a bad sprain! We had a good game plan though and split blocking duties. Angie played her best defense of the season and we won easily 2-0.

The next morning Angie's ankle was swollen and black and blue. We taped her up tight and played Fendrick and Roca. She again played well and we were able to beat them 2-0. The match to get back to the final four was against Dodd and Minello who we train with and against often. They out-served us and out-dug us. We had chances to take them to three missing three-game swing opportunities. Bummer!

Angie was not feeling good this game, taking a medical timeout to re-tape and trying to get comfortable. I needed to serve and side out a lot better, and didn't. We finished 5th, but the good news is we have a week off to let Angie heal. She might need more time, but we will see if she is ready to go in Belmar. Thanks for reading and we'll see you on the sand in Belmar, N.J. - Holly

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Journal Entry #6

Date: June 23, 2008
Subject: AVP Crocs Tour Belmar N.J. Open
With an open field in Belmar, we had high hopes to reach the final even though Angie was still nursing a sprained ankle from Hermosa. With a week off, she seemed much better....

We had a decent start, sweeping Davis and Snyder, but then faced the ever frustrating Lindquists, who out-served us, out-dug us and beat us in two close games. We handled them easily in Hermosa, but they played better and we couldn't put any pressure on them.

We fought back through the contenders bracket beating Polzin and Pavley, and the always scrappy Lewis and Lima. That set up a rematch Sunday morning against DeNecochea and Fontana to get to the final four. We beat them in two in Atlanta and were confident, but Barb passed well and Dianne was on fire hitting on two successfully. We lost two close games, but we did not serve well enough to get them in any trouble and it was fairly windy. Disappointing for us when we had a great opportunity to get into a final! More serving, passing, hitting and blocking practice for us....Boulder is single elimination so we have to be better! Thanks for reading and we'll see you on the sand in Boulder! - Holly
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Journal Entry #6

Date: July 7, 2008
Subject: AVP Crocs Tour Boulder Open
Boulder, Colorado was a beautiful setting for the AVP Crocs Tour. We played inside the football stadium and played a single elimination event. We dominated our first round, and were solid in our second round victory vs Burdine and Snyder. Our third round match against Denecochea and Fontana was a battle. They won the first and we won the second before forcing a third game. We led by one point most of the way, but let it slip away at the end 15-13. This was one of the hardest losses of the year for me, because we have been training so hard to make a breakthrough and we are losing tight matches at the end. We ended up 5th, but really need to make a big push with all the teams coming back from the Olympic trials. We will probably drop in seed and have to step up our play! Back to working on the small things that will push us over the hump in big matches so we can win. Off to Chicago next week... Thanks for reading. See you at Oak Street Beach - Holly
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