St. John's University Athletics
Volleyball Postcard: Greetings From Vietnam Part III
5/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
- St. John's Volleyball Travels To Vietnam
Hi Mom, Dad, friends and fans of St. John???s volleyball:
Today is the third day of our trip to Vietnam and it is the day we all have been waiting for. It is the first day of our first international tournament! There have been a lot of firsts during this trip and I???m sure there will be many more.
Our first game was scheduled for Noon and the opponent was Zhong Cai, a team from China. Hui Ping [Huang] is the only member of the team who has played against Chinese teams before, so many of us were not familiar with the level of volleyball they played. Plus, we didn???t know much about Zhong Cai because there was no time to scout them before coming to Vietnam. So it was a bit of a challenge for us.
The morning of the game we followed our typical pre-game routine. We were all really excited and nervous. We couldn???t wait for the game to start. We wanted to finally get the chance to play volleyball. Well, the time came and during the warm up we got focused. Although it was very hot in the gym, we were able to adjust to it. Before the game started, we had to follow some international rules that we were not familiar with. They say that people learn something new every day, and we did. It was a different kind of meeting of the team than in the United States, but it was a great experience. We received a small gift from the Chinese team and then the game started.
We went out on the court ready to play and we knew what we were supposed to do. We started by scoring the first point and hustled for every ball after that. We cheered on each other and we believed that we could win the game. It was a great game and we were united as a team. It was great to play such a high level of volleyball. And, guess what? WE WON! Like I mentioned before, just another ???first??? to add to the list we started in August.
Tired and happy, we came back to the hotel and ate lunch. My hands were still shaking from the excitement of winning that I couldn???t hold the chop sticks. I had to ask for a fork. After lunch we had a little break, so I took a nap. Then we went back to the gym for the opening ceremony.
All 11 teams lined up next to each other and were waiting for the ceremony to start. We were standing next to the Japanese team. We used the free time to interact and converse with the players. It was very nice to meet them. We took pictures and were laughing together.
At 8 p.m., the opening ceremony started with a performance by a local cheerleading team. After the performance, each team walked on to the court as their team name was being called. We were greeted by speakers from Vietnam Television, the sponsors of the tournament, and members of the Vietnam Volleyball Federation. The tournament was official started. Every team received an amazing bouquet of flowers and was wished good luck in the tournament.
It???s about 10 p.m. now, so it is time for me to go to sleep. Tomorrow we play the national team of Kazakhstan and I hope it will be another ???first??? for St. John???s volleyball.
Keep your fingers crossed for us and visit the website for more news from our team tomorrow.
