SB Results

So...we lost every game, BUT I think we played very well. We fought super hard for each point, and we had lots of rookies as handlers and they did so well. I'm so proud of them. And I think once we start subbing to win, and putting those rookies with awesome potential as receivers, we'll be really kick ass. And I can't wait. And Meg and I scored the first point in the whole tournament. Woot. Yeah!

Highlight of the tournament: GETTING MY FIRST HANDBLOCK EVER!! Dude, I'm so proud of that, and I felt like that really did boost my confidence on defense. I feel like I put on a much better mark now. And I also got a body block? It was like a knee block. I saw her going for it, and I just moved my whole mark over and blocked it.

On another note, I got handblocked for the first time. Haha. Highs and lows. Got my first handblock, and first hand blocked. Haha. Whatever, I'm still happy.

There were some pretty intimidating zones. Stanford and SB with their trap zones, and SC who would have one of the points pretty much be man-on/hub-crasher. That really closed off a lot of our options. But I feel like our handlers did a good job of working it down. We do need to swing more, but it's quite difficult in those zones.

What I really need to work on are my throws. I have some good throws, but they are SOOO inconsistent. So I need to work on those, and stop turning it over. So I will be making a personal goal to go and out and practice throwing A LOT. I really need to. As a handler I really need to make sure that my throws are always there and consistent.

I'm really happy with my D though. I think I had a really good mark, I got to a lot higher stall counts, putting on huge marks. And also I got a few D's. So I'm very happy about that, cuz the one thing that I always thought I was super bad at was my D. I got D's as point and mid.

Attitude and constant complaining is what pissed me off this tournament. A few rookies were just whining the whole time, and it's annoying. And lots of attitude, they really need to work on that. And I was watching our zone against Stanford, and I noticed that they were crashing through the cup a lot, and the mids weren't doing anything. And I know if I were in the cup as a mid, I could have stopped a lot of it. Earlier I was in zone as deep, but once I was called in again, I immediately told Eppie that I want to be mid because I know I could stop the crashing. Then someone was all like, "Oh, I'm hurt so I can't run fast so I don't want to play point" And Eppie was like, "Uhh." Kind of not knowing what to say, I thought she might put her out or whatever. So I decided to step up, and I was like, "Whatever, it's okay, I'll play point" Even though I suck at it, and I know I do. And then I totally suck at it, and none of the mids were stopping the crashers. And before I got bumped to point, I totally got a D as a mid. And that just really ticked me off. I can play mid well, but because you don't want to run or whatever I had to step up and be subjected at a position that I was not good at while you were not stopping the crashing. That annoys me.

And people complaining about their playing time. There's so many people, and if there's people better obviously it's smarter for them to get more playing time. It sucks, but that's how it is. And for the most part, I think it was pretty equal. And if you don't like, step up and prove that you're just as good and deserve more playing time, or suck it up and shut up.

I think I did alright as handler, but there is so much room for improvement, and I really need to be more consistent. But overall, I'm proud of myself and our whole team.

Lots of rookies were really encouraging to me, and gave me the confidence boost that I needed. Oh, so after a point, Meg told me to calm down. And I feel like I have my yelling thing down. Haven't done anything like that since that point in Chico. And it was just that I was getting really frustrated. I get really intense though, and I think it helps me get fired up and play my best but I really hope I don't come across as some pissed off person. Because I'm not, I just need to keep up the intensity so we don't just roll over and die. I really thought I had my cool under control, I don't know.

San Diego: Expect more handblocks, D's, and awesome assists. And maybe a score.. hehe. Count on it.