UTVballfan
100+ Posts
So I stroll nonchalantly into the gym at 6:20, thinking, cool, plenty of time to snack down on a couple of those nasty Gregory hot dogs. I’m standing patiently in line while some sweet senior citizen is snagging her Skittles, and I gradually realize, holy cow, that ain’t warm-up noise out there, that’s cheering, and somebody is playing! I’m pretty pissed, because Elliott didn’t check with me before starting the Horns match early, and so I bust out to the court ready to give him some serious lip.
Well, dang it, what I find is UCLA fighting for their freaking life against some team called American who brought some major game and some major attitude to bear. The American girls were kicking *** and taking names, and UCLA was playing like some alternative reality, Crap-10 volleydog version of theirselves. Dicey was slicing balls out of bounds, everything else was out of kilter, and noob Coach Sealy was thinking, if I bite it here in the first round, my AD is gonna be all on me like Big Momma when she kept slapping Martin Lawrence in the face.
UCLA was actually down in the 5th when they came to their senses, and American tightened up a bit and gave off a few points, and UCLA got over the hump. Kudos anyhow to American, and sweet relief for those Cali girls.
No such silliness happened in the Horns’ first round. If we’d have started off bad, Juliann would have knelt down like Atlas and lifted the earth on her shoulders, and Rachael would have thrown lightning bolts.
As it was, we got off to a fast start. We had our mojo, we had our block, we had our serve, and we had our passing. And when we have our passing, jump back, jack.
In set one, we tore through the jitters and bounced to a 14-7 bulge, and then big Jen Doris stepped up to serve, and she just busted them up and then she aced us to 20-7. Minor mopping-up ensued, and Jen and Sha’Dare combo-blocked for the set point capper.
Set 2 showcased some sparkling rallies. During one marathon, Juliann had two mighty digs, and then, from the middle-back, lofted a freaking back-set to our outside! You’re kidding me! Atlas shrugged, and said, “Hey, I do what it takes.” Then Michelle said, “Me too,” and killed with a piercing dump.
14-9 brought a pleasing sight: Haley and Hannah platooned in. With Hannah, I wasn’t just happy that she did play; I was happy that she could play. I was starting to think she was hurt very badly, like season over. Gratefully, not so. I’m not sure she’s a hunnerd percent, but still, it was good to see them both on the court.
Anyhow, we stayed steady, but at 17-12, we decelerated a tad, and Elliott TOed.
He’s like, “Knock, knock, it’s the N-C-double-A’s.” And Salima says, “Why don't we treat it like the real thing,” a line she got from Sahara Smith, and it worked ‘cause the Horns spun off 5 straight. Some Amber, some Sha’Dare, and then, whoosh, Jen skied for the capper, 25-18.
Over the intermission, the cheerleader dude did his thing – he cracks me up every time. Thad and the Big Bang Theory guy had ditched their Hannah and Sarah T-shirts for blue blazers; I guess they’ve been watching Ocean’s Eleven or something, but at least it shows they do have other clothes.
Set 3 opened up fun. Jen served and set on the same point! Rachael continued her ownage of the net – she had 12 tonight for a whoppin’ .588. We saw some more of Hannah and Haley, too.
Late in the game, I got confuzzled. Haley was on the right, not the middle, and then even she got a little confuzzled on the rotation – where am I? - and Hannah should have bossed her on where to go, but didn’t. Blame it on rust. Still, one of Elliott’s golden rules: when on the court, you better have the awareness of a volleyball Buddha. Otherwise, grab some pine!
But shucks, it was all good, and we rolled to the sweep, 25-15. Hey – check out photo 4 in the UT slide show – Jen is soaring sky-high for a kill, while Sha’dare is hovering in mid-air behind her, juicing her with a war cry!
Condolences, UTSA, and domo arigato.
So look. Tomorrow night, no doubt UCLA will be much more formidable. But I also expect the Horns to bring a level of intensity that’ll melt your face off. So it’s gonna be a sensational match. Get your buns out to Gregory, the best place in Austin!
___
Well, dang it, what I find is UCLA fighting for their freaking life against some team called American who brought some major game and some major attitude to bear. The American girls were kicking *** and taking names, and UCLA was playing like some alternative reality, Crap-10 volleydog version of theirselves. Dicey was slicing balls out of bounds, everything else was out of kilter, and noob Coach Sealy was thinking, if I bite it here in the first round, my AD is gonna be all on me like Big Momma when she kept slapping Martin Lawrence in the face.
UCLA was actually down in the 5th when they came to their senses, and American tightened up a bit and gave off a few points, and UCLA got over the hump. Kudos anyhow to American, and sweet relief for those Cali girls.
No such silliness happened in the Horns’ first round. If we’d have started off bad, Juliann would have knelt down like Atlas and lifted the earth on her shoulders, and Rachael would have thrown lightning bolts.
As it was, we got off to a fast start. We had our mojo, we had our block, we had our serve, and we had our passing. And when we have our passing, jump back, jack.
In set one, we tore through the jitters and bounced to a 14-7 bulge, and then big Jen Doris stepped up to serve, and she just busted them up and then she aced us to 20-7. Minor mopping-up ensued, and Jen and Sha’Dare combo-blocked for the set point capper.
Set 2 showcased some sparkling rallies. During one marathon, Juliann had two mighty digs, and then, from the middle-back, lofted a freaking back-set to our outside! You’re kidding me! Atlas shrugged, and said, “Hey, I do what it takes.” Then Michelle said, “Me too,” and killed with a piercing dump.
14-9 brought a pleasing sight: Haley and Hannah platooned in. With Hannah, I wasn’t just happy that she did play; I was happy that she could play. I was starting to think she was hurt very badly, like season over. Gratefully, not so. I’m not sure she’s a hunnerd percent, but still, it was good to see them both on the court.
Anyhow, we stayed steady, but at 17-12, we decelerated a tad, and Elliott TOed.
He’s like, “Knock, knock, it’s the N-C-double-A’s.” And Salima says, “Why don't we treat it like the real thing,” a line she got from Sahara Smith, and it worked ‘cause the Horns spun off 5 straight. Some Amber, some Sha’Dare, and then, whoosh, Jen skied for the capper, 25-18.
Over the intermission, the cheerleader dude did his thing – he cracks me up every time. Thad and the Big Bang Theory guy had ditched their Hannah and Sarah T-shirts for blue blazers; I guess they’ve been watching Ocean’s Eleven or something, but at least it shows they do have other clothes.
Set 3 opened up fun. Jen served and set on the same point! Rachael continued her ownage of the net – she had 12 tonight for a whoppin’ .588. We saw some more of Hannah and Haley, too.
Late in the game, I got confuzzled. Haley was on the right, not the middle, and then even she got a little confuzzled on the rotation – where am I? - and Hannah should have bossed her on where to go, but didn’t. Blame it on rust. Still, one of Elliott’s golden rules: when on the court, you better have the awareness of a volleyball Buddha. Otherwise, grab some pine!
But shucks, it was all good, and we rolled to the sweep, 25-15. Hey – check out photo 4 in the UT slide show – Jen is soaring sky-high for a kill, while Sha’dare is hovering in mid-air behind her, juicing her with a war cry!
Condolences, UTSA, and domo arigato.
So look. Tomorrow night, no doubt UCLA will be much more formidable. But I also expect the Horns to bring a level of intensity that’ll melt your face off. So it’s gonna be a sensational match. Get your buns out to Gregory, the best place in Austin!
___
