After some morning sightseeing (a Monastery Tour in Melk and some free time in the Center of Bratislava) the van and bus headed towards Maribor. We met halfway to lighten the load on our van (after picking up Brynn and Lauren) and then pulled up to the Pohorje Mountain in Maribor, Slovenia just in time to unload the vehicles, check in, and get started on the evening matches.
These 3 days in Slovenia would constitute the most important of the volleyball on this tour as there were several decisions to be made as to which players would receive some of the few jobs offers on the table. The market has been really tight this year with the down economy, so finding spots for these players has been tougher than ever; and much tougher than expected.
Monday night we divided into 3 teams. Kristine's Team rushed off to play Nova KBM Maribor Juniors in an old sports hall in the very center of Maribor. There wasn't much room for serving on the endline or getting an approach on the sidelines, but as this is fairly common in European practice gyms, this was a good experience for the girls. Kyle's Team and Tim's Team had a little bit more time to settle in, and played later that evening in Lutski Vrt (Lukna) vs. Murska Sobota (2nd Division Team in Slovenia) and the Nova KBM Branik Maribor Sr. Team. Nova KBM had just won the Slovenian Cup Title the night before, and were off to Bosnia for a CEV Challenge Cup match the next day, so the starters didn't suit up. This was a shame because there are several BIP clients on the team including University of Hawaii ('00-04) superstar Maja Gustin, Missouri State's ('01-'04) Rese McNatt, and also Anita Petho from the Hungarian National Team and Kiki Karmen, setter for the Slovenian National Team. Both matches were played in the big hall, and it was good to see everyone from the tour getting some good volleyball in.
Tuesday saw the girls with plenty of free time to take the #6 bus into the City Center, ski on the Pohorje Mountain, or get massages and have some spa time in one of the spas up on the hill. With the Hotel Habakuk and Hotel Arena right next door, the DRAS Center (where we stayed) was a dream. That night we again divided into three teams. Kirstine took her new team to Lukna for another match vs. the Nova KBM Juniors, Cory and Kyle took their new team to Sempeter for a match vs. the Slovenian 1st Division Team, and Tim's Team ended up watching Elyse and Katie Kenline train with the Hartberg (Austria) Men's Team as there was some miscommunication from that club about which team to send down to Maribor for the evening match. Thankfully the DRAS Center has a bar attached to the gym so we were able to make up lost match to the girls that were looking forward to this night's volleyball. Good times.
Wednesday was another free day, and by now everyone knew well how to get around and make the best of a full day. That night's matches got us rolling a little earlier as we had some road trips planned. Kirstine's new team headed to Kamnik to play OK Kamnik. This was a treat for us as Kamnik is in Interliga and took 2nd place in the Slovenian Cup. They also have two English Speakers on the team in Emily Toon (Utah '08) and Lynn Batie (UK National Team player and BIP Client). Kyle's new team played in Ljubljana (the capital of Slovenia) against OK Vitale, another Slovenian 1st Division Team and Interliga team as well. Tim packed a van with all the outside hitters that wanted to find a job this year to play in Benedikt; just outside of Maribor. It turned out that the club couldn't hire (more economy woes) but we had a fun little birthday party for Whitney Meierotto in the locker room (and bus ride home) after the match.
The next day would see us splitting up again for travel to Pula, Croatia and Koper, Slovenia, so the staff all retired early. I imagine that the girls had a fun night in Maribor (again) but we haven't gotten all the stories just yet...
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