Day 5: Sunday, June 26
By Kara Zaragoza '08 and Joanna Weiss `07
When we woke this morning we spent time packing along with some last-minute browsing and sight-seeing. At noon, we loaded the bus and headed for Comunanza. After a three-hour drive through stunning Italian countryside, we arrived at an old monastery where we will be staying for the next week. Once we got settled into our rooms, we drove down into town and walked around. The town looks like a movie set, charming and rustic. We  headed towards a small "ristorante" for a wonderful spaghetti dinner, by which time crowds were gathering in Comunanza in preparation for opening ceremonies. After lots of pictures, the tournament teams, families, organizers and the community lined the streets as a band began to play. We marched down the street in a parade that marked the beginning of opening ceremonies. We then arrived at a stage where the mayor, as well as other administrators (who had done a great deal to put on this tournament), introduced each team and its players. They also played the national anthems of each of the represented countries. When the ceremony ended the band stayed around to play for us. This set a fun mood for the week to come. It was a very fun night. Once we returned to the monastery we had a brief team meeting about our plans for the upcoming days. We went to bed with something specific on our minds. Tomorrow is game day.
Day 6: Monday, June 27
By Alaina Town '07 and Kristen Hughes `06
We woke up early for our first authentic Italian breakfast, which consisted of homemade Italian bread, hot chocolate and coffee. After breakfast, we walked to a village on the mountain top called Montmonaco. Volleyball practice was held there on an outdoor court built on the site of an old castle's foundation.  Practice was followed by a Coach Howley band and plyometrics workout. When we finished, we ate at a restaurant that sat right on the perimeter of the village and looked out on the mountain below. Everyone enjoyed the spinach and ricotta ravioli, penne rosa, salad, roasted chicken and roasted potatoes. In the afternoon, we had some time to relax. We spent it writing postcards, taking naps and playing a Midwest card game called Eucker. In our room, Liz (Elizabeth Bishop) and Amy (Gordon) had a come-from-behind victory over the reigning champions, Katie Rademacher and her partner, Tex (Rachel Adomat). While that was an exciting victory, it was only a warm-up to our first match of the Sibillini Volleyball Tournament which began at 9:30 p.m. We played a young Italian team called Matera on an outdoor court in Comunanza. We were impressed with their defense, but our size and experience helped us win 3-0. This was our first international match, and we were not used to some of the rules. The match was a lot of fun, and afterwards we signed autographs for the little girls. Everyone had fans but Kelly's (Kramer) "special jersey" drew the most. Even our trainer Kenan (Guilmette) got the opportunity to sign autographs.
Match Result: Cornell 3, Matera 0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-7)
Coach Deitre Collins on the match: "We struggled at times getting adjusted to playing outside. All in all, we played pretty well and really got into our rhythm in game three. We are playing with international rules, which are slightly different from the collegiate game. The most important differences are the games go to 25 points, and we are only allowed six substitutions per game compared to the 12 we have in the regular season. There are some other small differences that occur as well. As a whole we are adjusting well to the international game. Tonight Elizabeth Bishop led all hitters with 12 kills on 20 attempts. Rachel Adomat and Kristen Hughes each had six kills, and Heather Young and Joanna Weiss each added five kills. It is fun to get started."
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