Day 4
Zach Underwood

After a brief workout and breakfast, the team loaded the bus for an all day trip to Bled., Slovenia.  At 2pm we arrived and circled the lake before stopping for lunch at a small shoreside cafe.  Unfortunately, neither the mild ravings of Mort nor words like picturesque do Bled any justice- Mountains on all sides, trees as far as the eye can see and a church on an island in the center of it all.  Most guys swam or napped for the afternoon and the rest of us enjoyed a view that never got old.  Marcello Barreto, a brazilian middle who had a few weeks before signed a contract to play for the Slovenian first division team in Bled also stopped by and answered our questions about the European playing experience.  Around 530 the team headed to the castle on the skyrise cliff by the water’s edge.  The walk allowed fro a towering view of the lake and island.  After we had finished taking in the site, we headed towards our match in Kamnic just a short drive away.

Kamnic proved to be the best team we have played yet, and our split squads each lost 2-0.  We combined our teams however for the 5th set and were victorious 25-19.  After the match we spent some time talking to Kamnic player Luka Slave, who played for years for BYU in the states and has now moved home to Slovenia to continue his playing career.  We proceeded to dinner with  some guys form the team (one of our best meals yet) and were soon on our way back to Maribor.