Team Volleyhut Wins Sibillini Tournament*
It was USA's Team Volleyhut that ended up winning the 7th annual Sibillini Italian Tournament, 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-23). The final pitted Team Volleyhut against former 1997 and 1998 champion team Postar Belgrado. You can see from the score it was not an easy win for Team Volleyhut with each individual game lasting more than 20 minutes.
MVP: Bojana Rankovic, Postar Belgrado (Yugoslavia)
Best Attacker: Michelle Green USA/Volleyhut.com (Alabama)
Best Setter: Katie Virtue Volleyhut.com (Ohio State)
Best Libero: Valcic, Postar Belgrado (Yugoslavia)
Best Block: Milada Spalovà, Sk UP Olomouc (Czech Republic)
"Miss Tournament": Zuzana Vargovà, Slavia UK Bratislavia (Slovakia)
Beach Tournament - After 3 days of beach tournament at the beautiful Porto San Giorgio beach near Ancona, Christy Attebery, Amy Crosbie, and Krista Ryser were the #1 USA Team with a 2nd place finish on July 5 in the il Grillo 3x3 Classic. Many thanks to our sponsor, 3rd Degree, for the beach uniforms.
On Thursday, July 6, the USA teams went for a VIP Tour of the  Cantine de Castignano winery just outside of Ascoli Piceno. The winery was a nice sponsor for the tournament and the girls had a great time getting a "real Italian wine tasting experience". After the winery, the girls spent the afternoon in the town of Ascoli Piceno, the largest "city" in the Marche region. About.com lost to Slavia Bratislava to head to the consolation round and Volleyhut.com won their match to move to the semi-finals.
On Friday, July 7, the girls split up completely. Many wanted to shop for the latest in Italian fashion (bras with clear rubber straps and little tops to match); some wanted to hike the beautiful Sibillini mountains; other needed to sleep in; and still more went to the lake for bridge jumping, swimming, and relaxation. That night, Volleyhut.com won their semi-final match and About.com won their match to put them in the game for 5th on the final day.
On Saturday, July 8, the girls split up in teams for the day. Volleyhut.com spent the day at the flea market in Communanza and at the nearby lake, and About.com slept in, spent a long lunch with the Hungarian team, and then beat them that afternoon for 5th place. From there they went to center court for the 9:30pm final that Volleyhut.com would then go on to win for the trophy against Postar from Belgrade, Yugoslavia. After the match (the girls were showered and ready by midnight). There was a tournament party, complete with an outdoor disco, on the center court of Montemonaco (inside the ruins of a castle and high on a hill top in the mountains). Unfortunately the USA girls had to leave the party 2:00am for the all-night bus ride down through the mountains to Rome. Half the team had 7:00am flights back to the USA on the 9th.
Next year the trip will start in Munich (less lost bags and we can train a little more) 3 days before the tournament and the teams will stay an extra two days to enjoy the final party and also see a bit of Rome before jumping on the plane.
Many , many, many thanks to the people of Sibillini for having such a great tournament and allowing us to be a part of it.
Also many thanks to our tournament sponsors, About.com, Volleyhut.com, Molten, 3rd Degree, Active Ankle, and Sport Court, for making this experience possible for the girls. |
