After a long, eventful day Tim and I waved ‘goodbye’ to the girls of this year’s tour as Fausto drove them down the winding roads of the Sibillini Mountains to the Rome airport.  Many of the girls will check in upon arrival and soon be on their way home to the USA, while others will be heading into Rome for a couple extra nights of sight seeing and cultural emersion. 

The day started in Comunanza as Saturday is market day for this small village of just 3,000 people.  It was a great morning/afternoon for the girls as they had a chance to see what market day means to these people.  Starting at about 9am the trailers pull into town, throw up their window coverings, and display their fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese, prosciutto, as well as clothing, shoes, crafts, and even animals.  The main street in Comunanza is closed to the traffic and people flood the street to dig through the merchandise and find the freshest food for the night’s dinner. 

Tim met the girls in the Cantina di Castignano to advise the girls on which wines to bring home for their families and friends.  We have become quite good friends with Gaetano, the owner of this small ‘bodega,’ and it’s always great to see him giving the girls small cultural lessons (in what English he can force out) on the city and the wine. 

Following the market it was off to lunch at none other than Futura.  The girls eat many meals at this restaurant as it is one off the main sponsors of the Sibillini tournament.  Although they never seem very excited to return day upon day to the same restaurant they always manage to get a very good Italian meal and leave satisfied.   

Unfortunately we experienced some more bad weather today so after the girls had their siesta up at Casa Gioiosa they headed down to Comunanza without knowing exactly where they would play their 3rd place match, which was scheduled to be played on center court in Comunanza.  After some ‘waiting around time’ (this we’ve all gotten used to) they told us we would be playing inside at the Palestra because after an hour of trying to soak up the water on the court it was deemed impossible. 

The girls warmed up and with reason seemed to be very fired up; not only was this the last match of the tournament, but they also lost in five to this team, Sternberk (from the Czech Republic), during pool play.  Sternberk is a very good team with some of the bigger, older players in the tournament.   

The girls came out strong in game one fighting for every point.  They put together some great plays at the end of the game to win 25-20.  Unfortunately, game two was a different story as the Maribor team committed error upon error, struggling mostly with serving and also receiving the tough balls served by the Czechs.  Losing this second set 11-25, they came out much more concentrated in the third and fought again point-for-point until falling 24-26.  The girls were playing much better than I had seen all week and showed that they were getting used to being on the court with each other, communicating better, and committing fewer errors.  Although they put together a great game, three missed serves at the end of game four helped the Czech team get the win; Maribor came up just short losing this last set 24-26 and the match 1-3.  

A fourth place finish, however, in a field of 11 teams is still something to be proud of.  The other teams were young and sometimes small, but our girls had never played together before and were learning to adjust to some of the differences between American and European volleyball.   

During our match the tournament staff worked hard to dry up the main court, and the girls were off to eat another meal before hurrying down to the outside court to watch the final and participate in the closing ceremony. 

It was a very close match between SKUP Olomouc (Czech Republic) and OOK Lazarevac (Serbia Montenegro) with both teams serving tough and playing great defense.  It went back and forth for five full sets, but the Czech’s were the winners in the end, winning 15-11 in the fifth. 

The closing ceremony was off in no time and the many trophies were being passed to their respective teams/players.  Proof of the girls’ hard work and ability to adjust came in the form of the “Migliore Pallegiocatrice” trophy as it was presented to Jenny Dykstra (Best Setter).  Maribor was lucky enough to have won two individual trophies.  As the girls realized that they couldn’t imagine which position or accomplishment was left to be awarded, they cheered on their teammate, Jeanette Jenkins as she won “Miss Tournament.” As closing ceremonies wound down the girls all said goodbye to the different people they had met over the week and jumped on the bus.   

Upon arrival the girls raced into their rooms and frantically packed their bags, hoping to finish with time to make it up to the court at Montemonaco for a quick dose of the “Disco Party.”  All teams were invited to join the helpers of the tournament celebrate their hard work, but unfortunately the girls never made it.  The bus had to leave in order to get to Rome in time for some of the earlier departures.   

This was another great week in Comunanza.  I think this years Tour was extra special because the girls had the opportunity to be coached by a European.  We’ve never really done this before for an entire tournament.  I can say, after playing professionally for four years in Europe, this is an excellent learning experience for these girls who will continue their careers in their respective universities this coming Fall.  It’s exciting to think of some of the lessons that they will take home with them and hopefully share with their American teammates. 

I would like to give a personal thanks to everyone involved in making this tournament what it is.  Sandro, Pietro, Gian Luca, and the others for their many hours spent on organizing and running this tournament.  The Maribor team for learning how to adjust when things didn’t go just right (welcome to Europe ladies).  To all the sponsors and others involved in the tournament, and to Pepe Roverino for his wonderful hospitality. 

For more information, and some great photos, please see the past years journals: