Sept. 22, 2007
by Erin Birmingham – We are just getting back into town from a good weekend in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We took second place and went 2-1 in the Michigan/Nike Invitational. After our home tournament last weekend we were not satisfied with how we ended with two losses. All week as we prepared, we were very anxious to get after it again and make it better this weekend. The team was fired up to get on the court as we traveled north.
Friday was a very successful day. We came out right away and put Temple away 3-0. As a team we achieved many of the goals that we shot for everyday. We sided out around 75 percent! After the match we had a quick turn-around so we got refueled and prepared for the next game at the gymnasium. Next we played Utah Valley State. We came out on Utah Valley State, much like we did Temple. The third game was a little closer, but we picked it up and finished it in three games. As a team we felt very good about what we had done on Friday. Everyone got involved and contributed great things.
We were already focused on Michigan when the games ended Friday. We stayed and watched Michigan play that night because we wanted to be familiar with the team. On Saturday, we did not play till seven, so we got to do a team outing to Callie’s hometown! We had a wonderful morning in Whitehouse, Ohio where her family welcomed us into their home with good food and loving hospitality. As we headed back to Ann Arbor, the team had one thing in mind and that was too go after #10 Michigan with everything we had.
As we took the floor Saturday night in a packed house, we were ready to go! With Michigan’s hecklers in full force we had a blast beating them game one. Game two went to the Wolverines, but after the break we tightened things up and won game three. In the fourth game we were down, but made an intense come back – we were unable to finish though. The fifth game was a nail biter! Everyone had poured their heart onto the floor that night and played at a new level. We were more than disappointed to lose such a hard fought match because we knew we were so close. We refused to hang out head though because as a team we did great things that night.
We had three members of the all-tournament team. Talisa, Ulli, and Lindsey represented for us! Overall, our preseason tournaments were very good for us. We played talented teams. We were pushed on the court and grew in many ways. We feel very well prepared for the start of conference next weekend. We start off with North Carolina and North Carolina State. We have confidence that we will astound ourselves this season because we are not slowing down!
