Final Days at Nationals

Hi to all of our faithful pioneer fans! Our last day at the national tournament couldn't have been better to end our 2011 volleyball season. We had an awesome pregame meal at Texas Roadhouse before we headed to the Tyson Events Center one last time. Many emotions were crossing our minds as we prepared for our last game of the 2011 season, including excitement for the competition ahead. We started the match a little shaky, but ended up taking the first set 25-23. The feeling of getting even just one set under our belts was awesome. It is such an incredible atmosphere to play in and to take a set off Missouri Baptist gave us even more appreciation for the game. The following set went much like the first one in that Missouri Baptist got the lead right off the bat. We slowly climbed our way back into the game and took set two 25-22. Our game wasn't necessarily the same as it has been the last half of the season, but we were playing more as a team and less as individuals, and it seemed to be working in our favor. After dropping the third set we jumped out on top of the fourth set and finished strong with a score of 25-17.

Taking down the #14 seed in the national tournament was a huge accomplishment for our team and our program and I couldn't be more thankful for the amazing coaches and teammates who led us here. Not many players or coaches can say that they ended their season on a win, and it means even more to myself and my fellow seniors that we were able to end our careers with this win at the national tournament. Coach K and coach Pam have been such a huge part of our success on the court and I want to thank them for their support throughout the season. Their knowledge and passion for the game has helped us to be able to compete at such a competitive level. I have never been apart of such an amazing group of girls that have a sincere love for each other and for the game, and these girls are not only my collegiate teammates, but they are my lifelong friends.

We ended our stay at the national tournament with a trip to Bob Roes Pizza while enjoying each other's company. We headed out this morning and had a fun bus ride back with our favorite driver, lil Kim.

Thank you for following along with us as we got to experience the NAIA national volleyball championships for the first time in MNU history! It has been a privilege to be a part of this program and I can't wait to see what the future holds for MNU volleyball!

-Laura

Hey all! I thought I would share some fun pictures taken in the photo booth at the banquet on Monday night. Happy Holidays from your 2011 Pioneers!

Wednesday at Nationals

Hey everyone, today started out about the same as the past two days with a team breakfast and study hall afterwards. We are all really trying to stay on top of our schoolwork as finals are quickly approaching. After study hall, we scouted the other team through film and the scouting report coach wrote up. Since we didn't play until 8pm tonight, we had some free time this afternoon where many of us spent with our parents and teammates just enjoying everyones presence. It was nice to be able to spend this week with my parents here supporting me and I know all of the girls on the team are very thankful for how great of family and friends we have in our lives. It is hard that not all of our loved ones could be here, but they remain incredible support.

Before our match we had a good pre-game meal at Perkins, which is actually our sponsor for the national tournament. It is really nice having our hotel within walking distance of not only the events center, but multiple restaurants as well. We haven't had to take the charter bus many places which gives our favorite driver Kim a break! Before our evening match we got our team picture taken for the tournament. Warming up for the match, your MNU pioneers were feeling more confident and excited about the volleyball to come. We started off with a rough first set as Fresno Pacific seemed to break us apart by the seams. What I think was pretty incredible was that in the next two sets, although we fell short, we played our hearts out. We had Fresno on their heels until the last few points when they came out ahead. Both sets came out to the last five points as the score was tied 20-20. We ended up losing the last two sets 22-25 and 23-25. Although we felt the defeat from the loss, we will not crumble.

We always end the night giving the glory to our God through a devotional. Molly brought so much scripture into the devotional tonight that I can honestly say I felt an instant peace. So many emotions are amongst us as we head into our final match of the season vs. #14 Missouri Baptist. Seniors are feeling the reality that this will be the last game of our career and underclassman are realizing they won't be playing with the same group of girls ever again. Whatever happens tomorrow we will know that we will have given it our all and played as one, for One. I have so much love for the girls on my team and I know that love comes from above. We have learned what it means to play selfless volleyball and have combined our passions to succeed. We have begun MNU's new volleyball tradition by attending the first ever national tournament for the program. People better get used to our name because believe me, it has only begun!

Tune in tomorrow night for our last game of the season as we prepare to go out fighting! We would love to win our last game of the season, which many teams don't get to do. We play Missouri Baptist at 8pm! Go Pioneers!

-Laura

Tuesday at Nationals

Hello again everyone! As most of you have already heard we took a tough loss tonight vs #2 Texas at Brownsville. I guess you could say we were a little stage frightened throughout the entire match. We have realized the level of play that is expected at the national tournament and we have refocused and our minds are now on defending national champions, Fresno Pacific University. We got to scout both Fresno Pacific and Missouri Baptist, the two other teams in our pool, and we are looking forward to the competition ahead. I think we match up pretty good with the next two teams so be ready for some good volleyball!

The opening ceremony followed our match this evening. All the teams were announced and the national anthem was presented. It is also a tradition at this time to exchange gifts with our opening match competitors. We gave MNU cups filled with goodies and Texas at Brownsville gave us t-shirts. We had good conversation with a lot of the teams here and are meeting really cool women from all over. I am going to wrap up this blog with a little part of our team devotional from the night. From Philippians 2:3, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." We have come to realize that alone we cannot accomplish our goals and we need to rely on each other and be selfless on the court if we want to succeed as a team. I will leave you with our team verse as it always brings us back home, "though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves, but a cord of three strands is not easily broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12

I hope you can catch our game tomorrow vs. the defending national champions Fresno Pacific at 8:00pm! Go Lady Pioneers!

-Laura

Nationals

After a 4.5 hour bus ride by our favorite driver Kim, the MNU Volleyball team arrived in Sioux City, IA at the Tyson Events Center. As exciting as the bus ride was through the western Iowa cornfields and what not, walking into the Tyson Events Center got our hearts beating. We followed the sound of volleyballs to the gym for our first practice of the national tournament. Playing on a court with bright lights and gigantic ceilings is a bit different compared to our home Cook Center. After a good energetic practice we checked into the nice, cozy Stoney Creek Inn which is approximately 500 feet from the convention center (talk about convenience)! We are really thankful for the amazing living situations we have for the next five days. After getting all cleaned up we hopped on the bus and went to eat dinner at Pita Pit. I think it's safe to say a majority of the team found a new love at dinner. We scarfed down those pitas quite rapidly. We returned to the hotel and a few of us got excited when we saw the indoor/outdoor pool and hot tub and decided we had better test it out. The first day at the national tournament ended with 17 tired young ladies ready for a good nights sleep.

Monday morning arrived and we were up and ready for breakfast. The Biola volleyball team is also staying at our hotel and we were able to talk with a few of them at breakfast. Although we didn't have any games today, we had a full day planned starting with helping out at the special olympic volleyball camp at the Tyson Events Center. All 24 teams of the national tournament were able to help out at the camp and teach volleyball to the campers. We had about 2 kids to every team so it was a lot of interacting one-on-one. A little boy named Anthony had most of our attention as we all circled around helping him learn how to do some basic volleyball skills. We then got a volleyball game (playing with a beach ball) going with more of the campers and everybody enjoyed seeing the excitement in their eyes. After the camp was over, we took a little road trip to the mall. We ate lunch and a few people did some speedy shopping for outfits for the banquet we had this evening. We had a bittersweet last practice this afternoon and for the seniors it is starting to hit that this will be the last week of competitive volleyball we will play in our lives. We will always be thankful for the talents and teammates that God has given to us.

Once we were through practicing, we had a few hours to get beautified for the NAIA national volleyball championship banquet. Being part of the top 24 teams has been a honor and we have gotten to experience so much through it. The banquet was filled with excitement and fun. We took pictures in a photo booth and even got to sit on Santa's lap. Anna Nostrant, one of our seniors, was recognized for her award as a champion of character. Molly Brewster, Megan Hayes, and myself Laura Hamblin were also honored as scholar athletes. We ended the night by heading to our rooms and working on some homework... well some of us did. We have really enjoyed the atmosphere that the national tournament brings and are looking forward to actually playing some games! Our first opponent is #2 University of Texas at Brownsville. We will take them on Tuesday at 5:45pm.

I'll update more on the lives of your MNU volleyball players tomorrow!

Laura Hamblin