Darkside Update 3/29/99

For all of you who didn't go to Regionals, or those who were there, but have forgotten, here is the summary of the Regional Championships held in Winter Springs, FL on 3/27/99.

When we started the year, we were looking to add 2 to 3 players (middles and offside hitters) to take our team to the next level. We put together a strong squad which came together for the Disney Classic this year (all 10 bodies) and showed our worth. We anticipated being able to practice together and improve our team chemistry to where we would be cruising at the end of the year, closing with the Hi Neighbor Tournament and Regional Championships in back-to-back weekends.

Reality struck, when we had 6 for Asheville and then for this Regionals Tournament we had 7. The 7 were last years team to the man. We went up with Kurt, Rick, Raik, Greg (just back from the wedding and honeymoon), me (Zaz) and Wade (who had to middle block again). Shane drove in 10 minutes from his home in Orlando.

We were in a 4 team AA pool with Orlando Gold, First Coast and Shag Me Baby. Matches were best of 3 to 15 points with the 3rd game rally scoring. We got there late and had a minimal warm-up for the 1st match against Orlando Gold. They played the best anyone has ever remembered them playing and after 2 full service rotations, the score was 2 - 0 in their favor. They went on to lead 8 - 0 and we caught them at 11, winning 15 - 13. The 1st game took 45 minutes! The 2nd game was also close, which we won in the 15 - 12 range. The 2nd match was against First Coast. They had just won their 1st match against Shag Me Baby 2 - 1 and were fired up. We played well and won 2 - 0 and were feeling pretty good about ourselves.

Our final pool play match was against Shag Me Baby and that's when the wheels fell off. Passing went into the toilet, and the hitting and blocking followed. It all went in spurts and in non dramatic fashion, the match was over 2 - 0, Shag Me Baby winning.

First Coast also won 2 - 0 over Orlando Gold as did Shag Me Baby, so we were all 2 - 1 after pool play. SMB took 1st by having one more game won (they lost to First Coast 1 - 2). We had to play First Coast 1 game to 15 to make it to the finals. This one was a war and see-sawed all the way to the 17-15 final score. We won and now had to play Shag Me Baby best of 3 to 15.

Maybe we were tired (not really), or maybe they had us figured out, or maybe we just don't play well against them, but our level dropped so far in the 8 minutes between the end of the semifinals and the start of the finals, that it could not be measured. The 1st game was over before we even got going. We lost the toss and they ran off the 1st 5 or so points on their blocking, our over-passes and hitting errors. We blocked poorly and sided out worse. The game ended 15 - 1 and set an all-time low for the Darkside.

Game 2 started out well enough. We took a 6 - 3 lead, but quickly gave it back. We trailed 11 - 8 and couldn't catch a break. Every time we had a block for a point, the ball would squirt through or get wiped, or we would be in position, but our digger couldn't bring the ball up ... Same old story, then you add the 1 or 2 more bad passes and hitting errors and the game was over. I think it was 15 - 10 or 11, but it didn't matter. With the personnel we had out there, we needed to be playing at a higher sustained level than we were; they just didn't falter or miss a beat.

We were all left searching for answers after the tournament was over. What if our other 2 middle blockers were here, what if Wade got to play off-setter, what if Shane got to pass and hit on the left, what if we didn't net so many times ... What if? We'll never know. Shag Me Baby won the Florida region and we finished 2nd.

We attended the players party and congratulated Shag Me Baby as they received their 1st place trophy and shirts. We took our 2nd place shirts and ate our free pizza and drank our free beer and watched the men's NCAA semifinal basketball games wondering: "What if ..."

The DORKSIDE. Although there were many "ugly" instances that warranted a DORKSIDE, we would have needed 15 awards to give 1 to every deserving DORK occurrence. Kurt did serve some horrific serves into the middle of the net (after rotating back to the service area exhausted); Raik had a duck or 2 serves and sprayed some ugly hits; Greg had some very ugly serve receives as did Rick; Wade went from line-caught to net-caught tuna often enough; Wade and I had an "interesting" pick-and-roll play; Shane hit a few nice ones into the middle of the net ... It just was not a good day to pick a DORKSIDE winner. So, as both committee and presenter, I give the DORKSIDE to no one. It's been a busy season and the DORKSIDE needs a rest too.

TKA - We'll give the Thunderous Kaboom Award to Kurt for his multiple crushes from the top floor. Easily his best day as an attacker. Raik gets a nod for a Wally-Warhead.

That's it for the indoor season. A possibility exists for the Eastern Zonals tournament in Newark, NJ on May 7, but I have not gotten any closure on the details, teams attending, etc.