Gold Medal Match!

Tonight Team USA will be playing in the GOLD MEDAL MATCH of the Pan American Cup! We had a great win over Dominican Republic in the semis. Tonight we take on Brazil! I feel a good vibe going through this team right now and I believe we are ready to take on this challenge! Hopefully it will end with us on top of the podium with a nice piece of GOLD hardware around our necks :) Wish me luck! 

The match is at 9:00 PM CST and again, you can watch live at this link:

http://www.livestream.com/copanamericana2

GO USA!

Kayla

Semifinals!

After a crazy win against Dominican Republic after being down 0-2, we came out of our pool on top! That means we have a bye today and are automatically in the semifinals tomorrow! I really have no idea who we're gonna play. This tournament has kind of a funky points system and I don't really get it. But, I'm gonna guess we'll play either Cuba or Dominican. We played both these teams in our pool. And like I said earlier we beat Dominican in 5. However, we lost to Cuba. So either way, tomorrow's match is gonna be a huge challenge for us. We play at 9:00 PM CST. You can watch it live at this link:

http://www.livestream.com/copanamericana2

The finals are the following day, and we travel back to California on the 21st. I'm ready to get back to the States. I've been eating nothing but rice, beans, and tortilla chips for the past week. You see we aren't allowed to eat the meat here because a lot of the meat is injected with steroids. And if we were to test positive for steroids in our next drug test we are SOL. So needless to say I'm excited to eat a real meal :)

I'm off to practice! GO USA!

Kayla 

Live Stream

Okay I have a couple more links. Our technical coordinator, Nate, posted these on twitter and said that you could watch the matches live here. So hopefully these work!

 http://www.livestream.com/copanamericana

 http://www.livestream.com/copanamericana2

Again, first match is tomorrow 3 PM Central time!

Kayla

Update

Okay folks, I found a website for the tournament . There is a button that says "Live" right next to our matches. I have a feeling that this is just live stats, and not necessarily live video. But, it's all I got so far. Of course, if I find anything else, I will let you know!

http://www.norceca.net/2012%20Events/2012%20XI%20Women's%20Pan%20American%20Cup/Calendar%202012%20XI%20Women's%20Pan%20American%20Cup.htm 

Now if you are on this page and you clicked "Homepage", that would take you back to the NORCECA homepage. However, to get back to the Live Updates/Results page, simply click on this picture

on the right side of the NORCECA homepage, and you will be directed back to the Pan Am Cup tournament homepage. From there, clicking on "Competition Calendars" will take you back to the page with the Live results. I'm praying that this is actually live video but I have no idea right now. I'll keep doing some research and try and get a more solid feed for you. 

We got to Juarez yesterday around 2:00 and went right away to practice. It was a good session to allow us to get the blood flowing after being on a plane. After that we ate dinner and had a quick team meeting. Everyone was exhausted by 8:00 so we called it a night. We were up bright and early today for a 8:00 AM training session. Another good practice in the books. I feel good about tomorrow and I think this team is in a great position to do well here. We have the rest of the day off (with an optional lift later on). I think a lot of the girls are gonna be heading to the pool, and I'm sure I will be there as well :)

Our first match is tomorrow vs. Canada at 2:00 PM (3:00 PM Central time). GO USA!

Kayla 

Juarez Here I Come!

So I'm heading to Mexico today! Juarez to be specific. I know it sounds sketchy but from what I hear it's not as bad as you'd think. Heading with Team USA to compete in the Pan American Cup! It's my first USA roster as the libero so I'm a little nervous but even more excited!  I still don't know about a live feed or not. But if I do find something I'll post the link on facebook and this blog for you so keep your eyes peeled :) Also I'm not sure what my internet situation is but if I do have internet I'll probably be on Skype a lot. So if you ever want to chat you'll know where to find me! I'm super pumped! Love you all! I'll be back in the States on the 21st! Go USA!    

Olympic Roster Announced!

Yesterday the Olympic roster was announced! This was a VERY exciting day for everyone that has been a part of USA Volleyball this past quad. It was even exciting for me, although I realistically had no chance at being selected. Just knowing that dreams were coming true for many of my teammates was awesome! Here is the roster that will be competing in London:

2012 U.S. Olympic Women’s Volleyball Team
# - Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College)
2 - Danielle Scott-Arruda (MB, 6-2, Baton Rouge, La., Long Beach State)
3 - Tayyiba Haneef-Park (Opp, 6-7, Laguna Hills, Calif., Long Beach State)
4 - Lindsey Berg (S, 5-8, Honolulu, Hawaii, Minnesota)
5 - Tamari Miyashiro (L, 5-7, Kaneohe, Hawaii, Washington)
6 - Nicole Davis (L, 5-4, Stockton, Calif., Southern California)
10 - Jordan Larson (OH, 6-2, Hooper, Neb., Nebraska)
11 - Megan Hodge (OH, 6-3, Durham, N.C., Penn State)
13 - Christa Harmotto (MB, 6-2, Hopewell, Pa., Penn State)
15 - Logan Tom (OH, 6-1, Salt Lake City, Utah, Stanford)
16 - Foluke Akinradewo (MB, 6-3, Plantation, Fla., Stanford)
17 - Courtney Thompson (S, 5-8, Kent, Wash., Washington)
19 - Destinee Hooker (Opp, 6-4, San Antonio, Texas, Texas)


I have no doubt in my mind that this team will bring home a gold medal. They are certainly capable of achieving great things.


Now, because the Olympic roster has been announced, the rest of the team was informed as to whether we would be going to Pan Am Cup. And, I am SO EXCITED to be able to tell you that I will be the libero for Team USA at the Pan Am Cup in Mexico next week! We leave Tuesday morning. The competition starts Thursday, and the finals are on the 20th. If we finish in the top 4, we qualify USA for the 2013 World Grand Prix. I'm super pumped! My first tournament as USA's libero! I understand it's no Olympics, but it's a start :)

Here is the schedule for pool play (CST):  July 12 Group A 1:00 pm: R. Dominican - Colombia 3:00 pm: United States - Canada 5:00 pm: Cuba - Puerto Rico July 13 5:00 pm: Cuba - Colombia 7:00 pm: R. Dominican - Canada 9:00 pm: U.S. - Puerto Rico July 14 5:00 pm: Canada - Colombia 7:00 pm: R. Dominican - Puerto Rico 9:00 pm: U.S. - Cuba July 15 5:00 pm: U.S. - Colombia 7:00 pm: Puerto Rico - Canada 9:00 pm: R. Dominican - Cuba July 16 5:00 pm: Puerto Rico - Colombia 7:00 pm: Cuba - Canada 9:00 pm: R. Dominica - United States

I'm not sure what the schedule for tournament play is, but I'll do my best to keep you informed when I find out more. Also, if I do remember correctly, in the past this tournament has had a website where you can watch the matches live. However, I don't know for sure. Again, as soon as I find out I'll let you know!

I'm so excited to be able to represent USA! It's an honor to wear the Red, White, and Blue! Go USA!

Happy 4th everyone!

Kayla 

P.S. I'm pretty sure I've used this clip before but it makes me laugh out loud every time so I'm using it again! Enjoy!