University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Day 8 - Sunday, April 1 (The Last Day)
The team returned to Westwood shortly after 8 pm Pacific Time, having spent an exciting week playing and sight-seeing in Europe.
THE LAST DAY - DAY 8 - WE'RE HOME
Our trip to Europe has come to a close, and the long flight home gave us all a chance to reflect on the eventful week. One of our team's goals for this trip was to "go with the flow". We knew this trip would have some twists and turns, and we had to be ready to adapt and adjust to a new culture and a new style of volleyball. Looking back, I think we accomplished this goal. Our team understood we weren't in Los Angeles anymore, and things in Europe were done differently. We embraced the opportunity to understand and learn from a foreign country.
All winter long, our team has been training hard in the weight room to become stronger. We also put in many hours in the gym to strengthen our individual skills. This trip was a great way for each of us to see the results of the hard work we put in last quarter. Although our playing started off shaky at the start of the trip, we settled down and played some great volleyball. Many of the teams have had much more experience than ours, which was actually to our benefit. We were able to observe how older players kept their composure on the court when their team was struggling. Also, we learned how to attack against a bigger block. As a result, we became smarter players because we had to use different methods than usual to score points. Our team is definitely leaving Europe a better volleyball team.
While on our trip, we experienced the many differences between Europe and the States. Many of us hoped to not only become better volleyball players during the past week, but also to leave with a better understanding of another culture. It was amazing to be in countries where there is no rush hour, and often no clocks. I think only one of our matches started on time! We all benefited so much from immersing ourselves in a culture that takes time out to enjoy their surroundings and each other...both of which we were lucky enough to experience.