Dawgs Abroad Day 6: On To Croatia
June 18, 2017 | Volleyball
From June 11 until June 24, Washington Volleyball is in search of competition and culture in four different countries in Europe. The Huskies are on their first foreign adventure since 2013, joined by many family members and donors, to share in a once in a lifetime experience outside of their comfort zones. Arriving in Milan, Italy on June 12, the Dawgs have visited Lake Como and Venice before leaving Italy for Croatia (Umag and Rovinj) and then on to Slovenia (Ljubljana, Maribor and Bled) with an additional side trip to Graz, Austria, returning to Seattle on June 24. During the trip, the Huskies are scheduled to play seven matches against a mixture of senior national teams, junior national teams, and professional club teams.
While abroad, Husky players will be blogging about their experiences each day here on GoHuskies.com.
Day 1: Travel & Milan | Day 2: More Milan And A Match | Day 3: Lake Como And Match 2 | Day 4: Milan Farewell
Day 5: Venice
Senior setter Jade Finau recaps Washington's first full day in Croatia, spent in Umag until a match in the evening in Pazin.
It's always a great start to your morning when you don't have to set an alarm. Sleeping in was refreshing and very much needed. Having already played three matches and constant sightseeing within one week can be very exhausting, but we've managed to end each day feeling accomplished.
Today will be our fourth match of the trip against the Croatian National team. In preparation for our match in the evening, I've managed to sleep in til 9 a.m., eat breakfast with the team, swim for a few hours, and have lunch. Being out in the sun for too long makes me tired, so I was able to squeeze a nap in before we were back on the road to our next match. As we walked into the national team's facility, I knew it was going to be a great game simply because it was the first gym we've played in to have air conditioning. The past few matches were constantly being stopped because after one dive to the floor, there was a huge line of sweat that needed to be wiped up. I still came prepared with three sweat towels, eventually only needing one since the gym was much cooler.
The match seemed very long, but it was a lot of fun. However, it was not a great start. As international rules have shared hitting time, setters are pretty careful when setting ten to fifteen feet off the net so they won't get hit by their opponents. When I thought staying six feet off the net was no problem, sure enough the Croatian team's tallest middle blocker got up and hit a quick ball straight down into my face leaving me with one functioning eye for several minutes until the game started. Other than that, it was a great match! We won in three, but continued to play five sets to twenty five. After exchanging shirts with them, we showered, changed, and drove to dinner. One of the players on the Croatian team invited us to her family's restaurant for dinner. Even though the food is still foreign to me, I am always grateful for home cooked meals. The homemade pastas, ravioli, bread, EVERYTHING, was delicious. After a great meal, we were back on the road to the hotel which was about an hour away. We got in around 11:45pm and went straight to sleep. It was a fun and productive day.
Tomorrow is our last day in Croatia and next stop is Maribor. Other than the scheduled itinerary, I've enjoyed my time so far with not only the team, but with the families, donors, and coaches. I love learning about the various cultures and finding the similarities and differences compared to my American and Tongan heritage. I'm grateful for this opportunity to travel, learn, and grow with my teammates before my last season as a Husky. I'm excited to see what else is in store for us on this trip. Go Dawgs!
-Jade
Match 4 vs. Croatian Senior National Team
An hour's drive from their seaside hotel in Umag brought the Huskies to the city of Pazin to face the Croatian Senior National Team. The Huskies continued to build on their strong play from their last match against the Italian U20 Team, as UW won the first three sets before the Croatians won two final sets for a 3-2 total in UW's favor. Washington will see the Croatians a second time in Maribor, Slovenia.
Sophomore Kara Bajema had the most swings and kills for the Huskies, playing both middle blocker and outside hitter. Bajema had 16 kills while redshirt freshman Maria Bogomolova, Courtney Schwan and Crissy Jones all had 10 kills, and sophomore Avie Niece had eight. Senior Jade Finau had 58 assists and three aces, with Schwan also serving up four aces.
Starting in the first set was Finau at setter, Niece and Bajema in the middle, Schwan, Jones, and Tia Scambray at outside hitter and Shayne McPherson at libero. The Dawgs impressed the home fans right away as the second point brought a lengthy rally with two great saves from Jones and McPherson before Scambray got a kill to end it. Jones snapped down a kill from the right pin and then Scambray and Bajema teamed for a block for a 5-2 lead. Finau got the most of a stuff block for 8-3 to force a Croatia timeout. Scambray then fired an ace for 10-3 Dawgs. Croatia had a four-point run but Bajema served a 3-0 Husky run right back for 13-7. Destiny Julye subbed in and had a crosscourt kill then Bajema finished from the right for 19-14. Niece pushed one through the block for a big point at 22-19, and UW earned set point at 24-21, but missed a serve then Croatia hit an ace and the Dawgs hit one out to tie it at 24-all. Bajema would have a pair of kills to earn UW two more set point tries, but Croatia saved them. A crafty free ball bumped over by Schwan fell just over the tape for a kill for 27-26, and then the Huskies finally finished it on their sixth chance as Jones tipped over the block and down for a kill.
Bogomolova started in the second set and helped the Huskies race off to a huge lead that they would never surrender. Schwan started the set serving, and hit three aces in the first six points. Bogomolova killed an overpass for 7-0 and it was 10-0 before the Croatians got on the board. McPherson notched an ace and Bogomolova smacked several more kills to open up a 14-2 lead. Schwan and Niece teamed for a block for 18-9 and Jones connected from the left pin for 21-11. A Bajema kill off a Croatia overpass was followed by a stuff for the sophomore to get to set point. Bogomolova appropriately got the final kill to end it, 25-13.
Washington shuffled its lineup more in set three, with Scambray switching to libero for the final three sets, as well as Bajema going to the outside and Jones to the middle. Carly DeHoog checked in at opposite and Cailin Onosko saw significant time in the back row. A sterling dig from Scambray led to a Husky point for 4-4 early in the set and then UW took its first lead at 7-6 on a Jones transition kill out of the middle. Scambray served up an ace, and Bogomolova finished through the block for a 9-8 lead. The Huskies fell behind 11-16, but then mounted a major run starting with a Bajema leftside kill then an emphatic roof, with a Finau ace behind that. A Croatia error and another Finau ace tied it at 16-16, but the Dawgs kept the run going and Bajema destroyed a Finau set for 19-16. DeHoog punctuated the 9-0 run with a stuff for 20-16 before Croatia stopped the streak. But the Huskies immediately strung four more points together including another DeHoog rejection to get to set point at 24-17. Croatia saved one but Bogomolova finished the set with a kill off the block for 25-18.
The match continued into a fourth and fifth set with the Huskies continuing to get extended runs for everyone on the roster in varying combinations. Croatia grabbed an early set four lead, but Bajema and Jones had back to back kills to make it 3-5. Similar to set three, Croatia pushed out to a lead halfway into the set, but the Huskies closed the gap, with Finau firing an ace and Jones and DeHoog combining for a block to make it 13-16. Washington leveled it up at 18-all as Julye blasted a kill and then the Dawgs roofed two straight Croatia swings. But the Dawgs couldn't get over the hump, and Croatia came back with a 4-0 run and went on to earn its first set, 25-21.
DeHoog got the first kill of the fifth set high off the blockers' hands and she came back with a service ace to make it 4-5 Croatia. UW went ahead 6-5 on a Jones stuff and a Schwan left pin kill. The teams went back and forth for several points, Niece getting a slide kill for 11-11 and DeHoog putting one away off the block for 14-15. The Huskies took a timeout down 16-20, and Bajema came out of the break with a kill, but Croatia responded with the next three points to make it 17-23. The Dawgs made a last push with three straight including a McPherson ace to cut it to 20-23, but Croatia scored the last two points to get the final set and make it 3-2 overall for UW.
While abroad, Husky players will be blogging about their experiences each day here on GoHuskies.com.
Day 1: Travel & Milan | Day 2: More Milan And A Match | Day 3: Lake Como And Match 2 | Day 4: Milan Farewell
Day 5: Venice
Senior setter Jade Finau recaps Washington's first full day in Croatia, spent in Umag until a match in the evening in Pazin.
It's always a great start to your morning when you don't have to set an alarm. Sleeping in was refreshing and very much needed. Having already played three matches and constant sightseeing within one week can be very exhausting, but we've managed to end each day feeling accomplished.
Today will be our fourth match of the trip against the Croatian National team. In preparation for our match in the evening, I've managed to sleep in til 9 a.m., eat breakfast with the team, swim for a few hours, and have lunch. Being out in the sun for too long makes me tired, so I was able to squeeze a nap in before we were back on the road to our next match. As we walked into the national team's facility, I knew it was going to be a great game simply because it was the first gym we've played in to have air conditioning. The past few matches were constantly being stopped because after one dive to the floor, there was a huge line of sweat that needed to be wiped up. I still came prepared with three sweat towels, eventually only needing one since the gym was much cooler.
The match seemed very long, but it was a lot of fun. However, it was not a great start. As international rules have shared hitting time, setters are pretty careful when setting ten to fifteen feet off the net so they won't get hit by their opponents. When I thought staying six feet off the net was no problem, sure enough the Croatian team's tallest middle blocker got up and hit a quick ball straight down into my face leaving me with one functioning eye for several minutes until the game started. Other than that, it was a great match! We won in three, but continued to play five sets to twenty five. After exchanging shirts with them, we showered, changed, and drove to dinner. One of the players on the Croatian team invited us to her family's restaurant for dinner. Even though the food is still foreign to me, I am always grateful for home cooked meals. The homemade pastas, ravioli, bread, EVERYTHING, was delicious. After a great meal, we were back on the road to the hotel which was about an hour away. We got in around 11:45pm and went straight to sleep. It was a fun and productive day.
Tomorrow is our last day in Croatia and next stop is Maribor. Other than the scheduled itinerary, I've enjoyed my time so far with not only the team, but with the families, donors, and coaches. I love learning about the various cultures and finding the similarities and differences compared to my American and Tongan heritage. I'm grateful for this opportunity to travel, learn, and grow with my teammates before my last season as a Husky. I'm excited to see what else is in store for us on this trip. Go Dawgs!
-Jade
Match 4 vs. Croatian Senior National Team
An hour's drive from their seaside hotel in Umag brought the Huskies to the city of Pazin to face the Croatian Senior National Team. The Huskies continued to build on their strong play from their last match against the Italian U20 Team, as UW won the first three sets before the Croatians won two final sets for a 3-2 total in UW's favor. Washington will see the Croatians a second time in Maribor, Slovenia.
Sophomore Kara Bajema had the most swings and kills for the Huskies, playing both middle blocker and outside hitter. Bajema had 16 kills while redshirt freshman Maria Bogomolova, Courtney Schwan and Crissy Jones all had 10 kills, and sophomore Avie Niece had eight. Senior Jade Finau had 58 assists and three aces, with Schwan also serving up four aces.
Starting in the first set was Finau at setter, Niece and Bajema in the middle, Schwan, Jones, and Tia Scambray at outside hitter and Shayne McPherson at libero. The Dawgs impressed the home fans right away as the second point brought a lengthy rally with two great saves from Jones and McPherson before Scambray got a kill to end it. Jones snapped down a kill from the right pin and then Scambray and Bajema teamed for a block for a 5-2 lead. Finau got the most of a stuff block for 8-3 to force a Croatia timeout. Scambray then fired an ace for 10-3 Dawgs. Croatia had a four-point run but Bajema served a 3-0 Husky run right back for 13-7. Destiny Julye subbed in and had a crosscourt kill then Bajema finished from the right for 19-14. Niece pushed one through the block for a big point at 22-19, and UW earned set point at 24-21, but missed a serve then Croatia hit an ace and the Dawgs hit one out to tie it at 24-all. Bajema would have a pair of kills to earn UW two more set point tries, but Croatia saved them. A crafty free ball bumped over by Schwan fell just over the tape for a kill for 27-26, and then the Huskies finally finished it on their sixth chance as Jones tipped over the block and down for a kill.
Bogomolova started in the second set and helped the Huskies race off to a huge lead that they would never surrender. Schwan started the set serving, and hit three aces in the first six points. Bogomolova killed an overpass for 7-0 and it was 10-0 before the Croatians got on the board. McPherson notched an ace and Bogomolova smacked several more kills to open up a 14-2 lead. Schwan and Niece teamed for a block for 18-9 and Jones connected from the left pin for 21-11. A Bajema kill off a Croatia overpass was followed by a stuff for the sophomore to get to set point. Bogomolova appropriately got the final kill to end it, 25-13.
Washington shuffled its lineup more in set three, with Scambray switching to libero for the final three sets, as well as Bajema going to the outside and Jones to the middle. Carly DeHoog checked in at opposite and Cailin Onosko saw significant time in the back row. A sterling dig from Scambray led to a Husky point for 4-4 early in the set and then UW took its first lead at 7-6 on a Jones transition kill out of the middle. Scambray served up an ace, and Bogomolova finished through the block for a 9-8 lead. The Huskies fell behind 11-16, but then mounted a major run starting with a Bajema leftside kill then an emphatic roof, with a Finau ace behind that. A Croatia error and another Finau ace tied it at 16-16, but the Dawgs kept the run going and Bajema destroyed a Finau set for 19-16. DeHoog punctuated the 9-0 run with a stuff for 20-16 before Croatia stopped the streak. But the Huskies immediately strung four more points together including another DeHoog rejection to get to set point at 24-17. Croatia saved one but Bogomolova finished the set with a kill off the block for 25-18.
The match continued into a fourth and fifth set with the Huskies continuing to get extended runs for everyone on the roster in varying combinations. Croatia grabbed an early set four lead, but Bajema and Jones had back to back kills to make it 3-5. Similar to set three, Croatia pushed out to a lead halfway into the set, but the Huskies closed the gap, with Finau firing an ace and Jones and DeHoog combining for a block to make it 13-16. Washington leveled it up at 18-all as Julye blasted a kill and then the Dawgs roofed two straight Croatia swings. But the Dawgs couldn't get over the hump, and Croatia came back with a 4-0 run and went on to earn its first set, 25-21.
DeHoog got the first kill of the fifth set high off the blockers' hands and she came back with a service ace to make it 4-5 Croatia. UW went ahead 6-5 on a Jones stuff and a Schwan left pin kill. The teams went back and forth for several points, Niece getting a slide kill for 11-11 and DeHoog putting one away off the block for 14-15. The Huskies took a timeout down 16-20, and Bajema came out of the break with a kill, but Croatia responded with the next three points to make it 17-23. The Dawgs made a last push with three straight including a McPherson ace to cut it to 20-23, but Croatia scored the last two points to get the final set and make it 3-2 overall for UW.
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
L
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballWashington 3, Iowa 0 | Huskies Highlights
Sunday, October 05
UW Volleyball Beating Iowa 3-0
Sunday, October 05
UW Volleyball vs. Iowa Set Two Win
Sunday, October 05
UW Volleyball vs. Iowa Set One Win
Sunday, October 05
