Not the best of weekends for me I would say. Though we placed second in both tournaments, I felt like both finals matches could’ve gone to either side. On Saturday, at the NVL/Rox tournament we were undefeated all day in 18u. Though our first match of the day was rough (it always is), we won and ended up coming out first in our pool. However, our winning streak ended in the finals. We were playing against Francesca/Alexa from 692. I didn’t know them personally but had heard that they were really good. For the entire match it was back and forth. One team would go on a run, just to have the other team come back and go on a run of their own. In the end, we lost with a final score of 20-18. Though I was disappointed at the outcome, I felt that Sami and I had played our hearts out and this time it just didn’t end in our favor. Though we lost, it was also an amazing opportunity to have many college coaches watching us through the entire day.
My tournament on Sunday mirrors Saturday almost exactly. This time we were back in Austin for the USAV Junior Beach Qualifier. Today I am playing with Daria in the 16u. We were undefeated in our pool of 7, though we did have a close match to close out pool (23-21). Our road to the finals was fairly easy and we didn’t have another close game until the finals, a rematch from the team we almost lost to in pool (Maja/Carly). By the end of the day my jump serves were on point. The first four points of the finals match were aces off of my serve. At one point we were up 15-9, and then it just fell apart. I don’t think necessarily that we let up because we thought we had an easy win at that point, I think the other team just kicked their butts into gear. At 17-17 we took a time out, but it didn’t help much. They continued to serve my partner and I went up to option and got blocked. I definitely think that was the turning point of that game. In the end we lost 21-19 and it still makes me sick to my stomach to think about it. Overall I wasn’t disappointed in my play so much, but more in my ability to finish. You should never let up, no matter if you’re ahead 15-0 or 15-9. It’s always terrible to lose such close games, but I know that these losses will only motivate me further and make me work harder, so I know the next time it’s neck and neck, my team will come out on top.
Taylor Bradley 
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