Let's go to volleyball tonight!

Leonard Nimoy, sorry for starting yet another thread, but I am just so hyped for volleyball tonight:

So, we’re facing off against Azerbaijan to clinch a spot in the semifinals. We need a 3-0 or a 3-1 sweep to move on. Azerbaijan, you ask? Man, if Nikolai Karpolj decided to coach any other team—like some random squad from a local comedy troupe—they’d be unstoppable, super disciplined, and favorites against anyone...

Our girls? They’ve got heart, they’re aggressive, young, and honestly just fun to watch. And they're led by Her Royal Highness Barbara Ruzic—a woman who basically knows everything there is to know about volleyball. Seriously, everything. It'll be worth it just to see how someone who hasn't coached in nearly three years handles this...

Basically, we need to pack the Doma Sport Ice Arena to the rafters (I think tickets might even be free, or at least cheap, though I could be wrong) — and let me tell you, I doubt those Azerbaijani women have ever played in an atmosphere like what we can build at the Ice Arena. Don't hold back, guys!

Could you please write down when the Match is scheduled?
I really can't be bothered to go dig through the newspaper right now, and who knows, maybe someone might actually show up if they know the time.

Ugh, I knew I’d forget something... 😁

The Match is tonight at 8:30 PM over at the Ice Arena

I was actually planning on showing up for the Match, but once I caught sight of that sign telling Barbara Ruzic she’s getting hitched... I just couldn't do it. I'm officially humbled...

If I were back home in Chicago, I’d probably be there in person watching... but for now, I'll just be catching everything on my phone.

To be honest, I hadn't even realized they had a shot at making the semifinals, but looking at the scores now, seeing them leading 3-0 and 3-1 in the hunt for medals... it's actually pretty impressive...👍

I just got back from the match... what an absolute blast. The arena was packed, the energy was electric, and everyone was on their feet cheering. A true volleyball festival! I was in Miami watching the USA vs. Russia game. 😎

The girls dropped that one 3-0.

Now they're facing off against Turkey in the play-offs.

it was...

ugh

no comment

Rachel Brooks63 said:it was...

meh

no comment

What’s the issue here? Azerbaijan is clearly the better team. Or was your "meh" about something else entirely?

placidseal18 said:Or maybe your "vibe" thing is referring to something else entirely?

It was just kind of everything... the whole atmosphere. There were plenty of people at the Ice Arena, but honestly, nobody was really going crazy cheering or anything. It was mostly just a bunch of ten-year-olds running wild—jumping all over the place and climbing on people—and nobody was even trying to rein them in. The girls played their hearts out, I get that, and yeah, the Azerbaijani women are definitely the better squad—I have nothing against them.

But the whole experience of actually going to a Match just isn't my thing (unless you count being there with Katarina Barun's dad, who nearly had a heart attack when she totally whiffed that serve 😁 )...

Rachel Brooks63 said:It was just... whatever. The arena was pretty packed, but honestly, nobody was even trying to cheer. It was mostly just a bunch of ten-year-olds running wild, jumping all over the place and onto people, and nobody even bothered to rein them in. I agree the girls played their hearts out, but yeah, the Azerbaijani women were clearly the better side—no complaints there.

The whole experience of going to a game wasn't really my thing either (except maybe for Katarina Barun's dad, who looked like he was having a literal heart attack when she missed that serve 😁 )

If you ask me, I’d forgive Ms. Barun for just about anything. Seriously, anything at all. 😁 😁

For us, the matchup against the USA is basically the Olympic finals, especially since they're footing the bill for Eurovision 2007. And honestly? Without Barbara, we don't stand a chance at qualifying.
The Turkish girls took down Bulgaria 3-1 yesterday. They needed that win just to snag 4th place—if it had gone 3-2, they would’ve been stuck facing the Netherlands, which is a nightmare draw. But hey, I'm an optimist.