Boston College Athletics
Volleyball Players Conclude Foreign Play
July 06, 2004 | Volleyball
July 6, 2004
Three Boston College volleyball players - sophomores Allison Anderson, Kristin Kenney, and Alison Shepp - recently wrapped up tournament play in the fifth annual Sibillini Tournament in Comunanza, Italy on July 3. The United States fielded two squads - VolleyHut and Third Degree - in the eight-team field that featured some of the top Under-20 international competition from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia/Montenegro, Slovenia and host Italy.
Third Degree, led by Anderson and Shepp, finished third while VolleyHut, featuring Kenney, took home fourth. Below are journal entries written by Anderson, Kenney, and Shepp during their time in Italy. For more information on the Sibillini Tournament, go to www.volleycentral.com.
Day 6, Tuesday, June 29, 2004 By Allison Anderson This morning we awoke to another bright and sunny day in Falconara. The water in the Adriatic was crystal clear as always and the sight of the sun reflecting off the water in at daybreak is something that I wish everyone could see at least once. Later in the afternoon we all said goodbye to Falconara and boarded the bus that would take us into the mountains and show us our new home for the next week. Within minutes after leaving Falconara, more than half the team was asleep. Lauren, predictably fell asleep almost as soon as she got on and did not awake until we stopped for lunch. The drive through the mountains was beautiful and if you looked out the windows of the bus, you could see all the individual vineyards and gardens as we steadily climbed higher and higher. Around two o'clock we stopped for lunch at a small restaurant where the coaches were presented with a new pasta dish to try upon sitting down. It was a kind of bean and pasta dish and it was surprisingly good. The meal was delicious and when we were finished the owner brought out a gigantic wheel of cheese that he insisted we finish. I am proud to say that we left very little cheese on the plate! Later the girls walked around town and did some shopping before heading off to practice in a local gym. Practice was fun and we all had a great time and worked really hard. The coached split us into our "official teams" and we scrimmaged a little and played some games against each other. Although both teams were very competitive, our team, Third Degree, prevailed 4 to 1 in "Bongo". After practice we were given more time to hang out and discover some of the local hangouts before dinner. All of the girls got gelato and then headed off to a cafeteria style dinner. At nine we went to the parade where we were met by a band. We met some very cute little girls including a little girl named Martina that carried our sign for us while we marched. All the teams were introduced and each country's national anthem was played in front of the crowd. Both the mayor and the president of the tournament made speeches in Italian. Although we couldn't understand anything that was said, it was still very interesting. All in all it was a great day in Comunanza and we are looking forward to starting the tournament tomorrow.
Day 9, Friday, July 2, 2004 By Kristin Kenney Today we woke up early to play our first morning match of the tournament. We took a beautiful 20-minute walk up to Montemonaco where our playing site was for the 10:00am start. After getting some fresh fruit at a local market, we arrived at the court, which was one of the most amazing sites any of us had ever seen. It was set on the top of a mountain with a beautiful view of the rolling hills on one side. On the other side of the court were the remains of an old Italian castle. The stone wall all along the side of the court was about 30 feet high, and it was amazing to be able to play right next to something like that. After we got over the view at this awesome playing site, we got down to business. Our opponent this morning was Galassia Ancona from Italy. The wind was rolling a little, so it made for some interesting plays throughout the match. However, we got right to work and won the first game by a good margin. We got behind early in the second game, but made a huge run, and came back to win. We kept working hard throughout the third game and finished strong, beating the Italians in three straight games. It was really fun to play against our Italian friends, the "Valentinas". After the victory, we got some really great pasta at one of the local restaurants. We then went back to the "House of Joy" (our monastery) to get some rest for the big match tonight against Third Degree! Go Hut!
Day 10, Saturday, July 3, 2004 By Alison Shepp After our first game, Third Degree went to Montefiori for another family style Italian meal in yet another new little gorgeous Italian town. We walked through the streets, admiring the little city built on the top of the mountain. At 5:30 we played the Hungarian team (Vasas, Budapest) in an exhibition match since we'd both been knocked out of the tournament. It was our sixth and final match of the tournament. From our court we could see the Adriatic Sea as we finished our last game as a team. The picturesque, green mountainside and the visible cohesiveness of our team, helped give a great finish to our Sibilini Tournament. After the game we had dinner back at F ortuna again, and got ready for the Final Match and Final Party up on the mountain!
