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By Carson Heilborn
Sophomore-to-be, Setter
We started our day at 9 a.m. this morning, and it was nice being able to sleep in a little. The assortment of cereal and toast for breakfast was perfect before we had to play. We also made ourselves some sandwiches for lunch, which turned out to be quite tasty. After everyone finished eating, we headed up to the rooms to get ready to play. Personally, Julia and I did a little coloring, watched TV and just relaxed.
Before we knew it, we were on the bus headed to the Dandenong facilities to play Australia. We showed up about two hours early so we all could be taped, stretched and warm to play. The facility can be a little cold, so it takes a while to get moving. Right before our game, we had the international warm up and right from the start there was a lot of energy in the gym.
Australia was excited to play and so were we, which made for a great warm up. Once the game started, we had to quickly adjust for faster play. The sets from Australia were extremely fast, but by the end of the game, we had it down. Throughout the entire game, we served tough and passed well, which translated into a 3-1 win for us.
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After our match, we got to drive to a volleyball warehouse where we saw all of the brands and gear Australia uses. They also had a lot of Australian jerseys and different beach wear. A lot of us ended up buying a T-shirt from the warehouse because the fabric was extremely soft and really nice quality. Even Jeff and JJ were purchasing new gear to sport in the US. Right after, we went to the Eastland Mall, which has so many unique shops and Wi-Fi (which is always nice to have).
After shopping, we came back to the hotel and went straight to dinner. I ended up ordering the roast, which turned out to be really good. Julia and I tried rushing back to the room after we ate because our new favorite Australian show, “Home and Away”, was on at 7 p.m. Of course, there was some coloring while we were watching.
I think all of us can agree that we had a pretty great day and are really enjoying all the new experiences that we are having every single day! We have a big game against a huge Croatian team tomorrow, so stay tuned to see how it goes!
Go Lobos!
In their second match vs. a national team on their trip, the Lobos faced the Australian national team 3-1 Monday in Melbourne, winning 18-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-21. The team defeated the New Zealand national team 3-0 on Sunday, and plays Croatia on Tuesday.
Fans can follow the team’s Facebook page (University of New Mexico Volleyball) and Twitter (@UNMVolley) to keep track of the Lobos during their trip.