13 April 2005

UK Volleyball Team Face Top US Competitors

UK beach volleyball team, Debbie Spokes and Hedda Meijer, met their match at the weekend when they found themselves facing some of California’s top players at only their third US tournament.
 
The first games of the day had them drawn in a pool against top seeded teams. Although they put up a good performance taking their opponents to the line, they ended the day down the score sheet.

Said Debbie: "This was only our third tournament of the season but the first against the better players. It has given us the true measure of what we are up against. There is no doubt our performance at the weekend was well ahead of anything we have previously achieved in the UK, but we now know what the rest of the world has to offer which is the main purpose of our six month stay in Los Angeles.
 
"In UK, there are just few dozen really good players and we all know each other. Here in California there are more than 300 registered female players in California alone, so we really are up against it."
 
But she added that this is the real purpose of their trip and the only way they can get the experience, improve their game and make it to Beijing. The team begin some serious coaching this week from top US professionals which should see them making an impact on the American circuit in the coming months.

The team came second in their first tournament just three days after arriving in Los Angeles, and were placed fifth in their second event aginst 30 top local teams, all very creditable performances for their first time out in one of the world’s leading beach volleyball circuits.

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