Posted: Oct 21, 2010
After months of preparation and
fundraising, the Endicott women’s volleyball headed west to
California for the La Verne Invitational on the campus of La Verne
University, located about 40 miles east of Beverly Hills. The
Gulls competed against some of the stiffest Division III
competition, including California Lutheran who are ranked second in
the NCAA West Region.
Apart from the volleyball, each
of the members of the Blue and Green enjoyed their experience of
bringing the Endicott name out west. Below are testimonials
and a photo gallery from two seniors regarding the California trip
that occurred a couple weeks ago.
California Trip Photo Gallery
California Trip Photo Gallery
Over the Columbus Day
Weekend, the Endicott College Volleyball Team was fortunate enough
to be able to compete in the La Verne Invitational. We left
the cold autumn color changing trees for the sun and palms of Los
Angeles. We played three teams from the West Coast (Univ. of
California Santa Cruz, California Lutheran Univ. and Univ. of La
Verne) and one from Schreiner University from Texas. We
started off with a win over University of California, and then
unfortunately lost to the other three. It was a weekend of
long rallies and tough competition. However, the coaches
apparently were impressed by our playing and were talking to Coach
about trying to make it to the East Coast to play some teams
here. Just possibly East Coast Volleyball is catching up with
the West Coast.
During the time we didn't
have games and our days off we spent living a California
life. Due to having two players from the LA area our team
enjoyed the hospitality of the Gardner’s and the
Gearin’s along with having an amazing dinner at Tim's beach
house in Malibu, a family friend of the Gearin’s. We
might not have seen stars but we did the walk of fame, posed in
front of some of the stars. We also cruised around Venice
Beach under the gorgeous sun. We witnessed the variety of
street performers and artists trying to earn some money, it was its
own community. It was filled with musicians selling CDs,
Artwork, Henna, T-shirts’, and many other small
trinkets. Henna was a popular souvenir for our team, even Pam
got a volleyball on her leg. All in all, it was a great trip
filled with many memories. And thank you coach, for getting us
into that Invitational.
-
Amy Grigg ‘11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
California was an awesome experience. Not only did we get
to face some tough competition, we also got to see some beautiful
places. We arrive in California around noon on
Thursday. We got to walk around Manhattan Beach, see where the
AVP tour is played, shop around some cute boutiques, and relax in
the hot tub as the sun went down. We had a nice meal before
going to bed early to be up at the crack of dawn for games. On
Friday we played two games, got to walk around the campus of La
Verne a bit before we went to In-N-Out Burger for
dinner.
We
then traveled to UCLA to watch UCLA vs Cal. It was fun to
watch two top division one teams. Saturday we didn't play
until the afternoon, so in the morning we got to sightsee in
Hollywood. I had so much fun there and it was very cool to see
a lot of famous things. After a few hours in Hollywood we
arrived back at La Verne to play two more matches. That night
we ordered pizza and hung out at the house for some team
bonding. It was nice to joke around with everyone and just
relax. Sunday was another fun-filled day of Venice Beach and
Malibu. We started off the morning at Venice Beach. This
is a place that everyone should experience. It was funny how
different this place is compared to anywhere in New
England. That afternoon we went to a house right on the beach
in Malibu. Here we got to swim, eat some great food, and watch
the sunset before taking the trip back to Boston that
night. Overall, this trip was extremely fun and brought us
much closer as a team. I really enjoyed my
experience.
-
Ally Murphy ‘11
