Danielle

All Praise and Glory be unto GOD! WOW! And what awesome inspiration we have been having leading up to this Gold medal FINALs match! Before the Italy match two femal athletescame over to our table during lunch just to wish us luck. I thanked them then asked their name and sport and how they finished. …

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Praise and Glory to GOD! We advanced to the semi-finals WOOHOOO! I am just so proud of my teammates. We are really playing as a team, fighting to win, and enjoying the process. That has been a main goal of ours, to take one point, one set, one match at a time and be in …

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What sitting on the edge of the chair matches we have had for the fans. Two five game thrillers one against China and the other verses Poland. I hope you were able to see it. Wow beating China in China was spectacular. We were accused of over celebrating but I say well it is the …

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Let the Games begin! Oh wait they have! Lots of exciting things going on! We made it to the village on August 2 and it is awesome. It is so huge! Our housing is nice. Our team is sharing two apartments each with three bedrooms and kitchen and a common area. The International Zone is …

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Hey Yall, it has been one week today since our finish of the World Grand Prix. We placed in the final week. And the announcement of the 2008 Beijing Olympic team. What a stressful waiting period the hours that followed the match. Finally at just after 10 pm the meeting was called to order and …

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I am on the airplane heading to Baton Rouge as I write this entry. I have to rewind a bit to bring you up to date. Probably you are already aware of our results. Seems we love the five game “thrillers” as the journalist like to write. We beat both Japan and China in five. …

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Well, it was a rough day at the office. We lost to Brazil today in three. There were moments throughout the match when I though we had a chance, however we couldn’t play consistently. Our block and defense was off. The positive about the finals being a round robin tournament is that we don’t have …

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Yes! All Glory be to God! We qualified for the finals of the Grand Prix for the first time since 2004. Our qualifying couldn’t have come at a better time as this is our last tournament before the Beijing Olympic Games! Of course all of the teams that we will face at the Games will …

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Well, we lost a day traveling here from Poland, rather it was a really long travel day almost 30 hours with the delays. Jenny just had us stretch rather than start with a double day Tuesday. Our bodies were grateful for the rest. Wednesday everyone went to get massages. Here a one hour massage is …

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Second leg down. Wake up time 3:33 am to start another 26 hour travel day! Good bye Warclow, Poland and Kate our wonderful translator. Also we had to say good bye to coach Li, Gen-san and Angie. They are heading back to C. Springs while Tom and Robyn will join us in Chinese Taipei. Well, …

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Want to see the last exhibition match against Brazil played on June 14,2008? Well, here is your chance. see USA Volleyball play on Sunday June 29 at noon ET MSNBC and on NBCOlympics.com. We beat Thailand on yesterday in four sets. Should have could have beaten them in three. But to their credit they did …

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Well howdy do…We are already in the second week of Grand Prix. The summer started with an A/B team going to Pan Am Cup in Mexicali who did a great job in qualifying USA for the 2009 Grand Prix. GO USA! Then Brazil arrived in Colorado for three exhibition matches all pre agreed upon that …

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Hey Yall, Well, this week has gone by quickly, even with our four practices! Since we don’t have much time to get back to USA volleyball, our rhythm, our system, and chemistry, it is full engine ahead. Woohoo! It is really exciting. Thank God for the recovery center. There are a lot of players in …

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Hello all, I made to Baton Rouge on May 11. Yes on Mother’s Day. It was a beautiful day. I was glad to be home to celebrate my mom and grandmother on this day. My grandmother reached 84 years of age on May 10 but we had a surprise party for her on Mother’s Day. …

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Well folks I am heading out of here. I got to have a few last things before leaving Brazil, acai and pastel with caldo de cane…hum hum. I am looking forward to leaving the cold behind as Sao Paulo is getting chilli. I am happy to spend Mother’s Day with my mom and Grandma who …

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Hello Everyone, Well, I am winding down my time here in Brazil. May 10 is my Grandma’s 84 birthday and my fourth grade teach Mrs. Borden (can you believe that I remembered that!?!), and of course May 11 is Mother’s Day. So I will be heading out on Friday. Jenny, the head coach of the …

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Hello Everyone, Well, I am winding down my time here in Brazil. May 10 is my Grandma’s 84 birthday and my fourth grade teach Mrs. Borden (can you believe that I remembered that!?!), and of course May 11 is Mother’s Day. So I will be heading out on Friday. Jenny, the head coach of the …

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Hey, thanks to all of you who have been voting for me in the poll of ten nominated for “Who is the greatest Olympian to wear a US Women’s National Team jersey”. It is an honor to have been chosen as one of the ten on the list. So thank you to my family, friends …

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Hey, thanks to all of you who have been voting for me in the poll of ten nominated for “Who is the greatest Olympian to wear a US Women’s National Team jersey”. It is an honor to have been chosen as one of the ten on the list. So thank you to my family, friends …

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Well, I have been putting off writing this entry as I was so disappointed and didn’t want to think about our defeat. But of course one can’t help it, the flashbacks of the match, the if only’s that stand out so much more when one lose continue to creep in my thoughts. Instead of forgetting, …

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