Toe to Toe With an SEC Foe

Day 2 began in Athens much like Day 1 ended with the team being together. Breakfast at 9am at the Redfearn Grille inside the hotel, included oatmeal, bacon, eggs, sausage and an assortment of mini cereals and muffins. With the team eating together in groups of four and the coaching staff doing the same, all enjoyed a fulfilling breakfast prior to heading to Serve & Pass on the University of Georgia campus.

            After a short rest after breakfast it was time to head to the Stegeman Coliseum, the site of tonight’s match with the Georgia Bulldogs. We loaded up the vans and made the short trek from our hotel down to the venue of tonight’s first match. Each position worked together with the coaching staff on their respective roles, including passing, setting and attacking the opponent. Serve & Pass consisted of a sixty minute warm up and reminder by Coach Loeswick of the game plan for the upcoming match against the SEC foe.

             With the team prepared after the sixty minute Serve & Pass it was time for all parties, including myself to get some rest prior to lunch.

            Time went by fast prior to our match as we headed toward our afternoon lunch spot. The team headed just a block from the hotel to Peppers for a late lunch/pre-game meal as final preparations begin for the first match of the weekend. Peppers provided the team with a variety of healthy food options, along with yet another opportunity to continue to bond off the court.

            After a solid meal from Peppers it was time to make the short drive to Stegeman Coliseum and watch the first match of the weekend between both of our Saturday opponents, UNC Greensboro and Louisiana Lafayette. During the first match, the team sat together at mid court and carefully watched both teams strengths and weaknesses to continue to prepare them as best as possible for the weekend ahead.

            As the final match of the evening commenced the Ospreys came out and battled the host school toe to toe. While Georgia won the match 3-1, the Ospreys took the second set and controlled parts of both the first and fourth set as well. This young team showed some impressive poise and absolutely got better as a team after this match.

            The last meal of the day for the team was a quick stop at Pita Pit in downtown Athens, prior to heading back to the hotel to get some much-needed rest. The team has an early wake up call on Saturday morning prior to the morning match against UNC-Greensboro. As I sign off our second installment of “Roadtrippin’ with the Ospreys” it will be exciting to see how the team builds off of the positive play they showed against Georgia.