June 19, 2006

Photo Gallery

Ravenna, Italy - The Stanford women's volleyball team extended its unbeaten international winning streak to four matches with a convincing 25-16, 23-25, 25-22, 25-15 victory over Teodora Ravenna on Monday night.

Foluke Akinradewo, the 2006 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, dominated play with 16 kills, ten digs, four blocks and two service aces. Nji Nnamani, Erin Walter and Lizzie Suiter each collected ten kills. Bryn Kehoe added 35 assists and a team-leading 13 digs.

Stanford collected 55 kills in 100 attempts with 48 digs.

After playing four matches in four days plus touring and traveling, Stanford will take a well deserved day off on Tuesday to visit Venice, Italy, and travel to Maribor, Slovenia.

And now with the Daily Diary is Jessica Fishburn, who on Monday morning recalled her day on Sunday.

"Today (June 18) the team got a relatively late start to the morning since we were able to sleep in until about 9:30. We all packed our stuff, grabbed a quick breakfast, and left for Nocera Umbra.

The bus ride was about four hours long, on which we either slept or listened to music. We made a quick pit stop due to some small bladders on the team (namely Franci Girard and Erin Waller) and we got to our hotel around 1:45 in the afternoon. Our hotel, Hotel Europa, was a quaint and friendly place. The rooms were small, but not unpleasant.

At 2:30 we ate some lunch at the hotel. We started with some tortellini and were surprised with a second course of chicken. We finished our meal with a raspberry covered slice of pineapple. Pretty satisfied, most of us headed back to our rooms for a little nap before we had a game snack at 4:30. After our little snack, we walked over to the gym with the Italian team.

When we arrived, Juan Pablo Reggiardo (strength coach) really got us ready for the match with an intense warm up. The match began at around six p.m. and we were a little surprised at the Italian team's talent. We lost the first game, realizing that the young Italian team was better than expected. But after that first game, we really started to kick things into gear.

We won our second and third games, and lost in a close fourth game. We then pulled out a nice finish, winning the fifth game to 15. International rules are a little different than the ones I know from home-mainly that the libero is not allowed to serve and that the games only go to 25 points (except if there's a fifth, which goes to 15).

After the game, we took some pictures with the Italian girls and then proceeded back to the hotel. By the time we got back, we were really excited for a big dinner. We had pasta, steak, and a delightful slice of watermelon for dessert. After dinner, we all went back to our rooms, ready for a good night's sleep."

Editors Note: Breakfast this morning (June 19) was simple but the food was plentiful Š Pineapple juice, a croissant and jam, a small bowl of cereal and a cup of espresso was just right - The hotel employees were friendly and extended us best wishes for a safe trip to our next destination - However, the road out of Nocera Umbra was not easy - A traffic accident on the road out of town stopped traffic for more than an hour - No one seemed to mind the long wait to get out of Nocera Umbra - Reading, sleeping, listening to music or just looking at the scenery of this beautiful little town made time pass quickly ... One quick note about the hotel - Television programs are limited; no ESPN or CNN - The morning television offered an Italian version of Good Morning America - Once out of town, the scenery is spectacular - Rolling hillsides of expensive homes, churches, castle-like structures and lush green hillsides dominate the landscapes - The team arrived in Ravenna around 1:30 p.m. - This seaside town offers beautiful beaches - Once lunch (pasta, cheese, fruit) was over, the team either rested or headed over to the Olympic size pool - After the match, Stanford feasted on a huge Italian dinner with three kinds of pasta, salad, numerous huge plates of pizza, and for dessert, chocolate pizza - No one left the table hungry.

Arrivederci from Ravenna!!!