Reflections from the National Tournament – Days 1 and 2

The Lady Eagles share some of their experiences from Greenville!

Senior Vivienne Yates:
Our travel experience from the view of the van:

After our wonderful send off on Tuesday by the Emmaus Hype Squad and a cluster of students, we took to the road and traveled to Davenport where we ate at the classic Chick-Fil-A. We then drove until 11:30, losing an hour on the way, arriving at 12:30am EST.

Our day started a bit early this morning after a late night, but we all struggled into the van by 8:30 to get on the road. Half of us started our homework right away while the other half fell back into their sleep cycle right where they had left off. Up until lunch the van remained fairly quiet. Around 2:00 pm we stopped for lunch at Cookout which was a first for most of the team. I got a burger with a side of fries and half a quesadilla along with a large authentically-southern sweet tea (healthy, I know). Brame and I took a few laps around the building once we finished to ease our consciences a bit. We piled back in the van with full stomachs to endure the last three hours of driving. This actually became the best part of the trip though because not only did we start jamming to Taylor Swift and country music, the scenery also became so beautiful as we meandered the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. We arrived in Greenville shortly after and split off to our separate hotel rooms. Dinner was at Panera around 8pm, and then off to bed to rest up for our early morning practice tomorrow!

Junior Hannah Postma:
We began our trip very excited about what was ahead, but quickly realized we had a long way to go. We helped each other through the long hours on the road and lack of legroom, and the ever so difficult one hour time zone change.

After a restful night - we did it all again. The team enjoyed extra bonding time and some actually got homework done. We are settled in our hotel and are enjoying even more time together. After a team meeting where Coach emphasized the importance of our investment in these next three volleyball games, Dean graciously drove some of us to the nearest grocery store for some much needed BLUE BELL ice cream. We are now looking forward to a busy day tomorrow and are excited for the rest of the week!