Volleyball Plays Near Liepzig
May 11, 2001 | Women's Volleyball
May 11, 2001
By Nancy Smith
The University of Louisville fell 3-2 to the Hohnstadter S.V., one of the best second division teams in Germany. The Cardinals lost 17-25, 25-17, 18-25 25-22 and 19-25.
Hohnstadter, located just outside Leipzig in a town called Grimma, had just won the Second Division Championship. The Club is coached by Victor Borscht, a Russian who was a legendary volleyball player for the Red Army team. Coach Yelin said that Borscht could hit with his left hand just as hard as his right and he hit with his right hand as hard as a person could kick the ball. The team was made up of Polish, Russian, Latvian, Slovenian and German players. Louisville was not intimidated by the firepower of the Hohnstadter team and battled the opponent and the loud rowdy crowd that had drums and police sirens blaring the whole time.
As one spectator told us, ``The American play is not sexy, but it gets the job done!``
After the match, the team hosted the Cardinals to a cookout at a discothek across the street. It was closed to the public but the Cardinals did show their dance moves on the floor.
Saturday morning the team took a walking tour of the Land Stag (Parliament) in Dresden. There are 16 states in Germany and Dresden is the capitol of Sachsen. There are three main parties, the Conservatives, the Communists and the Independents. The Conservatives currently have the majority here in Dresden. The team then walked to downtown Dresden where they once again flooded the economy with Deutschmarks!
The game for Saturday evening with the Dresdner team was cancelled because the First Division Team called up several players for the Playoffs and there were two other injuries. The remaining players will practice with the Cardinals tonight however.
Random Impressions and Anecdotes:
.... Three shopkeepers in Venice knew Louisville?s favorite Italian, Rick Pitino according to an unauthorized and unscientific poll conducted by the European branch of U of L sports information. However, they knew Coach Pitino from his NBA career. Italians are crazy for basketball.
....Johannes, our adorable translator misses the following American treats from his year in the U.S.: Skittles, Doritos, Mountain Dew, and Nacho cheese. We will attempt to remedy this upon our return to the U.S.
... Our attempt to play with a livero was a bit shaky. We made Emily Roberson put on a practice t-shirt and she basically ran around like a chicken with her head cut off.
....After checking our email, we heard from academic counselling that everyone did well academically. Candace Cogan, a transfer from Kentucky, had straight A?s in fact. Cogan is being a very good sport about travelling all this way and not getting to play. We were unable to get a NCAA ruling on whether this trip would count against her last year or this upcoming year. The Italians were shocked that we didn?t just play her anyway. Trust me, she didn?t and won?t play.
....The three words that translate the same in virtually any language are : Coca-Cola, Internet and Visa (as in the credit card)!!!
....Coach Dennison and I went to exchange money at a tiny bank near the SportsHalle. Anja and Rita were not quite prepared for the complicated transaction that included lira, schillings, American Dollars and American Express travellers checks. They copied our passports, driver?s licences and stamped every piece of paper about 17 times. Meanwhile the line for the teller formed out the door and down the street. As many precautions as they took, it wouldn?t surprise me if the Interpol now has two smiling American pictures floating around on it?s suspicious person?s list.
.... The players are getting a crash course in economics. They are getting the hang of the various currencies. Although, in a moment of stress, Melissa Karrer asked the moneychanger to trade her lira for ``Dankeshones`` rather than Deutschmarks. The team loved this and now refers to Deutschmarks as Donkeyshanes.
... The girls miss TV, pepsi, ice, non-spoarkling water, popcorns, doritos, cell phones and cold milk.
Tomorrow, the Trip to the Castle and on to Berlin!
