Volleyball World Expo 13 - Everything Thread

by **Hispinas** » Sat Oct 09, 2021 7:55 am

Matchday 1 Results

Group 2

United Adaikes                16  17  19
HUElavia                      25  25  25

Bollonich                     18  26  19
Cassadaigua                   25  28  25

Atheara                       19  15  25  25  15
Ardengard                     25  25  22  21   9

Gatchingerrak Union           15  25  22  13
Pemecutan                     25  23  25  25

Sarzonia                      18  14  25
Quebec and Shingoryeo         25  25  27

Græntfjall                    16  23  25  15
Darmen                        25  25  21  25

Tables to be included starting tomorrow.

by **Mytanija** » Sat Oct 09, 2021 8:00 am

MYTANIJA SQUAD FOR VOLLEYBALL WORLD EXPO 13

Mytanija’s women have entered four volleyball tournaments since their return to the international sports scene, in those tournaments they have finished 1st, 3rd, 3rd and then 1st again, and this means that expectations are high ahead of the national team’s fifth foray into competition. An experienced team were eliminated by the Quebecois side at the semi-final stage of the previous edition of the VWE, though a straight sets victory over Kohnhead in the bronze medal match did provide some consolation after they came close to playing to defend their title. Finishing on the podium of the IVF WorldLeague after finishing top of the group stage was a bit underwhelming but still a strong return with the team around where they expected to be. An under-25 squad was subsequently sent to the Olympics after the MOF and OKM came to an agreement not to send senior international players (as some had already played more than 75 matches over the course of the year); that squad stormed to the gold medal in a fiercely competitive tournament, defeating Scornerse in four sets to firmly place Mytanija at the top of world volleyball given the nation’s performances at all levels over the past few years.

Three players from the last VWE squad have dropped out of the selection for this edition of the tournament. Veteran setter Milka Marovic called time on her career after another successful season for her club side Litala ’93 with yet another Top League title to add the icing on the proverbial cake. Dobrila Pavlovic is still playing for Litala ’93 but she has fallen out of favour with the national team as Radina Ristic (also her coach at club level), looks to keep the selection fresh by bringing in some new faces, also lowering the age profile of the squad. Milena Spasojevic is the other to miss out, the OK Rauchnya outside hitter a victim of the proliferation of so many strong players at that position in Mytanija. She’s unlucky, a member of the VWE11 squad which won the competition and still a solid performer, but the emergence of a certain Tea Knapic-Hren has made things difficult for anybody with aspirations of getting into the squad behind Mira Gushtanova and Majda Omeragic.

Amalija Kolar returns as captain and Mira Gushtanova is promoted to the vice-captain position following Marovic’s retirement. Kolar is very much a vocal captain out on the court, whereas Gushtanova is expected to be a player who leads by example more than with words of encouragement. The team is generally strong across the board, although setter may be a bit of a problem position at the moment following Marovic’s retirement. Radina Ristic will undoubtedly experiment to see who can fill the role long-term. Nada Rogic was a part of the squad which won Olympic gold and has impressed enough at Akademija over the past few years that Ristic’s Litala ’93 brought her to the capital once she turned 22. That display of faith might well manifest itself in the national team too.

The two other newcomers to the squad are also Akademija produced talents, Mirjana Smolcic is another who did so well in the national academy system that it prompted a move to Olympic Thessia and Smolcic offers a really physically imposing option at the middle blocker position. The other is still with Akademija, Tea Knapic-Hren has one more season of eligibility with them before she will have to move elsewhere, she’s prodigiously talented and will have no shortage of offers once that occurs. Few players are able to make a star like Mira Gushtanova peer over their shoulder nervously but Knapic-Hren is certainly someone who could challenge Gushtanova for her starting position given time, her scoring at the Olympics was great evidence of her ability and it adds another efficient offensive option for Radina Ristic to choose from.

There will be a lot of rotation in this team and whilst the players listed first at each position (and first two MBs) will generally be those who play the most minutes Ristic will give everyone plenty of playing time, domestically the sport is viewed very much as a team game and players are rotated regularly and this will continue with the national team. Volleyball is the number one sport among Mytanar women and is extremely well supported, domestic games draw large crowds and receive the same treatment as football games with regard to the presence of ultras and the sort of atmosphere they create within the stadium. It is also pretty lucrative, with the best players receiving salaries which are on a par with the sort of money a good Mytanar Top League footballer would be paid. Indeed, the best players even draw comparable transfer fees to some footballers - Mira Gushtanova was signed by Litala ’93 from Avnalia Odbojka for a domestic record fee of MC 1.25 million/NSD 420,000 - further demonstrating the importance of the sport within Mytanija.

##  Pos.  Name                 Age  Ht.  Wt.  Club              Notes         
00  L     Oana Asenova         26   172  61   Avnalia Odbojka
01  L     Natasa Radic         28   178  65   Litala ’93
02  S     Tamara Duleva        24   185  71   Avnalia Odbojka
03  S     Safija Bojic         29   183  67   Olympic Thessia
04  S     Nada Rogic           22   190  73   Litala ’93
05  OH    Mira Gushtanova      26   187  74   Litala ’93        Vice-captain
06  OH    Majda Omeragic       23   190  82   Atletik Thessia
07  OH    Tea Knapic-Hren      20   189  74   Akademija
08  MB    Amalija Kolar        30   190  77   OK Rauchnya       Captain
09  MB    Sara Gemac           25   192  75   Atletik Thessia
10  MB    Mirjana Smolcic      22   194  78   Olympic Thessia
11  MB    Ljubena Trpkoska     28   193  74   Avnalia Odbojka
12  OPP   Alenka Kokot         25   191  81   OK Rauchnya
13  OPP   Zuzana Brajdic       28   190  77   Litala ’93
14  OPP   Rafaela Kostenceva   27   193  79   Avnalia Odbojka

Coach: Radina Ristic
Note: heights are in centimetres and weights are in kilograms

Kits...
HOME: JERSEY - WHITE WITH TWO GREEN HOOPS; SHORTS - WHITE WITH GREEN TRIM
AWAY: JERSEY/SHORTS - ALL CHARCOAL WITH GREEN, WHITE AND ORANGE TRIM
LIBERO: JERSEY - GREEN WITH TWO WHITE HOOPS; SHORTS - GREEN WITH WHITE TRIM

RP PERMISSIONS
If my opponent role-plays first they may:
Choose my scorers: Y
Godmod scoring events: Y
RP injuries to my players: Y, I shall determine severity
Godmod injuries to my players: N
RP penalties for my players: Y
RP ejections for my players: Y
Godmod other events: Y

by **Siovanija and Teusland** » Sat Oct 09, 2021 9:01 am

Siovanija & Teusland National Volleyball Team

Facts
Nation Name: United Republics of Siovanija and Teusland
Short Names: Siovanija & Teusland, the United Republics
Demonyms: Siovanijan, Teus
Association: Siovanija & Teusland Volleyball Federation
Colours: Blue and gold
Anthem: ‘High Mountain Skies’
Capital City: Borograd
Other Major Cities: St. Jakob, Stelburg, Vlaikograd, Chernovets, Felsenkirchen
Highest Domestic League: V-Liga
Nicknames: The Goldhorns

Staff

Coach: Lukas Keller, TU Stelburg

Keller has been the coach of this team for many years, and formerly the coach of the TU Stelburg university program. With the founding of the V-Liga, however, he's been picked as head coach of the SV Edelweiss Stelburg program, which will feature many members of this national team, as they look to have a successful inaugural year. The team he has chosen is the same squad from the last tournament, with many of these players now having opportunities to play professionally at home and entering the prime of their careers.

Squad

The V-Liga has officially been created, and 4 of the 6 teams are represented with the players from this national team. SV Edelweiss Stelburg have the most with 5, while SK Sparta have 3, Olympia Borograd and the St. Jakob Stars each with two. This group have played together on the national team since their college days, competing in Olympic and WVE competitions, and as a result have a great chemistry in the team. The hope is that VWE 13 will be a chance for the team to push past its traditional high point of the Quarterfinals.

S - Celine Renner - 26y/o - SV Edelweiss Stelburg - #1
S - Arijana Jost - 24y/o - SK Sparta - #7
RH - Elsa Pfeifer - 26y/o - SV Edelweiss Stelburg - #2
RH - Melissa Franz - 25y/o - St. Jakob Stars - #8
B - Heidi Jelenko - 24y/o - Olympia Borograd - #3
B - Marlene Haneke - 25y/o - SV Edelweiss Stelburg - #9
O - Olivia Waltz - 24y/o - SV Edelweiss Stelburg - #4
O - Silvia Luzar - 24y/o - SK Sparta - #10
OH - Sophie Lanner - 27y/o - SV Edelweiss Stelburg - #5
OH - Monika Vogel - 23y/o - St. Jakob Stars - #11
L - Evelina Strnisa - 26y/o - Olympia Borograd - #6
L - Svetlana Fabijan - 25y/o - SK Sparta - #12

Notes: The team will be captained by Sophie Lanner.

RP Permissions

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my Scorers: Yes
Choose Scoring Events: Yes
Godmod Scoring Events: Yes, as long as it is realistic
RP Injuries to my Players: Yes, I determine length/severity
Godmod Injuries to my Players: No
Godmod Other Events: No

by **Mytanija** » Sat Oct 09, 2021 10:22 am

NATIONAL TEAM LOOK AHEAD TO VWE
DOES OLYMPIC GOLD ADD FURTHER PRESSURE?

by Almedina Radovanovic

Some pundits have made the curious argument that Olympic gold – won by a team comprised of Mytanija’s best under-25 players – can only add further pressure to the national volleyball programme, making the target on our teams’ backs even larger for opponents who want to try beat one of the best teams in multiversal volleyball and take home a famous scalp. Whilst that may be true it seems to be an unusual thing to get hung up on. We want our team to win competitions, right? That seemed to be the line of thinking Radina Ristic was heading down when she responded to the idea with a question of her own: “Well, it’s the kind of pressure that we want, surely?”

A star-studded roster headlined by the likes of Mira Gushtanova, Amalija Kolar and Alenka Kokot creates pressure in itself. Adding in fast-improving talents like Oana Asenova, Tamara Duleva and Sara Gemac means it is a starting line-up which Mytanija can be very confident about. Other teams may not be as happy to see those names on the pre-match team sheets, but Radina Ristic is certainly happy with the options she has at her disposal:

“This squad should be winning lots of matches. That creates its own pressure, but we want to win every competition we enter and I feel like we can do that when I look at the team we’re able to put together. The best compliment I can give to anybody in our squad is that – as their coach – I’m happy swapping them on and off the court at any point. There aren’t any guaranteed starters, no set reserves. Players coming up from the Olympic squad can slot right in. That’s a real position of strength for us and it means that I as their coach need to make the right decisions to ensure we can go as far as possible in every tournament.”

Those players coming up are impressive too. Mirjana Smolcic snapped up by Olympic Thessia once her Akademija eligibility came to an end; the same happening with Nada Rogic and Litala ’93. Smolcic is a net dominant middle blocker with excellent timing. Rogic is able to play at setter and as a middle blocker, she has been selected as the former for the national team with her spike-creating ability being regarded as invaluable at this level. Those two are solid players who will become important contributors for the national team, but neither have received the same level of attention as 20 year old outside hitter Tea Knapic-Hren.

Knapic-Hren is a heavy scorer and if she gets into her rhythm she is nearly unstoppable as opponents discovered at the Olympics, comparisons to Mira Gushtanova are understandable. Gushtanova and Omeragic remain ahead of her in the pecking order, but Radina Ristic has never been afraid of giving young players game time and the comments she has made in the run-up to VWE 13 will only encourage Knapic-Hren that she will get opportunities during the tournament. She remains at Akademija with another season of eligibility remaining, but her future after that is unclear. Many of the big Mytanar clubs have a clear starter at outside hitter, but you could argue that only Litala ’93 and Atletik would keep theirs if Knapic-Hren was interested in joining. She could very well be the next Gushtanova, missing out on such a talent could be giving up your chance to win a championship, as we’ve seen with the way Gushtanova has been the difference maker for Litala ’93 in recent years. Everybody will be eager to see how Knapic-Hren does in the VWE.

by **Sarzonia** » Sat Oct 09, 2021 10:53 am

If Sarzonia were a country that were passionate about volleyball, Sarzonian national volleyball team manager Alan Ryan would be on the hot seat right now.

After all, his Stars team failed to qualify for the knockout rounds of the 12th edition of the Volleyball World Expo and it got off on the wrong foot in this edition, falling to Quebec and Shingoryeo in straight sets, 25, 14 and 27. Ryan watched as his team played like "a disjointed mess" against a team that had a stronger volleyball pedigree.

"We've been here before, and it's disappointing that we didn't play like it against these guys," he said, referencing the fact that Pierre-Stephane Jobin and the male Grim Reapers side were facing off against Ryan and his predominantly male team. "I guess you see the difference having a professional league makes. They have one. We don't."

About the only highlight for the Stars (0-1) was the play of libero Ed Reynolds, though he declined to answer questions after the match. He would later issue a statement explaining that he did so because reporters asked him about playing with a transgender and non-binary teammates rather than focusing on volleyball questions.

"The questions were reductive and had nothing to do with our play against Quebec and Shingoryeo," Reynolds said in the statement released by the Incorporated Volleyball Association. "Plus, one or two reporters tried to ask me about our playing against an Anaia country. I'm just here to play volleyball against whomever we face. I'm not interested in the political situation."

The Stars will have to rebound quickly from their opening loss as 11th ranked Sarzonia get set to face 12th ranked Permecutan in their next match. The Stars also have unranked Ardengard followed immediately by fourth ranked Cassadaigua and world No. 1 HUElavia.

"It doesn't get any easier after that," Ryan said, noting that the match against HUElavia would be immediately followed by Baker Park. "You've got highly ranked rival, highly ranked rival, highly ranked rival. It's basically murderer's row out there. And Quebec and Shingoryeo were certainly no picnic. They're fifth ranked."

Ryan said the idea Sarzonia would qualify for the knockout rounds was "a pipe dream."

"If we somehow get in, we'll definitely have to earn our way there. We can't take any match for granted."

by **Bollonich** » Sat Oct 09, 2021 11:24 am

Volleyball World Expo - Matchday 1

Group 1

Hispinas                     14  25  25  25
Chromatika                   25  20  21  16

14 Stars                     25  12  25  17  17
Kohnhead                     20  25  23  25  19

Kriegiersien                 15  16  12
Siovanija and Teusland       25  25  25

Natanians and Nosts          25  26  18  25
StrayaRoos                   22  24  25  18

Andoria                      25  12  25  17  16
Lisander                     23  25  16  25  18

Mytanija                     25  17  25  21  15
Abanhfleft                   15  25  20  25   9

Tables will be provided from the next matchday onwards

by **Chromatika** » Sat Oct 09, 2021 4:14 pm

Match Report: Hispinas 3-1 Chromatika
Despite winning the first set handedly, the Chromatik volleyball squad fell three sets to one against Hispinas in the first match of the Volleyball World Expo as the team's hitting fell off the longer the match went on, dropping their opener of the Group Stage.

In the first set, Samuel Jung had eight kills and Lance Gerard nine to lead the way; Chromatika also had three service aces as they really got going. However, after that, the team was found out by the higher ranked Hispinas squad, who only got better as the match went onward, to the point where by the last set, Chromatika were making unforced errors left and right.

"We lost concentration as the game went onward," admitted Coach Paul Granderson ruefully, "Hispinas's coordination and transition play was far more superior and we were handled near the end."

The 14 Stars and Kriegiersien will be the next opponents for Chromatika. Both sides lost their openers, meaning that this brace of matches will decide who is behind the eight ball going forward.

"We must at least split the games," vowed Granderson.

by **StrayaRoos** » Sat Oct 09, 2021 6:06 pm

National Volleyball Team Loses 3-1
Last Night StrayaRoos was defeated 3-1 in their first game against Natanians and Nosts of the Volleyball World Expo that was labelled as Disgraceful by national coach Ryan Teal and The SBC2 Ratings showed that almost half of the viewers left for SBC1 during Worldvision-StrayaRoos Decides or the StrayaRoos Football Cup with almost 2 million Roosians Left the channel.the game was only extended to 4 sets by an last gasp point by Star player Luca Kibo who scored over 20 points in this game only to be overlooked for Player of the Match.
The Game was an Close one with the roosians only losing each set by 3-5 points and the last set they lost by seven with many pundits saying the Emus got off pretty well and tonight’s game against Andoria will be an close encounter as their opponents lost in an 5-set thriller
Top 3 roosian Scorers From last night
Luca Kibo,20pts
Eddie Lan,17pts
Zac Yal 15pts

Last Night’s Results
StrayaRoos 1-3 Natanians and Notts
StrayaRoos 0-1 Barrier Islands (Football)

Tonight’s Games
StrayaRoos Vs Andoria
StrayaRoos Vs Barrier Islands(Football)
StrayaRoos A Vs team momo (T20 Cricket)

StrayaRoos VWE Schedule
MD1:Loss
MD2 VS Andoria
MD3 VS Mytanija
MD4 VS Abanhfleft
MD5 VS Lisander
MD6 Bye
MD7 VS Siovanija and Teusland
MD8 VS Kohnhead
MD9 VS Chromatika
MD10 VS Brookstation
MD11 VS Hispanas
MD12 VS The 14 Stars
MD13 VS Kriegiersien

by **Pemecutan** » Sat Oct 09, 2021 8:23 pm

Redite Wage Wuku Wariga, Pawukon 1782

A Slight Change to Domestic League

Pemecutan Puri - After a long hiatus, VAP (Volleyball Association of Pemecutan) finally reestablish the country's volleyball domestic league. It's first season was finished with Carangsari Great Lakes took the first trophy. Although both the winner and runner up, Abiansemal Squirrel are entered in the IVF competition. But after the first season ended, many critics arise. From the long competition to the confusion of the system.

Communication staff of VAP said that it is regretful that the critics arise but they themselves realize that some aspects need to be resolved as the first season is like testing ground. Interviewed in different place, League Coordinator, Wayan Chandra Sukmana stated that evaluation is on progress and change is inevitable.

From this first season we can see where we lack of and where is our strong aspects. We understand about the critics as the competition is also held in a rush time. Lack of preparation and promotion is also our fault which is have to be notice for the next event. Although one thing for sure is a simplified league.

- Wayan Chandra Sukmana
League Coordinator of VAP

The rumour stated that for the second season the division stage will be trim down from 3 divisions with 10 clubs each to 2 divisions of 15 clubs. The playoff stage will be erase and change with Round of 16. These rumour has yet to be confirmed by VAP officials.

It's still on talks. No confirmation yet. It will be announce before the start of the new season.

- Wayan Chandra Sukmana
League Coordinator of VAP

While manager of Carangsari Great Lakes, Untung Sudrajat says that the team is ready no matter how the competition will be. And he is also respect what the association has done to rebuild domestic volleyball competition. He believe that everything is done for the better future of the sports in Pemecutan itself.

by **Atheara** » Sat Oct 09, 2021 9:58 pm

Atheara vs Ardengard...

It was entering the third set in the game between Atheara and Ardengard. Atheara were two sets down against Ardengard, with Atheara losing the first set 19 - 25 and losing the second set 15 - 25. The team wasn't gelling well with eachother, so coach Lyna decided that maybe it was time for a substitution or two. Afterall, maybe getting something going by substituting some players was going to either work and Atheara will reverse their fate, or it will fail massively. Maybe, maybe not, so, Lyna decided to just risk it.

Reyova Reina on for Anna Ceraline and Eliza Monveret for Evaline Herphax. Although everyone knows Eliza will have difficulty in communicating, Lyna knew doing something bold was the only way to turn things around. Remember WCQ88 in Electrum vs Atheara? Athearans love having their national teams do very bold moves, some which might even risk it all. Which is why Eliza was brought on to switch on Evaline. After that, Atheara won the third set 25 -22, it was a close but good enough set for Atheara to start a reverse sweep.

The fourth set, Lyna decided to go for another substitution. Amanda Van Denerie on for Crisina Halsey - Olivers. She thought that maybe the two Denerie siblings and the two childhood friends (Karla and Reina) could have a large enough effect to turn the game on it's heels. Did Lyna trust her brain? No, but she trusted her guts, and Atheara put the game on it's head as they won the 4th set by a scoreline of 25 - 21. Only slightly better than the last set Atheara won, but it was good enough for a game decider on the fifth set.

The fifth set, the game deciding set. 15 points were needed to win this set rather than the usual 25. And with that, Lyna decided for one more substitution. Mira Isnadottir on to rest Petra Halsenbergen. And with that, Atheara turned into a consistent monster in this match. Keeping it stable with the ball and pouncing on opening spots that the Ardengard team blew off. Striking points with deadly precision, putting Mira on the fifth was the right call, as Atheara won the game decider by a scoreline of 15 - 9. Quite impressive for a turnaround.

Back at the Hotel, some time after the match...

Karla and Reyna were in their hotel room, watching a replay of the 81st Cup of Harmony draw. When they saw the group, they laughed. "Milchama, Atheara, Darmen, TJUN-ia, and last but most certainly, HUElavia. That is Group J." And then the TV was turned off. "So, we face HUElavia both in football and volleyball, fantastic." Karla says to herself. "Are you trying to be sarcastic or serious Karla? I just can't tell if you are trying to be one or the other." Reyna asks to Karla after that remark.

After that, Reyna was pushed onto the bed, with Karla being on top of her. "Of course i'm being serious. What do you think about it?" Karla asks Reyna whilst holding her hands down. "I like it. But, don't you think we should probably focus oin analyzing our gameplay and post-poning what we are doing right now?" Reyna asks Karla right as the doorbell to their room ringed. "Uh hey Reyna, Karla, could i come in?" That was Cassandra's voice that they heard. "Be right there in just a second!" Karla answers back.

"We are continuing this later, you hear me Reyna?" Karla asks Reyna, and she simply nods her head. Later on, the three analyzed their game and their opponent's game in preparation for their opponents, whom were Cassadaigua and HUElavia, whilst their other teammates arrived slightly later. Hoping for what they can devise in a plan to at the very least prepare for the curbstomping they feel that is incoming onto them. Meanwhile, Lyna was behind the door, listening to them and just asking herself... "How do i get those two together?"

by **Ardengard** » Sun Oct 10, 2021 1:29 am

Ardengardian National Volleyball Team

About:
Though volleyball may not be the go-to sport across the nation, it has growing popularity in cities like Shirefton and Messitun. Following her retirement from her volleyball career, Jenna Beesley was appointed as the coach of the National Volleyball Team. The Volleyball World Expo will become Jenna’s first international tournament as manager and expectations are high. Will volleyball finally make a mark in Ardengard’s sporting interests or will it remain the sport no-one watches? The next few weeks will decide.

Roster:
No.     Name      Surname     Age     Position

#17     Arlo      Byter       29      Setter
#12     Mumta     Nambin      23      Setter
#3      Yoako     Zamer       38      Setter

#68     Casey     Dloras      28      Libero
#2      Orlo      Pennes      27      Libero
#89     Carlos    Bobby       35      Libero

#56     Ethern    Follopo     30      Middle Blocker
#92     Quinn     Rupert      27      Middle Blocker
#25     Drew      Amber       23      Middle Blocker

#76     George    Hampas      32      Outside Hitter
#7      Stan      Tempre      36      Outside Hitter
#34     Ginger    Frooge      40      Outside Hitter

#31     Irda      Jempik      32      Opposite Hitter
#73     Uma       Venderbill  26      Opposite Hitter
#40     Herbert   Eggo        34      Opposite Hitter

#94     Kathleen  Lester      33      Defensive Specialist
#52     Walter    Xinto       29      Defensive Specialist
#31     Loslo     Ithia       32      Defensive Specialist
Team Information:
Name              Age      Role
Jenna Beesley     47       Head Coach
Aaron Brie        38       Assistant Coach
Will Larson       40       Assistant Coach
Paul Arnett       54       Team Medic
George Hampas     32       Captain

RP Permissions: Do your worst

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Sun Oct 10, 2021 1:37 am

OOC: I am inclined to think of Baegunara as a rough equivalent for Volleyball World website. Feel free to use Baegunara for a detailed piece on your country's volleyball player or league! Just let me know when you do so

Baegunara - Your Go-To Website for the World of Volleyball!

Grim Reapers' star setter Jin Chang-Wook ready for the road after long road

Maurice Allard-Dalembert

VRETON, BOLLONICH - Jin Chang-Wook just nodded along, accepting all things in life.

He was staying with his in-laws in St. John's, Newfoundland, when the setter found out that he had made the 2052 Quebecois men's VWE national team. He immediately came to embrace his wife, olympic gymnast Tatiana Llnagaay-Kondratyuk, and his in-laws in celebration.

Then he called his grandparents, Jin Seung-Seob and Margarita Jeon, and her sister, women's basketball team forward Chang-Sook, but otherwise had to keep the celebrations to himself. The team's backup setter, whose fame and infamy had long outdone the actual starter on the team, had to keep quiet about it because of the level of competition that had come between the training camp's start a month ago and then.

It was about an hour later when his other setter, Benedict Jeon, told him to calm down. 'Benny was just smiling, saying to me not to be too anxious about sharing something everybody's known for a while,' recalled Jin of the phone conversation between the two, 'And you know, my wife and I once again celebrated the news after it, and all that. It's good to be on board after not making it the first time.'

Finally, Jin, the superstar who had a fairly straightforward path from CSKA juniors to college and then the pros, where he currently stars with the Vreton Bulls of Bollonich, could call himself a Grim Reaper in the World Volleyball Expo. In that decade that had passed since his first year with CSKA Quebec organisation and now, he won two collegiate championships at Queen's College, and an Olympic Gold Medal in Bunjil, Electrum, but there was an additional feeling of joy in taking part in the Volleyball World Expo.

Volleyball wasn't the pathway he had expected to end up. His late parents, olympic medalist fencer and coach Jin Seung-Taek and NGO policier Madeleine Streisend, did not have background in the sport, and Jin had expected himself to end up in an individual sport growing up as a child in Emberton, Krytenia, where vast majority of the nation's infrastructure exists. But the father's passing when he was 8, followed by Madeleine and her children's move to the mother's native Quebecois Acadiana in southern Rushmore, had meant that he was going to be exposed to a wide range of sports. For her sister Chang-Sook, it was basketball she learned to love while for her brother, it was volleyball he took up.

Still, it wasn't until age 12, when Jin and his sister moved to Quebec City to live with their grandparents. It was then that he began seriously competing in volleyball, studying under the coach Xavier Jae-Song Kim at the CSKA Quebec's junior academy. 'One thing my husband and I remembered a lot about those days,' said Margarita Jeon, his grandmother, 'was how focused the kids were. Chang-Sook was always practicing with the basketball, even at home, and Chang-Wook loved staying until late, before we would have to drive home at ten in the night.'

Of course, there's more than just dedication to the sport that succeeded both him and his sister, and friendship's one of the most important virtues for the player. One of his first friends with the CSKA Quebec was the Grim Reapers' outside hitter Yang Soo-Gyeong, the Athletik Thessia player universally considered to be the icon of Quebecois women's volleyball.

During their initial years with the CSKA Quebec organisation, they trained together and became close friends. 'There's that competitiveness they share, which brought them together,' said Xavier Jae-Song Kim when asked about their friendship as CSKA juniors. 'They both hate losing and there's no doubt that they were going to be great, as the two quickly rose to the ladder at a very young age.'

Jin, who has played setter and libero all his junior career before sticking to setter once entering college, and Yang were part of the U18/U19 national teams that won their respective Commonwealth Championships in 2048. Their performance with the junior national teams quickly got them noticed, and eventually they went their ways.

'Men's and women's teams run differently and we have different strengths and weaknesses, that's for sure, but what mattered to us back then was that we won both junior championships, and that opened the window.' Jin reflected. 'Soo-Gyeong always wanted to go abroad to test herself, and so she went to the Gatchingerrak Superliga, where she excelled before heading to Mytanija. I, on the other hand, had less options available, and so I felt that college wasn't a bad way to mature my game, possibly make the national team before I graduate, and then let things figure out as domestic leagues were only just starting to open up at the time.'

'I am proud of Chang-Wook, that's for sure,' Yang said. 'He's one of the closest friends I have. I'm happy for all the progress he's made in his life up to this point. He’s come the long way to make this team, and the men's team should have a strong year with both setters.’

While most of his junior careers happened with the CSKA Jrs, he had carved his own pathway in school as well. At lycee-William-Plamondon, Jin played volleyball and handball for the Raiders for all four years, winning one Capitale-National championship and making it to 2 finals in the AAA class. He remembered his time in high school quite fondly. 'It's one place where I knew all was going well and that there's nothing to worry about,' Jin answered. 'A lot of difficult work was already being done while I was in the club, so playing on the school level definitely helped me to relax and level things up, to maximise the different levels of talent some of us would have.'

His journey as a setter continued when he committed to Queen’s College, where his late father won the 2021 QIS championships as the men’s fencing team’s captain. From our story last year with Queen's College coach, Janet Wannamaker:

'It helped that his late father was a legend here, one of two olympic champions in fencing actually, so there's a bit of family connection that Chang-Wook and his family liked about us,' she said. 'Recruiting in Quebec City's never the easiest since you have St. Croix, Hanyang College, Levis and not to mention a lot of other B1G and RSECQ schools recruiting there. There were at last twenty schools recruiting him and while we were in one of the final six schools, our chances weren’t great.

'What really worked for him and us was that both our setters on the depth chart were graduating, and not a lot of major programs...those contending for the QIS championships, could say that. So we had a home visit, he went with a full-ride and we've had a wonderful couple of years with him in the middle of it.'

The two years he had spent with Queen's College were magical to both parties to say the least. Not only did the Golden Gaels won back-to-back QIS titles, Jin was named the first-team all-Quebecois both years, selected to the national team for the inaugural IVF World League and the 2050 Summer Olympics, and eventually won the Gustave Joncas Award as the most valuable player in all of Quebecois collegiate volleyball.

While he has left college early for the pros, he continues taking classes with his alma mater and hopes to graduate in two years with a Bachelor's degree in Korean literature. While a coaching career is not something that he has thought about often, it is something that he considers seriously in future. 'Am I ready to move on? Certainly not, because I think I have maybe fifteen to twenty years left in my career,' Jin commented, after being asked about a long trail of national team legends in his position, who have since had great careers. 'But it's something that I have seriously considered over time. My wife is a gymnast, and she is at a much later phase of her career than I am, so I learn a lot just by watching from a distance.'

And don't forget to mention, of course, his professional career. Jin, who broke through with the national team in a splendid MVP performance last Summer Olympics, has played professionally with Vreton Bulls of Bollonich since the last fall, and with his 6-year contract, is expected to stay in the country for long while.

'I am happy with what we have in the Vreton, that's for sure,' Jin said. 'It's a good city and the Bulls have a very good team every year, so that's one thing to watch out for. This city is where I have found my comfort zone and hopefully me and my wife Tatiana will continue to do so down the road.'

He remains very realistic with how challenging marriage can get at times for professional athletes, even as Jin and Llnagaay-Kondratyuk, whose legend stands as the only gymnast to have medalled in the Summer Olympics, hope to establish a family in near future. 'As professional athletes married to our sports and each other, there's always a challenge.' He nodded, though remaining uncertain due to his wife's occupation as a national team gymnast. 'Tatiana's away on a lot of international tournaments across the Commonwealth, and she has family back in St. John's. For me, it's about being away for 6 to 8 months every year, and then national team camps mean that I spend less time with my family.'

Then Jin smiles again, saying positive words: 'But I am at least happy with my life as a volleyball player, and of course appreciate this as a way my life goes.' Jin, who usually spends time with his grandparents in Quebec City and his wife and her parents in St. John's, is a dual-citizen of Quebecois Acadiana, a Commonwealth nation with decent volleyball history in past, but has not returned to the country since the passing of his mother five years ago. He hopes to do so in future, whether under national team engagement or a family trip, when opportunity permits, but remains unsure on when.

For now, however, his focus will lie on the World Expo, however sweet the Olympics may have been. 'It's a different feeling playing against the best of the best, but also get to see both men's and women's volley on display,' Jin said. 'The international game's lot more intense once you are on the world championship level, especially because you have to be patient. Sometimes you will get the matchups you want, but sometimes you may have to wait a bit- there are more women's teams than men in general, and mixed-sex matches are their own creatures as well. You have to think carefully before planning for the world champs because it’s a team effort for both men and women here.'

At the Summer Olympics last year, Quebecois men lost their opening match to Tumbra after a trio of players, including Jin, were sidelined by a flu. Then the team went undefeated the rest of the way, winning 6 straight to win the goal medal. With a consistent performance by men and women's teams, the Quebecois will be heading to Bollonich and Hispinas as one of favourites, even as they face what's said to be the Group of B-Death'.

'We are aware this group is extremely difficult to crack, with Cassadaigua, HUElavia, Commonwealth of Baker Park and Sarzonia all capable of making it deep,' Jin said. 'But I do believe in both our teams to make the right adjustments when needed, and hopefully perform well this August.

'For so long, we've put in all the work needed to win. While we have yet to reach the pinnacle of it all in winning the Worlds, arguably a harder task than the Olympics, our eyes remain clear and focused for the ultimate prize. I don't believe that our team's special, but if we are, that's not because of the sparkles, but because of the work we put together to win.'

by **Ardengard** » Sun Oct 10, 2021 2:21 am

FALSE START TO BEESLEY ERA: ARDENGARD FALL TO SUBS

What started out as a hopeful match, with the Ardengardians dominating the first two sets, became a match to remember for Atheara as they turned it around with some clever and risky subs to win three successive sets and seal the fate for Ardengard. The score-line was as follows:

Atheara                       19  15  25  25  15
Ardengard                     25  25  22  21   9

The game was a disappointing start to Ardengard’s VWE campaign. With new Head Coach Jenna Beesely at the helm, the volleyball fans in the country looked for some new passion in the national team but the opening game just brought disappointment. The Arden Guardian spoke to Coach Beesley after the match. Here’s the transcript of what she said.

First game as Coach, first game in the VWE. How does it feel?
Ans.: Uhhhh, probably could’ve gone better. (Laughs) Well, you hope for one result but you may get another. It’s a tough defeat to take, especially considering we were winning in the first two sets. Kudos to the coaching staff of Atheara, they made some excellent decisions that paid off for them. I wouldn’t say we played badly though, we gave a good fight… and it’s just the first game so there’s still a long way to go in the tournament.

There are some high hopes on what you might bring to the team as a coach. Do you think you’ll be able to live up to them?
I do know the expectations people have. I’m aware of them. I can’t make any promises on how much of that will be brought to reality of course, but let’s just say I’ll do my best. I plan to be in this position for a long time, be with the team for a long time, for many years to come. Even if we don’t reach success at first, I’m sure we can build up towards it and hopefully – someday – claim a title.

How far do you see this team go in this VWE?
That’s a tough one to answer. I believe we do have the potential to go far, we can win matches and claim a place up ahead. However, the team and players need to settle down first. There are a few young ones appearing for their first international tournament so they need to get comfortable before they’re able to start performing at their best. Hopefully that doesn’t take long and we can get to winning as soon as possible.

That was Coach Jenna Beesley to The Arden Guardian. Our reporter also spoke to an Ardengardian fan at the game against VWE. He wishes to remain anonymous but has given consent to publish his statements.

What do you think about the new coach?
Well, she’s the best we got ain’t she? You look at cups and tournaments in the past and it’s like we weren’t even in them – that’s the mark we made. She knows the game, she knows the players – give her a chance I say. One match doesn’t prove anything. With time, she’ll make us proud, mark my words.

The defeat comes following Ardengard’s shock exit from the HWC. With two disappointing results in the Ardengardian sporting world, fans are eager for some good news. Will that possibly come in the form of a win against Gatchingerrak Union? Or does the nation’s bad luck continue? To be seen.

by **Brookstation** » Sun Oct 10, 2021 6:53 am

BROOKSTATION NATIONAL VOLLEYBALL TEAM

Team Name : Brookstation
Trigrame : BRO
Head Coach : Clemont Sofius
Assistant Coach : Steven Bouleavard

Squad

Starters :

Naman Chand , 18 , Setter (vc)
Mohammad Baig , 24 , Libero
Suryansh Jain , 19 , Outside Hitter
Raunak Chatterjee , 20 , Middle Blocker (c)
Aadit Ghosh , 31 , Outside Hitter
Aditya Banerjee , 22 , Middle Blocker

Reserves :

Aneek Ganguly , 28 , Setter
Arinjoy Chatterjee , 34 , Libero
Aryaman Jhunjhumwala , 20 , Outside Hitter
Devrup Sen , 26 , Middle Blocker
Krishiv Jhunjhunwala , 30 , Outside Hitter
Patrick Hayes , 22 , Middle Blocker

RP Permissions : Do whatever you want , I don't care.

by **Gatchingerrak Union** » Sun Oct 10, 2021 7:23 am

Baegunara - Your Go-To Website for the World of Volleyball!

Seven Stars' Teodora Agontseva looks forward to future success

Maurice Allard-Dalembert

VRETON, BOLLONICH - Gatchingerrak Union's joint national team had a rough start at the 2051 Volleyball World Expo, losing to twelfth-ranked Permecutan in a 1-3 setter on the first of 13 matches in the Group B. While there were many questions to be asked about the Unionian women's performances, the Seven Stars' outside hitter Teodora Agontseva shone, as she led her team by example in the opening match.

'It's my pleasure to play not far away from home in Bollonich. North coast of Bollonich's a pleasure to travel, as I have learned over the years, and it's great to be here for competition,' Agonsteva told Baegunara, before clearing her throat to continue speaking, 'but the focus remains on the Expo, and only the Expo, so our goal remains on first making the quarterfinals and more.'

The rising star, who has recently announced her transfer from VK Lubossa to Montreal Koreana, acknowledge that the team's likely going to require a bit of adjustment into greater international circle. 'We've certainly been aware of the fact that the international circuit has lot higher parity than what we'd have thought about in, let's say, a decade ago. It's a very competitive world, and adjustments got to happen for us all, even as our veterans get old,' she said. 'Of course, losing to Permecutan really sucks because we know we can beat them, but enough sulking for now.'

While starting off the tournament well with excellent form, scoring 19 points that include 2 blocks and 4 service aces at the Permecutan match, Agontseva has lot more to look forward to after this season. Starting this fall, Agontseva will be playing for Montreal Koreana, where she joins the organisation her father, 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Andrei, played all his professional career as player. The team's head coach, Alessandro Cerioni, took no time in approaching Teodora after she singlehandedly defeated the Quebecois in last year's Under-19 Quebecois Commonwealth Championships, scoring 41 points in what was a 3-2 win that included the 19-17 golden set.

'It is not something that I had expected early on. But it's an absolute pleasure to join Koreana - my father played for them long before I was born, but it's a nice thing to be back in the court where he's been playing.' Agontseva nodded in agreement. 'Erin MacDonald, Zipporah Awiti and Natalie
Wesoloski-Okafor are just some of the exceptional players who I will be looking forward to compete on the same side of the court.'

In particular, Agontseva is excited that with Natalie Wesoloski-Okafor on board, the team can possibly achieve great success on the IVF stage, where the Quebecois teams underperformed over the course of last professional season. But before that, the pair will have to go through this VWE's group stage where the two will not be facing each other on the final matchday, due to the RQVF and the JFGURN's decisions to play with the men's teams, before the Quebecois Commonwealth Games in Montreal.

'Yes, it's indeed true that both our nations are being favoured to make the final. And we've already met each other in past, whether in Montreal or on international competitions. We have a lot of respect for each other, and I hope to not only make the progress she did over last while, but hope to better as well,' she said. 'Still, no hard feelings and we leave behind those after facing each other on courts.'

Agontseva, who speaks fluent Korean and English, is not worried about communication part of it, and hope that this would mean easier communication with some of her idols or rivals who play in the QOVO.1 league or elsewhere. 'I do not worry about facing my idols when on international competition, whether it be (Mira) Gushtanova or (Felicia) Tirabassi or Yang (Soo-Gyeong), because there will be many more years to meet them, to get to know them, and of course play against or with them.'

by **Hispinas** » Sun Oct 10, 2021 7:45 am

Matchday 2 and 3 Results

Matchday 2

Quebec and Shingoryeo         22  27  11
Græntfjall                    25  29  25

Pemecutan                     30  25  22  24  10
Sarzonia                      28  19  25  26  15

Ardengard                     25  25  16  25
Gatchingerrak Union           20  13  25  20

Cassadaigua                   25  25  25
Atheara                       18  15  17

HUElavia                      25  25  19  25
Bollonich                     20  16  25  17

Commonwealth of Baker Park    17  25  12  21
United Adaikes                25  22  25  25

Matchday 3

Bollonich                     17  23  13
Commonwealth of Baker Park    25  25  25

Atheara                       22  25  24  24
HUElavia                      25  21  26  26

Gatchingerrak Union           25  19  12  24
Cassadaigua                   16  25  25  26

Sarzonia                      25  25  25
Ardengard                     18  18   9

Græntfjall                    25  18  25  25
Pemecutan                     12  25  16  21

Darmen                        11  19  25  18
Quebec and Shingoryeo         25  25  20  25

Tables after MD3

    Group 2                       PLD  W  L  SW  SL     SQ   PW   PL     PQ  PTS
1   Cassadaigua                     3  3  0   9   1  9.000  245  193  1.269    9
2   HUElavia                        3  3  0   9   2  4.500  267  225  1.187    9
3   Græntfjall                      3  2  1   7   4  1.750  251  230  1.091    6
4   Quebec and Shingoryeo           3  2  1   6   4  1.500  232  209  1.110    6
5   Sarzonia                        3  2  1   6   5  1.200  245  233  1.052    5
6   Pemecutan                       3  1  2   6   7  0.857  283  281  1.007    4
7   Ardengard                       3  1  2   5   7  0.714  238  252  0.944    4
8   Commonwealth of Baker Park      2  1  1   4   3  1.333  150  150  1.000    3
9   Darmen                          2  1  1   4   4  1.000  169  174  0.971    3
10  United Adaikes                  2  1  1   3   4  0.750  149  150  0.993    3
11  Atheara                         3  1  2   4   8  0.500  244  275  0.887    2
12  Gatchingerrak Union             3  0  3   3   9  0.333  233  281  0.829    0
13  Bollonich                       3  0  3   1   9  0.111  194  247  0.785    0

by **HUElavia** » Sun Oct 10, 2021 8:28 am

It's Like We Never Left!

HUElavia picks up where they left off with three solid victories to open up VWE 13!

United Adaikes 0-3 HUElavia
(16-25, 17-25, 19-25)

HUElavia 3-1 Bollonich
(25-20, 25-16, 19-25, 25-17)

Atheara 1-3 HUElavia
(22-25, 25-21, 24-26, 24-26)

For the first time in HUElavian Volleyball history, HUElavia was playing in the World Volleyball Expo as the reigning champions, after the dominant performance four years ago in Quebec and Shingoryeo. Now, Las Amarillas/As Amarelas were against the multiverse, looking to repeat as Champions. Quite a few players from that winning team had retired, but that brought on the best players from throughout the country. Despite talks being held, it was decided that an all-women's team would be fielded on court for this tournament once again. Thousands of HUElavians flocked to Bollonich looking to cheer and support the team, now calling the players on a first-name basis. The opening matches were ones that really gave tests for the players.

The first match saw HUElavia dominate debutants United Adaikes with a 3-0 scoreline. HUElavia got first blood with a score from Puig. After that, HUElavia just kept the lead going and would not relinquish it one bit. In the second match against co-hosts Bollonich, HUElavia took the first two sets, with great performances from Tirabassi and Yakovna, while Huamanchagua and Lobo de Almeida were solid players coming off the bench. Despite some resistance from Bollonich in the third set, HUElavia put their foot down and got past the co-hosts 3-1. In the third match against debutants Atheara. This one proved to be more of a struggle for the team, as Atheara kept pace with the ladies throughout the match. The first set was won by HUElavia, following a late blast by Tao to win it. Atheara kept pace with a surprise win in the 2nd set. Afterwards, HUElavia would manage to squeeze not one, but two close set victories, with the third set being won by Quirion, but the fourth set being won by a shot by Obe. After three games, HUElavia was off to a white-hot 3-0 start in the VWE.

The next two matches will be against Gatchingerrak Union (UR) and Sarzonia (11), where HUElavia will seek to play well in order to keep pace with Group Leaders, Cassadaigua. Here's to another two great and entertaining matches!

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

by **Mytanija** » Sun Oct 10, 2021 9:53 am

MYTANIJA WIN VWE OPENER
ABANHFLEFT MAKE THINGS DIFFICULT BUT KOLAR GETS THINGS DONE

by Almedina Radovanovic

Mytanija started their VWE campaign against the group’s 4th seeds Abanhfleft. It’s a match-up which always represents a potential banana skin for each team and neither would have enjoyed seeing their schedules to see the other as their opening match. Viewers were handed an early treat with a five-set thriller to top off an eventful opening match day in Hispinas. Each time Mytanija got ahead Abanhfleft were there to fire straight back, levelling the contest in both the second and fourth sets before an Amalija Kolar led fifth set finally finished the match off in Mytanija’s favour. The experienced middle blocker has been national team captain for a few years now, but this might just have been her single most decisive performance as captain.

For all the talk of Radina Ristic being happy to rotate her squad she started with what many believe to be her strongest six. Oana Asenova and Tamara Duleva – colleagues at Avnalia – were named in the team alongside Gushtanova, Kolar, Gemac and Kokot. In the past some commentators have argued that Mytanija should consider dropping a middle blocker for more offensive creativity – particularly against lesser opposition – but there were no complaints from that particular crowd given the level of opposition in this match. Ristic needed the security of Kolar and Gemac and the pair earned their stripes in an impressive opening set where they limited Abanhfleft to only 15 points. Having Mira Gushtanova’s clinical scoring does help to turn opportunities into regular points on the offensive end and she started in fine form too.

Abanhfleft roared back in the second as their experienced starters clicked into gear. Martha Subejano clipped Gushtanova’s wings a little, whilst Abbey Andal had some success against Alenka Kokot. All of a sudden Radina Ristic appeared worried, particularly because the Fleftic team did to the Mytanars what the Mytanars had done to them in the first set, limiting their scoring into the teens and stretched away to take the set. A 25-20 win in the third set may have settled Ristic’s nerves a little, with the introduction of Zuzana Brajdic slowing Andal down and Gushtanova finding her rhythm once again. Mirjana Smolcic substituted in for Sara Gemac for a while and did not look out of place, probably the best compliment she could receive at such an early stage in her national team career.

The match wasn’t over though and Abanhfleft won out in a competitive fourth set to necessitate a tiebreaking fifth. The 25-21 loss was disappointing for the Mytanar team but it was also the set which had the best volleyball from both teams, neither willing to back down until Abanhfleft snapped the elastic band keeping the teams tight together in the closing stages. Amalija Kolar played all five sets, evidence of her incredible stamina and she could be seen cajoling her team mates during the break between the fourth and fifth sets. Her motivational abilities sometimes fly under the radar but she knew that her team had to get off to a good start and her words seemed to do the trick.

Mytanija settled into their game quite quickly with a death line-up heavy on Litala ’93 players experienced in winning in close encounters (Natasa Radic came in as libero; Gushtanova was back in after Omeragic came in for the fourth set; and Zuzana Brajdic continued at opposite). Kolar, Gemac and Safija Bojic completed the picture in a team with lots of experience. That experience showed as Mytanija won the fifth 15-9, Kolar pivotal with a couple of huge blocks at the net after the teams had been locked together at 8-8. Those blocks put Mytanija into the lead and they only gave up one more point in the match to seal the victory and get the tournament off to a solid start.

“Sometimes you need your experienced competitors to step up and that’s what I was asking by putting that team out for the fifth set.” Radina Ristic explained. “Everybody’s going to get opportunities over the course of this tournament, but it was crucial we got off to a good start and the likes of Natasa [Radic], Safija [Bojic] and Zuzana [Brajdic] have all been here so many times before. Natasa and Zuzana with Litala ’93 and Safija with Olympic. That experience paid off for us, they came in when we needed a bit of nous and did a great job.”

Mytanija continue their group schedule with fixtures against Lisander and StrayaRoos next up, matches the team will be expected to win and it could prompt a first sight at this VWE of the prodigiously talented starlet Tea Knapic-Hren. Everybody is very excited about that prospect.

by **Sarzonia** » Sun Oct 10, 2021 10:22 am

One thing Sarzonian national volleyball team manager Alan Ryan wanted to see from his young charges was how they handled adversity.

He got an eyeful against No. 12 ranked Permecutan. The Stars dropped the first two sets against the team ranked directly behind it in the volleyball-playing multiverse, dropping the first set 30-28 and the second 25-19, but then the team rallied. They won the third set 25-22, needed an additional game to close out the fourth set 26-24, then went to a fifth set marathon before finally prevailing 15-10. When blocker Larry Rogers slammed libero Koming Andita Putri's effort to get the ball to Sarzonia's side of the court past middle blocker Diana Harum for the deciding point, the younger Stars team celebrated, jumping up and down despite the four hours, 20 minutes it took to decide the match.

The next question for Ryan would be how the team would handle the emotional toll of a five-setter against a highly ranked side with unranked Ardengard coming in after they'd defeated Gatchingerrak Union in a four-set contest. That answer? With flying colours. Sarzonia were on the right end of a straight sets victory this time, despatching Ardengard 18, 18 and nine. That left the Stars sitting with a record of 2-1 with the head-to-head straight sets defeat to Quebec and Shingoryeo, plus that team having a better sets record keeping the Stars in fifth place.

"We just reached back for something extra," Sarzonia libero Ed Reynolds said. "We knew going down 0-2 with the tough part of our schedule coming up would put us in an enormous hole, so we had to battle back."

Sarzonia will face both traditional powers Cassadaigua and defending champions HUElavia in the next two matches, so Rogers said getting results in the previous two matches was "critical.

"Absolutely," he said. "We didn't want the possibility of starting 0-5, and essentially knocking us out of contention before the halfway point of qualifying."

The Stars may not exactly go out on the town to celebrate, as some of the team aren't of legal drinking age in Sarzonia, and the team itself doesn't exactly socialise outside of the court, but they hope to build on the momentum from getting both a five-set victory against a well-regarded side and a straight sets victory in what Ryan warned could be a "trap match."

"On paper, the Dagans and Los Armarillos will be big trouble for us, but they don't play these matches on paper," Ryan said.

by **Bollonich** » Sun Oct 10, 2021 11:33 am

Volleyball World Expo - Matchday 2 & 3

Matchday 2

Lisander                     25  14  22  18
Mytanija                     17  25  25  25

StrayaRoos                   25  27  25
Andoria                      19  25  19

Siovanija and Teusland       25  25  25
Natanians and Nosts          21  17  14

Kohnhead                     17  25  25  25
Kriegiersien                 25  21  21  20

Chromatika                   25  25  14  25
14 Stars                     19  18  25  19

Brookstation                 20  22  18
Hispinas                     25  25  25

  Group 1 	            PLD	  W	L	SW	SL	SQ	PW	PL	PQ	PTS
1  Siovanija and Teusland   2	  2	0	6	0	MAX	150	95	1.579	6
2  Hispinas	            2	  2	0	6	1	6.000	164	142	1.155	6
3  Mytanija	            2	  2	0	6	3	2.000	195	173	1.127	5
4  Kohnhead	            2	  2	0	6	3	2.000	204	183	1.115	5
5  Natanians and Nosts	    2	  1	1	3	4	0.750	146	164	0.890	3
6  StrayaRoos	            2	  1	1	4	3	1.333	166	157	1.057	3
7  Chromatika	            2	  1	1	4	4	1.000	171	170	1.006	3
8  Lisander	            2	  1	1	4	5	0.800	186	187	0.995	2
9  Abanhfleft	            1	  0	1	2	3	0.667	94	103	0.913	1
10 14 Stars	            2	  0	2	3	6	0.500	177	201	0.881	1
11 Andoria	            2	  0	2	2	6	0.333	158	184	0.859	1
12 Kriegiersien	            2	  0	2	1	6	0.167	130	167	0.778	0
13 Brookstation	            1	  0	1	0	3	0.000	60	75	0.800	0

Matchday 3

14 Stars                     23  25  23  17
Brookstation                 25  22  25  25

Kriegiersien                 25  25  22  25
Chromatika                   23  16  25  22

Natanians and Nosts          25  25  21  25
Kohnhead                     19  22  25  18

Andoria                      21  20  16
Siovanija and Teusland       25  25  25

Mytanija                     25  27  25  25
StrayaRoos                   11  25  27  20

Abanhfleft                   25  25  25
Lisander                     20  21  17

   Group 1 	            PLD    W	L	SW	SL	SQ	PW	PL	PQ	PTS
1  Siovanija and Teusland   3	   3	0	9	0	MAX	225	152	1.480	9
2  Mytanija	            3	   3	0	9	4	2.250	297	256	1.160	8
3  Hispinas	            2	   2	0	6	1	6.000	164	142	1.155	6
4  Natanians and Nosts	    3	   2	1	6	5	1.200	242	248	0.976	6
5  Kohnhead	            3	   2	1	7	6	1.167	288	279	1.032	5
6  Abanhfleft	            2	   1	1	5	3	1.667	169	161	1.050	4
7  Kriegiersien	            3	   1	2	4	7	0.571	227	253	0.897	3
8  Chromatika	            3	   1	2	5	7	0.714	257	267	0.963	3
9  StrayaRoos	            3	   1	2	5	6	0.833	249	259	0.961	3
10 Brookstation	            2	   1	1	3	4	0.750	157	163	0.963	3
11 Lisander	            3	   1	2	4	8	0.500	244	262	0.931	2
12 14 Stars	            3	   0	3	4	9	0.444	265	298	0.889	1
13 Andoria	            3	   0	3	2	9	0.222	215	259	0.830	1

by **StrayaRoos** » Sun Oct 10, 2021 2:20 pm

Last Night In Hispanas The Roosian National Volleyball team the 'Emus' won against Andoria 25-19,27-25,25-14 in 3 sets marking Ryan Teal's First International win as coach after 50 games as an player. Although they lost to Mytanija 1-3 later in the night the Major point is that they can Challenge strong opponents after Losing 1-3 the night before and are hoping to win more games and qualify for the Quarterfinals

Last Night's Results
StrayaRoos 3-0 Andoria
StrayaRoos 1-3 Mytanjia
StrayaRoos 2-2 Barrier Islands
StrayaRoos A 7/179 bt Team momo 98 by 81 Runs

Tonight's Games
StrayaRoos VS Abanhfleft
StrayaRoos VS Lisander
StrayaRoos VS Barrier Islands

VWE 13 Schedule and Results
MD1:Loss
MD2:Win
MD3 Loss
MD4 VS Abanhfleft
MD5 VS Lisander
MD6 Bye
MD7 VS Siovanija and Teusland
MD8 VS Kohnhead
MD9 VS Chromatika
MD10 VS Brookstation
MD11 VS Hispanas
MD12 VS The 14 Stars
MD13 VS Kriegiersien

by **United Adaikes** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 1:11 am

United Adaikes score upset against previous edition's quarterfinalists!

After losing without putting up a good fight to the defending champions in their first matchday, the Adaikesians bounced back and scored an upset against the Commonwealth of Baker Park, ranked 7th worldwide. United Adaikes got set 1 with 25-17. And while the previous edition's quarterfinalists secured the second set, 25-22, the Adaikesians rebounded with a smooth 3rd set, finishing it 25-12, and wrapping up the fourth set and the game, 25-21.

With that win and a bye on the 3rd matchday, the United Adaikes team is in 10th place in Group 2. They will be facing and should put a good match against Bollonich next, who are currently winless and at the bottom of the group, owing to their three losses from higher-ranked teams. Bollonich is ranked 17th worldwide.

by **Ardengard** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:31 am

“Don’t let it touch the ground! Don’t let it touch the ground!”
Twelve figures dashed around the room stretching their arms out to stop a blue balloon from touching the floor at Kathleen Lester’s tenth birthday party. The balloon was floating around in the air and a child bounced it back up just as it was about to touch the marble floor. The children shrieked in delight. The balloon started falling again, just out of reach from the nearest child, and hit a chair.
“Doesn’t count! Doesn’t count,” cried the birthday girl. “Keep it in the air!”
Kathleen was loving this. Her family had shifted to Rudenburg recently and she hadn’t exactly fit in to her new school Meriton High yet. She’d left her friends back at Shirefton and hadn’t been able to make new ones here. Her single interaction with one of the “cool kids” had left her red and embarrassed, and no-one had offered to speak to her since. But her parents were marvelous. They’d dedicated themselves to that party and worked tirelessly to get as many kids to attend as they could. Kathleen thought that this could be a breakthrough for her – to make some friends.
“It didn’t touch the ground!”
“Yes it did, I saw it.”
“Well who cares. Just release it again and let’s restart. It’s fun without rules.”
Kathleen’s parents beamed at the kids around Kathleen. They’d been worried about her, what with the shift, and new schools and everything. It was important that she got accepted in Meriton, felt less like an outsider. Hopefully the party would help with that.
It was getting late and parents started arriving to take the children back home again.
“Say ‘Thank you’ to Mr. and Mrs. Lester.”
“Thank you aunty and uncle.”
“And to Kathleen?”
“Thank you Kathleen. Happy birthday.”
“Thank you for coming!”
Kathleen was overjoyed. She truly felt she had made some friends that day. The next morning she woke up eager to go to school and talk to them. In her hurry she wore her blazer the wrong way around but didn’t stop to notice it. At school, she entered the classroom with a smile on her face. She beamed at all the faces she recognised from the previous night, but none beamed back.
“Hey Joe, did you have fun yesterday?”
The boy she was speaking to didn’t turn back. But a voice boomed from behind her back.
“Did little Miss Litter forget how to wear a coat?”
Heads turned in her direction and the room roared with laughter at her. Kathleen turned red as she realized what had happened. She quickly took off her coat and sat down at her desk.
The boy who had spoken earlier came up to her and a shadow loomed over her.
“Did no-one attend Litter’s birthday,” he said in a mocking tone.
Kathleen didn’t reply.
“Or did they get bored of playing with balloons” he continued in the same tone.
“Back off Mitch,” Kathleen heard another voice say.
Looking up, she saw a girl who had come to her party. She’d perceived her as the quiet type, not the standing-up-to-bullies type.
“Oh yeah? Or else what?”
“Or…or…..ummm”
The teacher walked in.
“Next time Ithia,” the boy named Mitch said before going away.
The girl sat down beside Kathleen.
“Thank you,” Kathleen whispered. The girl smiled at her.
These memories rushed back to Kathleen Lester as she sat next to Loslo Ithia in the bus with the Volleyball National Team. They’d been fast friends since that moment. Going to the same college, going to tryouts together, getting selected together – they were inseparable. If there ever was a thing called ‘best friends’ it was these two. Loslo had been there for Kathleen when she needed support the most. And now, they were representing their country together.

by **Bollonich** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 6:54 am

Baegunara - Your Go-To Website for the World of Volleyball!

Pseudonia: A new frontier for Volleyball?

Zed Patrickson

In Bollonischian Geography it’s a beginners course which clearly outlines Pseudonia as the barren part of Bollonich. The cold, almost inhospitable part, the part with the highest rural population. Pseudonia hence has never received much interest from the “urban” Bollonich. Bollonich as a country is often described by its coastal cities, Lorfgranian forests and infrastructure. Very little importance is given to Pseudonian people and this is even more true when it comes to sports.

Ice Hockey an incredibly popular sport among Pseudonians especially people of Græntfjaller descent is broadly ignored in the coastal cities of Bollonich and the sports hierarchy that teams in this region have to take part with teams from Græntfjall in a sub-regional Pavolan League. Ice Hockey is an established sport in Pseudonia, however today we want to talk about the rising popularity of Volleyball here. Volleyball is already an established sport in most of the coastal cities mainly due to how the BVL hit. This wave however didn’t impact Pseudonia as people here continue to be rather isolated from the rest of Bollonich. The harsh winters basically doesn’t allow for any sport of outdoor play. So how’s popularity of a sport almost impossible to play rising?

Volleyball’s history in Bollonich is not as rich as in other nations with the main interest due to the financial opportunities. The Volleyball Domestics market continues to be a highly profitable venture as franchises of the BVL have shown. And this has encouraged more people to put money on this and due to the financial incentives and benefits, TV deals have been easy to come by. However to sustain popularity you need to give the people something to relate to, and this is where home games come in. High competition and derbies not only give people teams to root for but also teams to root against. This draws the people in and doesn’t let them go as the interest widens and this financial success is also transformed into sporting success for the national team. This however has not affected Pseudonia, until now.

Recently, a young investment banker called Todd Hunger from the Pseudonian city of Rostovka built the first indoor stadium in the whole of Pseudonia. This new construction hosted a huge gala event to celebrate the opening of the indoor stadium as fans also witnessed a friendly match between some of the amateur Pseudonian volleyball teams. Since then people have been spotted practising here, however no competitive match has been partaken in yet. With this new building and reports of Todd pushing for a Pseudonian team to be introduced into the BVL, local TV channels have taken a huge interest in this. And this has directly translated to interest for the people as the most recent Volleyball World Expo has seen record high viewings from people living in Pseudonia. Local TV channels see an opportunity in the world of Volleyball if a new team can make the BVL. They will be looking to secure deals to showcase this newfound team and hence this rise in popularity has mainly been due to a huge campaign by Pseudonian TV to draw their audience in and make them look at Volleyball as if everything goes the way they hope the audience will have to consume Volleyball quite often.

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 6:58 am

Volleyball World Expo XIII
Match Results
Preliminary - Group A

 
 
Match: GS-A | Date: 16.08.2051 | Spectators: 10,431
City: Maihar, Bollonich
Hall: The Jenner Stadium                                                                                                             
Start Time: 17:00 | End Time: 18:05 | Total: 1:05                                                                                                          
 
                                                        Match Results
                                                 Résultats du match / 경기결과
 
                            Code  Teams                      Sets  |    1    2    3    4    5      Total
                             QUE  Quebec and Shingoryeo         3  |   25   25   27                   77
                             SRZ  Sarzonia                      0  |   18   14   25                   57
                                                     Set Duration  | 0:23 0:18 0:24                 1:05
                                First Referee: Michael Wallinger (STL) | Second Referee: Hana Gosic (MYT)


                                      Line-Up       
No  Name                      POS  1  2  3  4  5  | T.                No  Name                 POS  1  2  3  4  5  | T.    
02  AHN Seung-Min (C)           O  ■  ■           | 11                01  STERN Callie           S  ■  ■           |  1
03  LAPIERRE Zackaël            L  L  L  L        |                   03  JONES Dexter          WS  ■  ■  ■        |  6
04  JEON Benedict               S  ■  ■           |  2                04  ROGERS Larry (C)      MB  ■  ■  ■        | 12
05  ASPARUHOV Todor             O     □           |                   07  BARNES Chad            O  ■  ■           |  4
07  SUNG Han-Yong              MB     ■  ■        |  9                09  AVERY Charlie         MB  ■  ■  ■        |  4
10  STANKIC Ivan               WS  ■  ■  ■        | 11                10  MYERS Kate            WS     □  ■        |  3
09  BYEON Jeong-Wook           MB  ■  ■  ■        |  7                12  ABRAMS Frank          WS  ■  ■           |  9
10  GYE Joo-Seong              MB  ■     □        |  2                14  HERVEY Marc            S     □           | 
11  APLIN Benoit-Antoine       WS  ■  ■  ■        | 13                15  WEINSTOCK Ian         WS  □              |  2
13  JIN Chang-Wook              S     □  ■        |  2                20  SPINDELL Cole         MB                 |
14  HAIR-LEWIS Alanis          WS                 |                   23  REYNOLDS Ed            L  L  L  L        |
16  BAE Jong-Doo               WS     □  □        |  1                33  BOWSER Kitt            L                 |

58 - 41

                                                       TEAM AND PLAYER PERFORMANCES                                    
 
Won | Total Atts | No. | Name                                  Scoring Skills          Won | Total Atts | No. | Name
 38          61   Total  Team                                                           31           68  Total  Team 
  9           15     11  APLIN Benoit-Antoine                       Spike                9           37     04  ROGERS Larry
  8           33     02  AHN Seung-Min                                                   5           26     12  ABRAMS Frank 
  7           29     10  STANKIC Ivan                                                    5           11     03  JONES Dexter
 
 13           71  Total  Team                                                            7           43  Total  Team
  5           20     09  BYEON Jeong-Wook                           Block                3           14     04  ROGERS Larry
  3           14      7  SUNG Han-Yong                                                   2           13     09  AVERY Charlie
  2           11      2  WESOLOSKI-OKAFOR Natalie                                        1            8      9  BARNES Chad
 
  7           74  Total  Team                                                            4           58  Total  Team
  3           13     02  AHN Seung-Min                                                   3           13     12  ABRAMS Frank 
  2           12     07  SUNG Han-Yong                              Serve                1           18     03  JONES Dexter
  1           18     11  APLIN Benoit-Antoine                                             

 19               Total  Team                                     Opp Error             16               Total  Team
 77          190  Total  Team                                       Total               57          156  Total  Team

 13                  11  APLIN Benoit-Antoine                    Best Scorer            12                  04  ROGERS Larry

FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!

This is a shitty day, was what Natalie Wesoloski-Okafor in mind, as she watched the cameras flash before her, coach Kim Yu-Jin, setter Chae Sang-Heui, and the team captain Alexanne Bayley. This was to be expected, for the Quebecois national team did suffer a crucial loss in the women's tournament opener against Graintfjall, and all three had a particularly hard time with it. Alexanne Bayley, the Grim Reapers' captain known for her defence and leadership abilities, was watching the crowd as she started the media conference by not giving much answer regarding a series of injuries that had kept the outside hitter away from much action for the match. She sat next to Chae Sang-Heui, who then faced a wave of questions about the quality of assists that had not gone their way and how her management of the game, against the Net Wolves' captain Julia Hartmannsdottir, was catstrophic.

The third person to answer the wave of questions was the team's star opposite, Natalie Wesoloski-Okafor, as she sat on the table. It was not one of those days she wanted to answer the media, as all things had gone wrong against her in a match that was viewed by many as a showdown of two of the best opposites in the world. Entering this tournament the media pundits had left an extensive trail of articles comparing her to Nyagũthiĩ Wanjirsdóttir, the 2.01cm Græntfjaller whose explosive now calls home with Olympik Thessia, and Alenka Kokot, the all-arounded southpaw better known for being the defensive core (besides Asenova the libero, of course). Unfortunately, it had only taken two questions before Natalie, who was busy reflecting on all the unforced errors that had gone for the course of the day, were asked an uncomfortable question.

'Good evening, Natalie. This is Simon-Luca Wiscus from The Abitibian. Pardon me, on behalf of all of us, for asking this very question - your father's a Banijan veteran, a major general who fought under the Quebecois Commonwealth Forces in the Felixian Liberation Campaign, and your mother's a Quebecois. Your brother, footballer Abel, has recently declared to represent Banija over Quebec. What are your thoughts on the Nyowani Kitara?'

There followed a silence, as Natalie struggled to answer.

'Well, it is true that I have Banijan parentage, and my father hails from a rural town from Aksum region,' she cleared her throat, first acknowledging basic facts. 'But it matters little, especially as my father immigrated to Quebec a decade before I was born, and my allegiance has never left the Quebecois hands.'

'Thank you. What are your thoughts on the possible arrival of Quebecois aid workers to the DFLK, which the Prime Minister Arsene Kim had just declared in cooperation with the NPD leader Jean-Ian Knowles?' he continued to ask.

Please, stop. was what was on Natalie's mind, as she wanted these kinds of questions to be over. Just leave me alone. In all honesty, she had all the reasons to be feel like she was being unfairly treated by the media - she, unlike Yang Soo-Gyeong, hasn't been at the best terms with the media, and a particularly poor performance at the net only added more fuel to the mental fortitude that simply wasn't there for the day. I'd rather just think about the straights that were missed, or the blocks that didn't go the way.

Feeling like she just wanted to be over and done with this kind of questions, before going onto the match-related questions, she decided to just wing it. 'It's a good thing we will have aid workers going to work where they are being needed, and that's all I have to say.'

Volleyball World Expo XIII
Match Results
Preliminary - Group A


Match: GS-A | Date: 18.08.2051 | Spectators: 10,431
City: Vreton, Bollonich
Hall: The Vreton City State Indoor stadium                                                                                                             
Start Time: 19:00 | End Time: 20:25 | Total: 1:25
 
                                                        Match Results
                                                 Résultats du match / 경기결과
 
                            Code  Teams                      Sets  |    1    2    3    4    5      Total
                             QUE  Quebec and Shingoryeo         0  |   22   27   11                   61
                             GRF  Græntfjall                    3  |   25   29   25                   79
                                                     Set Duration  | 0:27 0:31 0:20                 1:18
                              First Referee:  Justin Bridges (ETM) | Second Referee: Sabrina Soong (KWP)

                                      Line-Up       
No  Name                      POS  1  2  3  4  5  | T.                No  Name                       POS  1  2  3  4  5  | T.    
01  KAGANOVICH Ekaterina       MB        ■        |  1                01  WANJIRSDOTTIR Nyagũthiĩ      O  ■  ■  ■        | 28
02  WESOLOSKI-OKAFOR Natalie    O  ■  ■  ■        | 13                02  AUDSDOTTIR Kormlöð          WS  ■  ■  ■        | 10
03  DONOVAN Marissa             S     □  □        |                   03  KRISTJONSDOTTIR Elsa         L                 | 
04  PAGE Nadine-Erin            L  L  L  L        |                   04  ROMANSDOTTIR Anney          MB  ■  ■  ■        | 13
05  MACDONALD Erin             MB  ■  ■           |  3                05  DEXTERSDOTTIR Torfheiður    MB        □        | 
08  HORAKCOVA Natalia          WS  ■  ■  ■        |  7                06  BJARKISDOTTIR Stina         WS                 |  
09  CHAE Sang-Heui              S  ■  ■  ■        |  1                08  ANNESDOTTIR Veronika         L  L  L  L        |  
10  YANG Soo-Gyeong            WS  ■  ■  ■        | 20                10  GUSTAVSDOTTIR Giorgia       MB  ■  ■  ■        |  7
11  KRIEF-LIVINGSTON Nancy     WS        □        |                   12  GILLSDOTTIR Helga            S        □        |  
14  VERONNEAU Marine           MB  ■  ■  ■        |  7                14  JULIANSDOTTIR Tera          WS  ■  ■  ■        |  6
17  BAYLEY Alexanne (C)        WS     □           |                   15  SOLIMANNSDOTTIR Loftveig     O        □        |
18  DUBROWSKA Monika            O                 |                   16  HARTMANNSDOTTIR Julia (C)    S  ■  ■  ■        |  2

                                                       TEAM AND PLAYER PERFORMANCES                                    
 
Won | Total Atts | No. | Name                                 Scoring Skills         Won | Total Atts | No. | Name

 35           94  Total  Team                                                         43           88  Total  Team 
 17           35     10  YANG Soo-Gyeong                                              23           43     01  WANJIRSDOTTIR Nyagũthiĩ
 11           37     02  WESOLOSKI-OKAFOR Natalie                  Spike               6           12     04  ROMANSDOTTIR Anney
  5           14     08  HORAKCOVA Natalia                                             5           11     02  AUDSDOTTIR Kormlöð

  9           71  Total  Team                                                         12           43  Total  Team
  4           12     14  VERONNEAU Marin                           Block               6           14    04  ROMANSDOTTIR Anney
  2           10     05  MACDONALD Erin                                                3           13    01  WANJIRSDOTTIR Nyagũthiĩ
  1           11     02  WESOLOSKI-OKAFOR Natalie                                      2            9    10  GUSTAVSDOTTIR Giorgia

  7           63  Total  Team                                                          3           77  Total  Team
  2           13     10  YANG Soo-Gyeong                                               1           11    04  ROMANSDOTTIR Anney 
  2           12     07  SUNG Han-Yong                              Serve              1           18    16  HARTMANNSDOTTIR Julia
  1           18     11  APLIN Benoit-Antoine                                          1           14    04  WANJIRSDOTTIR Nyagũthiĩ   

  9               Total  Team                                     Opp Error             22               Total  Team

 61          228  Total  Team                                       Total               79        208  Total  Team

 20                  10  YANG Soo-Gyeong                         Best Scorer          28                 01  WANJIRSDOTTIR Nyagũthiĩ

Volleyball World Expo 13 - Everything Thread

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