This season, senior Catherine Raquel will write the a "BeachBlog" to chronicle the team's activities throughout the season. Her first entry is below.
Hey Stanford Fans,
We finally kicked off our 2018 season, and there was no better place to start than in Hawai'i! Not only is Hawaii absolutely gorgeous, but the island also has a rich beach volleyball history, so the culture that surrounded us for our first tournament of the season was incredible. It was also Morgan and Courtney's first time in Hawai'i, so even though most of us had visited Hawaii before, it was great to be there with them and see Hawai'i with fresh eyes and a sense of renewed gratitude.
We left campus early Friday morning, skipping out on a cold and rainy Bay Area weekend, and landed in warm and humid Hawai'i early in the afternoon.
Once we got to our hotel, we were greeted with some delicious, fresh passion fruit and orange guava juice. Oddly enough, the dining halls here have the same juice at each meal, but the juice from our hotel tasted just a bit better.
We then walked down to Queen's Beach on Waikiki for a quick serve and pass. Even just walking down the beach, many locals and tourists stopped us because of our Stanford Beach Volleyball shirts. They were so excited to hear that we were there to play, and many of them wished us good luck. It was great to experience Hawaii's beach volleyball culture—everyone was so welcoming and wanted to support good volleyball. Our practice was only an hour, but our team was definitely feeling the effects of traveling and the humidity, so it was good to get in a few reps to adjust to the new environment before our matches. By the time we finished our practice, everyone was absolutely drenched with sand and sweat, so we all took a dip in the ocean. The water was so blue and clear and the perfect temperature for cooling off.
We were fortunate to have some time to explore Hawaii on our own on Friday evening, so we all split up. Some people went to hang out with their families who were in town to watch the games, some people went shopping, and others got to see their friends who attend school in Hawai'i. My group decided to take the scenic route back to our hotel so that we could take in the beauty of the beaches. On our walk, we stopped for a cool and delicious treat.
My roommate informed me that the shop was actually started by a Stanford alum and some of his friends! One of the things that makes Stanford so special is its incredible alumni network—in every field, there are exceptional alumni who are excelling at what they do, and in my experience, I've found that if you reach out to them, Stanford alums are more than happy to connect with current undergraduates to share their wisdom and help them as they explore different career paths.
After our quick snack, we grabbed dinner at the food trucks outside our hotel. The food was delicious and it was great to try some of the local cuisine. Hawai'i is known for its fresh fruit, so we made sure to get a taste of that too.
On Saturday morning, we got to the courts early so we ended up having more time than expected before our matches. That gave us plenty of time to get our hair done (shout-out Blake for being the best braider!), roll out, stretch, and hang out before our official warmup.
I have always loved road trips as a team—not only do we get to be off-campus and focus on volleyball, but they are also great for team bonding. I got to spend a lot of quality time with everyone. From late night hotel room talks with Blake, souvenir hunting with Chelsea, or squeezing in one last trip to the beach with Jenn thirty minutes before we left for the airport to return home, I left Hawaii feeling a little bit closer with everyone on the team, even though we all obviously knew each other pretty well before the trip.
On Saturday, we opened the season with a dual match against UCLA and Hawai'i. Although we lost to both teams, it was evident how much our team had improved between the end of last season and the beginning of this one. After our Saturday matches, we got to have dinner at Outrigger Canoe Club. We were joined by Chris McLachlin, another Stanford alumnus, who told us stories about his time as the basketball coach of Punahou School where he coached President Barack Obama, and also about meeting Dr. Diane Pennica, who was the first scientist to clone tPA, which is now used to treat stroke patients.
For those who may not know, the sport of beach volleyball is said to have been born on Waikiki Beach at Outrigger Canoe Club, so it was really special for our team to wrap up our first day of competition with dinner there and see the roots of the sport.
On Sunday, we played UCLA and Hawai'I again to close out the Rainbow Wahine Classic. Our team battled, but we ultimately fell to both teams 3-2. The weather forecast for the weekend predicted constant thunderstorms, but luckily, the rain held off for most of our games. We did get some rain at the end of our match against Hawai'i, but as soon as we got off the court, the rain became a torrential downpour! We even received flash flood notifications on our phones, which proved to be true because there was so much water that we could barely see the road lines on our drive back to the hotel.
We all had Monday morning off, so again we split up and explored the island. Shannon and Plummer woke up at 6 am to maximize their time and went to Ani's Bake Shop for cinnamon bread and buttercream rolls. They then met up with a group of us that hiked Manoa Falls.
The hike was breathtaking and the path took us through a lush, tropical rainforest. Manoa falls is a common location for movie production, as it's been used as the jungle setting in movies such as "Jurassic Park" and "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire."
Kate, Blake, and Morgan decided to sleep in a little bit and treat themselves to guava pancakes for brunch, while the other members of our team decided to spend their mornings enjoying the beach.
Overall, it was an incredible opening to our 2018 season. Nothing compares to the immense growth that occurs through competition, and it was clear that our team had not only improved between the end of last season and the beginning of this one, but also between Saturday and Sunday's matches. We learned a lot about ourselves on Saturday and took all of that feedback to battle smarter on Sunday. Although we didn't come back with any wins, it was great to compete against two of the best teams in the nation. After last weekend, the team is more motivated than ever to improve our craft and establish ourselves as one of the best beach programs in the country. We look forward to the challenges that lie ahead of us, and I am excited to see results of our hunger and hard work as the season progresses, because I know that everyone on our team is and will continue to be relentless in our pursuit of improving.
The team is thrilled and ready to be back on our home courts and compete this weekend. We start with St. Mary's at 12 noon and the USF at 3 pm this Friday, and then we play Sacramento State and Pacific at 12 and 3 on Saturday. Saturday is also my senior night, so come out and support us this weekend for the Bay Area Kickoff! Go Cardinal!