September on the Road...

Wow, time sure flies when you're having fun...and when you're traveling for a month!  We're about to have our October Home weekends, which this year includes both Homecoming and then our Team Parents' Weekend!

However, before we get there, I need to update the first half of the season, spent traveling New England on a big, Premier Bus!  Our first weekend saw us beat two out of Region NY teams in Union and Manhattanville.  We got our money's worth, so to speak, as we went 4 sets with Manhattanville and it took us 5 to beat Union.  That was our opening weekend, and thus we were without our freshmen who were all on their Orientation trips!  After dropping the first two sets to Union, we rallied to come back and win in the 5th set 15-9.  It was great to see the team dig deep and be able to come from behind like that so early in the season.

The following week we had our closest trip of the season, to St. Michael's College just north of Burlington.  That was a pretty quick match, and we got to have takeout from my favorite restaurant--Pho Dang, which is right around the corner from St. Mikes! Although getting dinner there is a highlight for sure, the real highlight of the night was that this was our first match with our Freshmen!  Most of them got their first action of the season and performed well, which was really great to see. Lucy had 4 service aces and Laney hit .500 with 4 kills with only 1 error on 6 attempts along with a service ace.  Kelly ended with 4 assists and 2 digs, and Addie happened to be at the net for most of Lucy's service aces, so the ball barely got back to our side of the net!  Good things to come for these guys!  AND, Kelly's birthday was the next day, so we had to have cupcakes post-practice to celebrate!

That next weekend we went back to NY state to take on a perennial power Clarkson, along with other Liberty League opponents in Potsdam and St. Lawrence.  Clarkson was a tough match, and although we competed in two sets, we lost 0-3. The pace of the game was pretty fast for us at that point in the season, but it was a great experience because we know they'll be a top team in the NY Region and have been very competitive for years now.  Potsdam was not as challenging, ending in a sweep for us, and then St. Lawrence was a battle.  We competed back and forth to a 5 set loss, ending the fifth with a score of 15-12.  Good experience that we took back into practice the next week to continue to get better.

 VIDEO HIGHLIGHT LINK:  Colby-Sawyer (be sure the sound is on because there's fun music with it!)

Our lone HOME match of September was against Colby-Sawyer, which was a great first home match.  We out-powered them and easily swept them in three straight, which was a great lead-in for our first Conference matches coming up that weekend to face Colby and Bates.  Friday night we traveled all the way up to Maine where we battled with Colby but came out with the sweep.  The following day we again battled it out with Bates to a 5 set match that we pulled out after going down 1-2 in sets to win the 4th and 5th sets, with another squeaker in the 5th 15-12, but in our favor this time!  We are still learning and growing and improving, and to the 5 set matches are great experience for our relatively young team who's now 7-2!!

We had two more team birthdays the week we played Amherst--Emma on the 24th, and Maggie's birthday was actually on the Friday we played Amherst!  I'm afraid I didn't get a picture of the wonderful treats Maggie's mom brought us down at Amherst, but we did our post-practice tradition of a little dessert treat for Emma's birthday!


September ended with us heading to Amherst even though it was Fall Family Weekend at MIDD.  Because it was one game only, we went down and back in one day, which worked out well so players could get to hang out with their parents at MIDD if they wanted to.  I was pretty sick, and a handful of the kids were still battling various illnesses and remnants of symptoms, and although we competed hard, we did not prevail down in Hadley, MA that night.

It was a crazy busy month spent mostly on the road, but we'll be home for TWO weekends in October, which will feel great.

MCVB 2019 Pre Season

Our 2019 season opening dinner this year was at The Knoll, the organic garden at Middlebury!  My house is undergoing a kitchen renovation so we couldn't really host the party there, but the Knoll was such a fun venue that we may have to continue this tradition.  It was a gorgeous night, which helps, of course!

We also have class photos, so here goes:  The Seniors (also the Captains) with Beth Neal, Gigi Alper and Chellsa Ferdinand!

 Now we have the groups by class:  First we have our Seniors and Captains:  Beth, Gigi and Chellsa!












Then we have our Juniors, who did both a regular and a "pinch face" photo!

The Sophomores wanted to do a regular one and a pyramid, with Maggie and Ali on top, and Corley, Jane and Bella on the base!

Last, but not least is our Freshman Class!   We have Addie from FL, Laney from SoCal, Kelly from Nor Cal, and Manya and Lucy from NY.








On an afternoon off, the team went to "cold bath soak" in the Bristol River, and followed that up with a VT Creemee!!  Nothing better to break up pre season doubles than a trip to Bristol Falls and a creemee!

Welcome back to ALL, and great job with pre-season!!  We're excited to play for the first time this weekend, but unfortunately, we will be without our freshmen as they take part in their Orientation Trips!  The rest of us leave for Union on Saturday to play both Manhattanville and Union to open the season!!

MCVB Alums Unite; Plea for Alum Connections to Current Athletes

We have a couple of fun MCVB Alum updates, and one interesting thing about these two particular situations is that the people involved didn't actually play together, or at least most of them didn't!  We had 3 former players (that we know of) that ran the Boston Marathon in April!!  What a great accomplishment and fun race.  Lauren ('11) is on the left, with Kathryn ('16) in the middle and Caitlin ('13) on the right.  Caitlin and Lauren are sisters, and Kathryn played with Caitlin, but not Lauren.  For additional background, Kathryn is from southern CA but is now living in Boston, while Caitlin is from Boston but is currently living in northern CA for grad school.  Lauren grew up in Boston and still lives there, and has run a few of these Boston Marathons!  These three joined up for a pre-race picture, which they were kind enough to share with me, and then we have the post or in-race pics also!

Then, in early May, Caroline Cordle ('12) met Gabi Rosenfeld ('17) at a MIDD Alumni Event in Washington, D.C.  Gabi introduced herself to Caroline and they started talking and voila--they both played Volleyball at MIDD, but weren't at MIDD at the same time!  What a fun connection!

Special Alumnae Note:  I'm looking for ways to connect MCVB alums with current players who may be studying or interested in a field where some of you are currently working, so I'd love to hear ideas of how I can better connect everyone?!  Alums, would you like to see a newsletter that came out monthly to update you on what we're doing, and who's studying what?  I hope you're enjoying the Blog, but for something like this, maybe a direct email would be better?!  Maybe a junior/senior profile with their areas of studies/interests?  Would you mind if I gave current players your contact information (email most likely) so they can contact you with possible questions about the profession or what your path was like?! Let me know your thoughts and ideas!!  I really am excited about this and feel like several mens' teams have been doing this forever, and I'm so proud of our amazing alumnae group and would be excited to make some connections between people!

MCVB Alums...Teammates for Life

It's always fun to hear from alums, and it's so fun for me to see how they are still in each other's lives long after they leave Middlebury.  I know several of my own teammates were in my wedding, and we still cherish the times we get together and laugh about old times and share new moments of our lives. Thanks for sharing these moments!!

First up, we have Jamie Wong ('06) Larson with her husband and two kids (welcome to the new baby!) in San Francisco with Katy Hicks ('05) visiting.

Next up we have recent alums, Lizzy Reed ('15), Kathryn Haderlein ('16), and Katie Chamberlain ('16) all together visiting Lizzy out in CO.  Lizzy recently spent two years at The Island School in the Bahamas and then moved to the snowy mountains of Vail, CO to teach at the Vail Mountain School.  Quite a weather shift, but it looks like these guys are enjoying some warm water anyway, along with cake and some baked goods that we always all enjoy--Katie is a master baker, so did she make those, are were they just testing them out?!

I always love to hear from alums out there, so forward any news so we can catch up and share with our extended MCVB family network!  I'll also be traveling to Vegas the first weekend of April, and to Philadelphia the weekend of April 19-21 if anyone in either of those areas wants to meet up, just let me know!

I just returned from the CO Crossroads National Qualifier where I often get to catch up with Amy Lowell ('01) Bloch and Dawn Trowbridge ('00) Marsh.  This year was a quick trip for me, so I didn't see either one, unfortunately!  Additionally, Lizzy and Amy Hart ('14), both live within range of the Denver area now, so hopefully next year we'll plan a mini MCVB Reunion in CO!!

Eliana Schaefer ('18) was just back at MIDD visiting, so it was great to see her and catch up a little!!  She's waiting to hear from a few more Medical Schools and will be headed somewhere next year to start that!  We wish her all the best on that next path of life!

Happy Spring to everyone wherever you are, and please send any updates you'd like to share with your MCVB Family!  In typical Vermont fashion, the day after it's officially Spring, the wet, heavy snow is falling outside...and accumulating.  It's snowy and slippery and practically a white-out out there!  Ahhh, Vermont weather--and we thought we'd already started Mud Season!

Claire Graduates Mid-Year on the Mountain!

Here at Middlebury, we have a special mid-year graduation.  It's call Feb Graduation.  There are a whole class of "Febs" who actually start their Middlebury career in February and then end mid-semester as well four years later.  These Febs (usually a mini-class of around 60 students) don the traditional cap and gown...and also some skis or snow shoes and then process down the mountain for their symbolic ceremonial procession!  It's a unique tradition, and one that's quite a sight to see!

This year, Claire White-Dzuro ended up having enough credits to graduate early, and thus became a "Feb" and took part in the mid-year graduation ceremony.  She will be back in the Spring to take part in the formal Spring graduation ceremony, but she had a lot of fun with this mountain celebration!  Congratulations Claire!!

J-Term Fun

January term is a fun time at Middlebury.  It's a time when students only take ONE class, so there inevitably ends up being a little more free time to enjoy various fun activities and take some short trips around the area.  

 Some of the team went to Montreal for a couple of days at one point, and another excursion was a trip to the Ben & Jerry's factory, where several tackled the "Vermonster!"  They had fun polishing off that huge bucket of ice cream sundae!!  

We also managed to have dinner (by class) at my house, at least with a couple of classes.  I missed the juniors together, but I had lunch with Chellsa before she left for Spain, and Beth, who's staying around junior year for Track.  Gigi's abroad program started after she went home for the Holiday Break, so I missed her completely.  However, I decided to invite the freshmen and sophomores out to my house for dinner.  I usually catch up with the seniors during Senior Week, but maybe we'll have to have them out to dinner soon as well, minus Claire who's already graduated!

The freshmen came out and we made pesto pasta (fresh-frozen pesto, but made with basil from my garden this Fall).  It was also their introduction to Annie, our newest family member.  We adopted her from the Animal Shelter this Fall right after the entire team and their families came out to the house for our opening BBQ, so no one had met her yet.  It's always nice for me to get to hang out with the girls outside of the season when it's not all about volleyball, and I think they enjoyed being at a house away from campus, and of course, they enjoyed playing with Annie!

Then the sophomores came out another time and we made "make your own Pizzas!"  Jaime hand-tossed one of the crusts, and we tried to recreate one of their favorite pizza's from Flatbread--the one with Balsamic, honey (and maybe maple syrup?), basil, apple, and cheese...it was very good, whether or not it was just like Flatbread, I don't know?!  We also made a margarita pizza, a meat lovers pizza with sausage, bacon and pepperoni, and a Hawaiian pizza with BBQ sauce as the base, and then pineapple, bacon, ham and cheese.  They were all very different, and fun to make, and tasted great!

For our Track team members, Beth and Emma, J-term meant a lot of track meets!  They were home almost every weekend of January, thank goodness, and we got to see a lot of action. Beth wasn't competing for the most part, resting her ankle for the Spring outdoor season, but Emma was getting her start with the Shot Put, which was exciting!  She's improving with this new event and we're excited to see how far she can progress for the outdoor season.  Virtue Field House is the venue for Indoor Track, and when those meets are going on, it's a spectacle to see.  There are TONS of people everywhere, and the best term for it seems to be, "organized chaos!"  I tried to get a picture of it, but I didn't catch the full feeling.

J-term culminates with the Feb Graduation, but since we had a Feb this year, we'll give her a separate Blog entry of her own!!  :)

Season Wraps Up with Banquet at Swift House

Just before finals started, we took some time last weekend to wrap up our season with our team banquet.  The parents graciously helped out, so we celebrated our season in style with brunch at the Swift House!  Good food is always a high priority on our list, so it was a perfect way to celebrate our season.

We handed out the many previously announced awards honoring our team members for their accomplishments on the court, and in the classroom.  The first picture features our Academic All-NESCAC members, so a big shout out to those 5 (Claire, Isabel, Sarah, El, and Chellsa) for getting that nice honor.  Well done!!

The next picture is our Freshman class with their official Middlebury Varsity Letters!  It's actually an old tradition that I still love.  Many have put their letters on blankets, but Chellsa had hers made into a jacket, which was very cool!







Then we have a picture of our Team Award Winners.  Beth got the MCVB Spirit Award; Sarah got the Panther Pride Award, and Jane got the Yellow Jersey Award.

The MCVB Spirit Award is given to the player whom her teammates felt consistently demonstrated the positive spirit of Middlebury Volleyball.  Some of the comments for Beth included the following:  "positive force on this team," "no matter the situation, Beth was always ready to compliment and encourage her teammates," "extremely selfless teammate," "made great efforts to keep everyone engaged on and off the court," and "positive mindset and always encouraging."

The Panther Pride Award is meant to honor the person who was the best teammate.  This person should be someone who made those around her better by holding themselves and their teammates accountable to a high standard of excellence, both on and off the court.  Some of the comments about Sarah included: "Always put the team before herself," "motivating spirit, she held the team to a higher standard and expected the best from her teammates on and off the court," "vocal leader and constant source of energy for the team, but also realistic and accountable," " made each of us better players and inspired me to be a better friend."  She was also described as a "team mom." :)

The Yellow Jersey Award is to recognize the person who we felt gave consistent effort in practice on a daily basis throughout the season.  I think it originated from the idea of the Yellow Jersey in the Tour de France years ago...Some of the comments about Jane included: "gave consistent effort in practice and made sure others were doing the same," " always made the effort to keep her game at a constant level to make the team stronger and better every day," " holds herself to a high standard and was a good role model for work ethic."

These are some very nice words for our award winners from their teammates and is a nice culmination of our season.  We strive for the unity of a family and the push and motivation of competitors, but always with a positivism that binds us together and keeps us moving forward as ONE.  We are MCVB!!

As has been my custom for a long time now, I get a Middlebury Blue fleece blanket with their number embroidered onto for each of the seniors.  I've probably been doing this for almost 20 years (?).  If any alumni are reading this and still have theirs, it would be fun to see a picture of you with yours and I'll create a collage!

We also honored our current captains for all the tireless work that they did helping make our season as successful and drama-free as possible.  I had mugs made (since we all like our coffee) with the team picture at one of our Dunkin' stops during the season so they can think of all of us as they enjoy a cup of coffee now in the off-season.


Plus, we had tree ornaments made for Jack, Jill and Judd of the team on one side, and our "family" names on the back.

Jill had to leave early, and so did Judd, so I got a picture of the "fellas" on the coaching staff.  We had a real staff this year with not only Brian and I, but also Jack was back for his second year coaching, and Jill (who played at UVM, and is the current HS tennis coach) helped us out at most practices.  Additionally, we also had occasional help from Jesse (who played at UVM and has done college coaching and officiating).  He was able to come for the end of some practices and a few home matches.  We're hoping to have them all back to help again next year, which would be great.




The final two pictures are of our middle two classes (who weren't already featured).  Fun times, and now everyone can focus on finishing up their finals and going home for break.  Gigi is actually leaving campus for the rest of the year as she heads abroad for J-term and Spring term, while  Chellsa will be returning for J-term and departing after that for her abroad experience.  Our final junior, Beth, is staying on campus and running track again this year, so at least we'll have her around!  That puts the sophomores in charge of our off-season activities, so it'll be a nice opportunity for that class to step up and be leaders.

Happy Holidays to you all!  Regardless of what Holiday you're celebrating, I hope it's a restful, thankful and emotionally energizing time of the year for you.  The start of a new year, even in the middle of a school year, is a wonderful time to reflect and be thankful for all that we have that's good and positive, but also a good time of year to re-evaluate what's important and make some strides to be better versions of ourselves in the new year.  Enjoy!