Sunshine, Mickey Mouse...and Volleyball Too!

Katie Britton, a sophomore volleyball player at Valparaiso, is the Volleyball correspondent for the HLN Blog.

What does the beginning of the fall season mean to me, you ask? A few key words come to mind...September, school supplies, scarecrows, and spandex!

Volleyball season is officially in full swing here at Valparaiso University, as our preseason tournaments end and we begin league play. We all worked extremely hard over the summer in order to prepare for the season, and are coming together nicely as a team to get some early wins under our belt.

At the very beginning of our 2009 volleyball adventure, we spent our first tournament weekend in the "Sunshine State"...beautiful, sunny Florida. We faced some tough teams, and as a group got our first taste of competition for the year. After the tourney, we were lucky enough to spend an entire day at Universal Studios before heading home to prepare for our next packed week. Needless to say we all enjoyed this mini vacation so close to the magical land of Mickey Mouse. Personally, I found it hard to limit my excitement to normal expressions of joy, and could be heard screaming "HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH" at the top of my lungs throughout the day.

Our eventful preseason came to a close last weekend, while we also had our first Horizon League match and victory over Youngstown State. We have been on the road since the beginning of the school year, and are more than ready to start playing at home and getting our campus stoked on some Valpo volleyball! This weekend we have two home matches against Wright State and Cleveland State, and are excited to show our native town what we are made of!

Finally, a very special thanks to all of our loyal fans and parents who have been following us on our journey around the country. It is extremely encouraging for a visiting team such as ourselves to have a Valpo cheering section that is louder than the home team's fans!

GO CRUSADERS!!!