SOOOO Close!

VIDEO - BEST PLAYS IN CHINA!!

Wow! What a great tournament we had here in Shanghai! I said last week that when you lose, don't lose the lesson - well it's obvious that we didn't, since we improved on everything that held us back last week.

Our first game matched us up against the top 10 ranked Astrian team of Schwaiger-Schwaiger. We had played them one time before in Thailand last year, and felt confident about the re-match. We started off strong, and then faltered in the first set. However, our second set was unreal. We played like a vetran team, going point for point with the Austrian Olympic team, pushing the game to extra points - 25-23! We were so close to taking a set off this top team. With more experience in these matches, we are certain that the close matches will side in our favour.

In our second game we played against Great Britain, and again we enetered the match with a cool confidence. Despite incredibly windy conditions, we were poised throughout the first set, and won quite easily. The next set saw the tables turn, as Great Britain turned up the fire to take the set. In the third and deciding set, we rallied back and forth, each team holding the lead a different point in the match. The wind played a big factor, as the far side of the court was definitely more difficult to play in since the wind was blowing hard at our backs. We were up 13-12 at the final side-switch, which placed us back on the difficult wind side. We rallied back and forth, and in the end Great Britain won 16-14 in our best match of our career.

In China, we stepped up our game to a new level, and I really feel that we showed our competitors a glimpse of what's to come over the next 4 years. I am more certain than ever before that we are exactly on the right path towards our Olympic path, as we keep on growing, developing and challenging ourselves and our competitors. I am very proud of Team Mizara - still not satisfied ;), but extremely proud.

Check out some of our best plays in China above! Thanks so much for following our progress. xoxox