Green Hill Manor VolleyBlog

Crusaders carry away Southside in 2 close games to take the match

2008-06-26T15:17:00.001-04:00

Location : Price Ranch, Adamstown, MD
Date: Wednesday June 25, 2008

Crusader’s host Southside for some intense volleyball action. I am not feeling too eloquent at the moment, however, I will try to summarize the volleyball events that took place this week at the Price Ranch of Adamstown. There were quite a few extended volleys between the teams, most of these involved the volleyball. Elvis for Southside was cooler than that Elvis Presley dude and played some top notch volleyball. No injuries, but an oozing hoagie was seen near the field.

Southside took off early and stunned the Crusaders. Quite a few great serves, bumps, sets, digs and spikes were needed by both teams to keep the games very close. Crusaders took the first 2 games to win the match to bring their record to 4-0 and make the target on their heads that much bigger.

	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Crusaders	Won	Won	Not played
Southside

The Core, But For a Few Points More

2008-06-25T22:27:00.002-04:00

In the five years of this volleyball league, there have been some close matches, and tonight's contest on Haddington Court was one of them. The Core got off to a fast start and an early lead in Game 1. The Other Team fought their way back and tied the game at 20, and at 21, and at 22, and at 23. The Core would not be denied however, and won the game 25-23.

Down to only five players in Game 2, and with the sun in their eyes, The Core got behind early. They were not ready to give up and chipped away at The Other Team's lead to tie the game in the upper teens. The Black Knight's barely managed to avoid their first loss of the season, and squeaked out a narrow victory in Game 2.

The sun was already touching the mountains at the start of Game 3. The Other Team's case of badservitis continued, but despite this they kept a small lead through most of the game, and in the end, won the night.

Supreme Court is DESTROYED!

2008-06-12T00:27:00.002-04:00

(I know this is 2 weeks late...but what the hell, right? Andy wanted more blogs and there was no way I was gonna compete with him recapping the same game that we had tonight. So my only other choice was to recap our May 28th game.)

Well the long-awaited season opener maybe should have been "awaited" a little longer as the defending champions of Supreme Court were quickly humbled by the mighty Denfield Destroyers.

Spirits were high early on, for they have been waiting 9 months to get back on the court. This is the 1st time in 3 years that Supreme Court has hosted the Destroyers and they were excited with the opportunity of showing some "Happenin' Hippie Hospitality." Spirits soon began to mellow when they found themselves with only 3 guys. Oh well, time for some Girl Power!

Game 1 started out okay with some great volleys and incredible digs from both sides of the net. However, before they knew it, the Court found themselves trying to climb out of a 10-20 hole. They kept telling themselves they've been in this situation before. The pep talk must have lit some kind of fire because they went on a 10 point spree and tied it up at 20. It was then decided to extend a little more hospitality and let the Destroyers win the 1st game (yeah right...you know Mark's like 8 feet tall, right?). Those Double D's didn't need anything given to them. They snatched that win with no questions asked: 22-20.

Time for a well-needed break. A couple beers will loosen the legs. WHAT!! No one brought any beer?! Oh, this night was going downhill fast and no one brought any skis either.

The 2nd game flipped a little and it was the Tyrants in Tie-Dye that took the lead. Just trying to win this game and have a chance with the 3rd, tie-dyed shirts were flying everywhere (with the bodies still in them, of course...let's not get nuts now.) Hendrix would have been proud. That side of the court was nothing but a Gold & Purple Haze. Alas, sometimes you can try too hard. The Destroyers took the lead back...AGAIN...and won it 21-19.

So the fallen champions of Supreme Court learned 2 valuable lessons that night. #1: last year and this year are 2 totally different ballgames, and #2: NEVER FORGET THE BEER!!

What Will Be, Will Be.

Awesome game, Denfield!!

Tie-Die Ties The Other Team

2008-06-11T22:45:00.005-04:00

The Other Team was looking resplendent in their new black shirts (thanks, Hope!) as the Supreme Court descended from the Ridge . Perhaps The Other Team should have paid less attention to how good they looked in their new shirts and more attention to the game, because they quickly got behind in Game 1. Supreme Court easily handled the best the OT could dish out, and seemed to be headed to a certain victory with a 16-11 lead. Somehow, The Other Team clawed their way back and manged to win the game 22-20.

It was already getting dark as Game 2 got underway. It started out much like Game 1 with the terrors in tie-die taking an early lead, and fighting back any small rally the Men (and Women) in Black could muster. The Supreme Court Ladies Auxiliary would not be intimidated when a certain Other Teamer did a bit of slamming right in their faces. The battle raged on as the sun went behind the mountains, but The Other Team did not quite have it in them to pull another come-from-behind. Victory to Supreme Court, 21-19.

The sky was nearly as dark as the The Other Teams lovely new shirts as the rivals set out to play Game 3 to 15 points. No point was easily given, and by the time it was 10-10 it was so dark that the certain Other Teamer from Game 2 could no longer accurately aim his spikes at the women, so it was decided to call it a night, and to call it a draw.

Stopping the Madness

2008-06-04T22:04:00.004-04:00

Dark clouds swept through the Morland Drive North sky, as the Mightly Morland Madness played host to The Other Team. This was the Other Team's debut, and as such there were many questions to answer. Could they overcome their antagonistic history? Could they play as a team? Would they be distracted by volleyball detritus and rainbows?

Game 1 started out tied at zero-zero, as so often is the case. The Other Team pulled out to an early lead, but Morland fought back and kept it close. Then the rains came. As the players got soggy, the game stayed close, and very few points were easily given up. In the end, Morland could not overcome the best game The Other Team ever played.

Game 2 was an even closer match and The Other Team and the other team exchanged the lead many times. Though the final score favored the visitors, it could have easily gone the other way. What is important is that good ~~competitive~~ volleyball and socializing were enjoyed by both teams

Thank you, Andy!

2007-08-20T18:06:00.000-04:00

We all owe a great big thank you to the unsung hero of the 2007 GHM volleyball season: “The Blogger.” Andy, thank you so much for setting up such an awesome web site. The photos, schedule and standings alone have been terrific, but your blog is just over the top. It’s really too bad that more people didn’t jump in and blog, but admit it, you set a very high standard – very few people can write as well and with as much humor as you do. You have a gift for deflecting potential controversy or hurt feelings with your oh-so-very-subtle jabs – like pointing out that your team beat ours not only in this tournament but in last year’s too. But we’re complimented to be the only team singled out in your tournament blog, because hey, it IS a big deal to beat us!

I think most of us have thoroughly enjoyed reading about the Jesters’ journey each week, so thank you for all your hard work and for not being afraid to step out and blog!

Thank You, Mindy!!...Part II

2007-08-20T16:34:00.000-04:00

From everyone here at Supreme Court, a massive Thank You to you, Mindy! I'm sure we only know of a fraction of the time and effort you put into organizing everything, but what we are sure of, is that no one could have done a better job than you. The weather was wonderful, the games were exciting, and the whole day was a total blast! I'd also like to say how awesome and supportive the other teams were. We received so many great comments from many players of other teams that I was just beaming the entire day. Win or lose, the support from our friends and neighbors is what mattered the most and I will never forget that feeling. So once again, a huge thank you to Mindy and to everyone that helped make the tournament run as good and as smooth as it did. Also, a huge thank you to every team that was there. We had fun and friendly games with every team we played. There were no easy games for us. The competition was amazing and I think every one of our games was close. But those are the games that are the most fun and I wouldn't want it any other way. So thanks again and I hope to see everyone at the mixer (if we don't get rained out).

Jesters Get Knocked Down, Get Up Again

2007-08-20T08:16:00.000-04:00

Despite finishing near the bottom of the pack in the regular season, the Jesters arrived in downtown Adamstown with dreams of golden volleyballs floating in their heads. By the time Denfield was beating us 13-0 in the first game, however, it was time to wake up.

Yes, the Jester's started off very slowly, and barely managed to avoid being shut-out by the returning champs. It was less a matter of Denfield's returning alumni, and more about the slow start syndrome that has plagued the Jesters all year long.

From here I can't tell you exactly what happened. Knowing that I am getting forgetful in my old age, I actually took notes on the Jester's journey through the tournament. Unfortunately, I can't remember where I put those notes.

Alas.

I do know that we won some and lost some in the first round. We won our first two games in the second round, including finally defeating our cross-fence rivals, Union Army, whom we have not beaten since last year's tournament. We then blew a late game lead in game three to get defeated in overtime by the Saddle Ridge Slammers. I also know that Southside kicked our southsides in the next game, then it was time for burgers and beer.

So, despite the fact that we didn't win the Golden Volleyball for the fourth time, there was still joy in Jesterville thanks to a well planned and well executed tournament. There are a bunch of pictures up on the GHM VB photo pool that capture the fun of the day. Anyone else who has some shots (and I saw a bunch of people with cameras), please add your photos to the pool.

I can't say what will become of the Jesters in 2008. To all the many teams that beat us this season, and to the few teams that we actually managed to beat, thanks for a great 2007!

Tournament Props

2007-08-19T16:01:00.000-04:00

It was a long day, but another successful volleyball tournament was had. We couldn’t have asked for nicer weather this year!

Thank you to all the teams who participated in this year’s tournament and CONGRATULATIONS to Supreme Court for winning the Golden Volleyball. Your team played great and you deserved it!

A big thank you to everyone who helped make the tournament a success. From the planning committee – Doug Barlow, Dawn Beall, Kathy & Brian Hohl and Kathy Reges to the numerous people who stayed and helped clean up – Santo DeLuca, Kathy Reges, Michelle & Perry Perret, Dave Willis, Mike Larkin, Dave & Robin Rezash and many more than I can remember (sorry!) to everyone in between, it was appreciated! Thanks to everyone who brought a net & helped set it up and the people who brought the grills. Thank you to Perry Perret and Doug Barlow for heading up the set-up team. Thank you to Michelle Perret for being the official keeper o’ the stats. Thank you to Brian Hohl for providing the bracket template and to Mark Bankey for drawing it up. Thank you to all the people who went on an ice run for me and to Howard Souder for getting the keg. Thanks to Chad Bernota & Bonnie Monninger for providing the parking cones and to Kevin Abernathy for helping with the parking. Thanks to all the Grillmasters including the men of Goldenwood Social Club – you spent a lot of time manning the grills and everyone appreciated that. Thank you to Dave & Robin Rezash for taking the time and providing an official volleyball playlist on their ipod! A HUGE thank you to Kathy Reges who did SO much behind the scenes work beforehand (grocery shopping, storing the food and water) and at the tournament (organizing the potluck and SO much more). The tournament couldn’t have taken place without the help of all of you, and I thank you VERY much.

Next year’s tournament will take place on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Plan your vacations accordingly!

Thank you, Mindy!

2007-08-19T12:45:00.000-04:00

If there were a “Has Done The Most for GHM” award, it certainly would go to you, Mindy. THANK YOU so much for taking the initiative to set up this league. Everyone who has been part of it – adults and kids alike – has benefited from having a neighborhood party every week. And a little exercise too. You make what you do look so effortless, but we all know there’s a lot of planning that goes into it, and we appreciate YOU!

Supreme Court VS Southside

2007-08-11T14:05:00.000-04:00

With the weather finally cooperating, Supreme Court invited Southside over last night for their second rescheduled make-up. They won the volley for serve and kicked off the first game with plenty of sets, spikes, and blocks. The volleys were long and exhausting. In no time Southside was leading 16-9. It didn't seem like it was going to happen, but the Purple & Gold managed to come back to win it 21-"something close" for the first game.

The second game had the Tie-Dyers even more nervous. Southside's men were big and blocking everything, the spikes found every hole in The Court's defense, and they were digging everything that came their way. They soared ahead to a 20-10 lead. Luckily, the Purple & Gold managed to get the serve back before the South earned their final point. Little by little they chipped away at the point gap. Each team went through their full rotation before the score evened out at 20-20. The Tie-Dyers didn't know how long they could hold off Southside's final point, but at least now, 2 points were needed for either team to win. Those 2 points were earned and the Purple & Gold eked out a 22-20 win.

With the sun long set and donning fully-sweat-soaked shirts, both teams decided to call it a night and pass on an unofficial third game. Awesome games, Southside! You definitely delivered some really fierce competition.

Jesters Play Like Twosies

2007-08-08T21:56:00.000-04:00

Jesters lose again. This time to Morland Madness in two games. That's all I have to say.

WHAT ?!?

2007-08-06T14:42:00.000-04:00

The Inwood Spikers defeated the Saddle Ridge Slammers this past Thurs. 8/2. The Spikers used the "Old-Jedi-Master" power of persuassion and mesmerized them with their "Haloweenie colored" Orange/ Black Tee's to convince the Slammers that they were too tired from their previous Wed. nite match.

Jesters Make It Interesting

2007-07-25T22:16:00.000-04:00

Turn back the clock 11 months. The mighty Jesters of Haddington Court dominate the first round of the tournament, and are nearly unstoppable. They survive the quarter-final round, and only have 1 team to get past to make it to the championship game. That team was the Saddle Ridge Slammers. It was a hard fought match, but the Jester's season ended that fateful Saturday across the net from the mighty Slammers.

Tonight was rematch time.

Game 1 was a good battle up until the point it was 8-8. The Slammers went on a bit of run then, and the Jesters never caught up. The Slammers took the game 21-13, Big Yellow tried not to think of last August.

The Jesters were not ready to die just yet, however. Game 2 was a battle of the ages, and the Jesters held off a late game rally to win the contest 21-13.

Bring on Game 3 - The Decider. Now the Jesters were ready to die. Saddle Ridge rode out to an early lead of 5-0, and the Jesters did not have it in them to even get to 13 before the game was over. Final score Slammers 21, Jesters 11.

Like beer, revenge is best served cold, so perhaps these two teams will meet again in August and the Jesters will have another chance.

We'll be ready for you, Slammers. Unless we're not.

Tournament is August 18

2007-07-25T15:16:00.000-04:00

I just want to make it clear that the Tournament is August 18, NOT August 11.

2007 Tournament Details

2007-07-23T22:27:00.000-04:00

This year's committee members are: Doug Barlow, Dawn Beall, Brian & Kathy Hohl & Kathy Reges.

The format of this year's tournament will be a Round Robin for 5 games to 15 points each. We will not keep track of the number of points like last year, but keep track of wins/losses instead to seed the teams.

We will have a Double-Elimination Tournament for the second part of the day. Each game will be one game to 21 points.

We will have a cookout at the end of the final game.

The cost of the tournament is $100 per team. This will pay for hotdogs, hamburgers, rolls/buns, condiments, water, moon bounce, sno-cone machine, babysitters, 1 keg of beer. Kathy Hohl will be the treasurer. Please get your money (in cash) to her by Sunday, August 5. She can be reached at: katra343@yahoo.com, 301-874-5984 or 5920 Union Ridge Court.

Tournament Schedule:
12:00 - 2:30 -- Round Robin Tournament
2:30 - 3:00 -- Snack Break
3:00 - 5:30 -- Double Elimination Tournament
5:30 - ?? -- Potluck Cookout

The tournament will be held at the Fairground again....UNLESS it rains on August 11. If that is the case, the firehouse needs the fairgrounds on August 18 and we will need to find another location.

We will need each team to bring either a net or grill. If your team is an even number on the this year's schedule, please bring a net and if you are an odd numbered team, please bring a grill.

Food:
Teams 1, 2, 3, 4 -- Sidedishes
Teams 5, 6, 7, 8 -- Desserts
Teams 9, 10, 11, 12 -- Chips/Snacks
Teams 13, 14, 15 -- Paper products -- plates, napkins, utensils

The first 4 teams eliminated will be the "Grill Masters". The next 2 teams eliminated will be line judges for the final games.

Next year we are most likely changing the date of the tournament to either Saturday or Sunday of Labor Day Weekend.

The Core Vs. Inwood Spikers

2007-07-20T09:17:00.000-04:00

The "Mighty Apple" Core dueled it out with the Inwood Spikers in a battle of the UN-un-beatables last week. Both teams played to a hard fought match LOSS. This has never been done before in the history of the league. The Guiness Book of World Records is investigating while both teams have switched to sipping Guiness'es. OWL did not crash thru any fences for the second week in a row...

Jesta Fiesta

2007-07-18T23:00:00.001-04:00

Greetings again from BloggerWife (premier Blogger is absent for another out of town meeting). This evening the Court Jesters and The Outsiders met for some eating and drinking and volleyball (oh my). A wonderful spread of Mexican style foods and drinks was provided by members of both teams for a scrumptious Dinner/Happy Hour before the game. Many thanks to all who contributed!

This, however, left the Jesters sloshy and slothful for Game 1, which was won handily by the visiting Outsiders. In Game 2, the rice and beans must have started to wear off (and scare the foe), because life returned and Jesters won. Game 3 was well-matched, and a fair fight (if you don't count one unnamed Jester coach spiking on a girl!), eventually going to the Jesters. For full disclosure, it should be said that Unnamed Coach did remove himself from play after shameful behavior, and girl player was OK.

So thanks, Outsiders... lots of fun was had by all... (Jesters with a quite rare win)... a great evening for volleyball... (Outsiders: we'll always let you in!)

Tournament Planning Meeting

2007-07-17T07:19:00.000-04:00

If you're interested in helping plan or putting your 2 cents in about the tournament, plan to meet at my house on Monday, July 23 at 7pm. We'll discuss the format and make other decisions pertaining to the tournament. Children are welcome. Call or e-mail me with any questions. Thanks, Mindy

Gang Green Wins Again

2007-07-12T18:22:00.000-04:00

Last night Gang Green traveled up the street to Morland Drive South to take on Southside. After we warmed up; we got down to playing.Gang Green worked together and it showed because the first game went to Gang Green. With only a 2 minute beer break we went back to playing. After some good serves and a little spiking Southside pulled ahead and took the win. Gang Green stuck together, played hard and came out strong in the 3rd and final game. Ahead 12-0 we lost the serve and allowed Southside to score a point or two. Gang Green won 21-2.

Supreme Court VS The Undefeated Slammers

2007-07-12T12:14:00.000-04:00

(OK, OK, Andy, calm down! This is my first time writing one of these, so please, be gentle)

Supreme Court (a.k.a. The Tie-Dye Team), not wanting to expend all their energy before the game, drove all the way to Underwood Court to face the mighty, undefeated, #1 Saddle Ridge Slammers. They knew they needed every ounce of energy, and then some, to keep up with the fierce competitors of Saddle Ridge. Many Tie-Dyers had spent the day doing their best Native American raindance hoping the game might be postponed. No such luck. With one player still recovering from knee surgery, another held hostage at work, and a babysitting issue, none of them would of lost any sleep if the game had to be rescheduled. However, the babysitting worked out, a sub was called in, and the injured came to cheer them on.

Team Tie-Dye knew they were in for a tough night and were not disappointed. The Slammers put on a great demonstration of why they're sitting in the top spot. The 1st game was a slow one, with the lead being traded back and forth across the net. Supreme Court got out ahead and managed to take the very hard-won 1st game: 21-16.

The 2nd game was a little different, okay a lot different. The Slammers spiked ahead to a 5-1 lead in no time at all. Supreme Court almost caught them at 4-5 (I said "almost"). The next thing they knew one of the She-Slammers served up 7 straight points, bringing it to 12-5. The Purple & Gold kept coming close, but no cigar. The Slammers took the 2nd game: 21-16. Deja vu! The hippies of Supreme Court finally realized what the problem was. They were dehydrated! More beer was ordered and rehydration was completed just in time.

The 3rd game began against the backdrop of a stunning purple and pink sunset (people who wear tie-dye love this kind of nature stuff). A few drops of rain were thought to be felt, but it could have been someone else's sweat flying, 'cause it was hot. Damn hot! And these games were damn long! The Supreme Court sub had to run off to work and their post-op IR player stepped up to fill the open slot. Saddle Ridge surged ahead again to an 11-1 lead. This didn't look good for the Purple & Gold. But they managed a point. "Hey we just doubled our score!" The score was now 2-11. They were getting closer. Then 14-18. Even closer! Then a She-Hippie gets up to serve and calls "15-18." She decides to answer the 7 point run the She-Slammer had in the 2nd game. Serving 6 straight points, Supreme Court takes the game 21-18. It just goes to show you...it's all about the WOMEN!!

After some friendly chatting Team Tie-Dye drove all the way back their Supreme Court with barely enough energy to get out of the car and walk up the front steps. Awesome game, Saddle Ridge! You Rock!!

BOHICA Squeaka' By

2007-07-12T08:39:00.000-04:00

The Jester caravan journeyed to the Field of Dreams to take on BOHICA. The corn was higher than the net as the two teams met, and game 1 got under way. The Bohicans got out ahead of the Jesters, and looked to have the game sewn up with a 20-14 lead. The Jesters just would not die however, and clawed back to a 21-20 lead. Now it was BOHICA's turn to come from behind and win the game 24-22.

In game 2, it was the Jesters who got out to the early lead, and despite some good runs by BOHICA, it was the Jesters who took the victory lap around the beer coolers for game 2.

Then came game 3 - the decider. Maybe it was the humidity, or perhaps the humility of too many bad serves, but the Yellow Machine never got into a groove, and BOHICA took the game and the night. Good work, BOHICA!

..

Lets Hear From Some Other Teams

2007-07-11T14:41:00.000-04:00

Looking at this blog one might think that there is only 1 game each week. Sure, it is super fantastic to hear about the ongoing plight of the Jesters, but I think we'd all like to hear about some of the other teams too.

For example, this week the #1 Slammers take on #2 Supreme Court. That should be interesting. Inwood vs The Core - somebody has to win, right? Denfield vs. Morland should be good since the teams played united at the Shooter Tournament on Saturday, and now know each others secrets.

So how bout it, guys! Write some friggin posts. Anyone can do it - if you are not an author now, just comment and I'll set you up as an author.

..

Battle of the Courts

2007-07-06T10:27:00.000-04:00

The more highly concentrated Supreme Court came down from their lofty lane for a surprise, last-minute match against the only team that blogs, the intrepid Haddington Court Jesters. The Jesters took an early lead in Game 1, racing out ahead to a 1-0 advantage. The Terrors in Tie-Die managed to overcome this 1 point hurdle, and squeaked by to a 21-7 victory.

Rain began to fall in game 2, but both teams were not deterred. A close match with many long and skillful volleys was finally completed by an amazing under the ropes slide save by Jester Tadd, hence forth referred to as Slide. The Jesters evened the match at 1-1.

The setting sun broke through the clouds as Game 3 got underway. The sun was not the only thing setting, as both teams played like they knew what they were doing. Supreme Court proved true to their name, won game 3, and showed they are a team to be reckoned with, despite their shirts.

Jesters Go Down in the South

2007-06-27T21:40:00.001-04:00

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Bloggerwife. I have been assigned the task of giving tonight's game update while Andy is out of town, so here goes.

The Jesters made their way to Southside and showed up ready to go, except for the fact that there were only 3 guys and one of them with stomach flu. But instead of going down 10-0 in the first game, they actually managed to keep it close for about 4 points until they lost 21-8. Apparently, the Southerners were better able to stand the heat and humidity of the evening.

In game 2, the Jesters rebounded to take the game, even though Commissioner Bankey got smacked around a few times. Game 3 was a well fought fight on both sides, eventually going to the South for the win.