Roadrunners European Tour: Days 4-5
We hopped out of the vans and checked into The Westin right in the middle of downtown Zagreb. A huge thank you to The Westin for providing a little sense of normalcy for us. It's wonderful to experience the culture and be able to dive right in, but seeing everything translated to English and recognizing the hotel you're staying at from our road trips during the season is so comforting when you are so far away from home.
The girls changed and we drove about an hour to Vrbovec where we faced the Croatian Junior National Team. Nela and Marijeta's families welcomed us at the gym and they were so excited to meet the team, coaches they hadn't met yet and Susan Wampler. Nela's mom gave Susan a big hug and said "thank you for taking care of my Nela!"
This was the first time their families have seen them play since they became Roadrunner s. The stands were packed and went crazy when they announced Nela and Marijeta's names. It was fun to see how excited they were to play back at home.
We won the match in five sets by scores of 25-15, 22-25, 16-25, 25-12 and 15-6. Dajana totaled 13 kills and Nela and Marijeta followed with eight each. Both girls had a great homecoming in Croatia.
Afterwards, Nela's mother organized a beautiful dinner for us and the Croatian Junior National Team. All of our girls mingled during dinner and have made new friends along the way.
We had the entire day today to sightsee and shop around.
Goron is the man who has been showing us around everywhere and organized all of our transportation and hotels. I wish we could have a mini Goron with us everywhere we go, including back to America. He has answered all of our questions, informed us of the do's and don'ts of each country we've been in, handled phone charger/adapter issues, blown outlets and taken us to his friend's shop in Croatia for authentic gifts. He has been the nicest and most welcoming person. If anyone is looking for someone to thank for our well-being and taking care of us, it is Goron.
We moved on from Croatia and onto Maribor, Slovenia, on Friday. The hotel that we are staying at is attached to a gym, which is nice. The hotel and views are breathtaking. We met the owner last night in Croatia and he was very kind. We have Wi-Fi, so I'll be able to stream the game on Facebook Live. We start warmups at 3 p.m. local time (8 a.m. San Antonio time). It's time to see who's committed to watching us play bright and early on a Saturday.
Thank you all for following our journey. This has been an amazing and eye-opening experience and we can't wait to continue it the next several days.
#birdsup #UTSAtoEUR
Source: Roadrunners European Tour: Days 4-5
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