June 28, 2013
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — A last minute decision to compete in the Iowa Region USA Volleyball Beach Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa paid off for Hawkeye volleyball teammates and friends Julianne Blomberg and Alessandra Dietz. The duo took home the hardware in the event’s college division, securing a spot to compete in the 2013 USA Beach High Performance Championships in Hermosa Beach, Calif. July 17-21.
“It was really exciting,” said Dietz about the experience. “I mean we hadn’t played together before so we really had no idea how we were going to do or how we were going to stack up against the other girls. We had good team chemistry and it just went well.”
Blomberg, a sophomore outside hitter, and Dietz, a junior middle, will compete in the U21 age division against a projected field of 16 to 24 teams. Pool play begins on Wednesday, July 18, followed by playoffs and finals scheduled on Thursday, July 19.
The pair hopes to use these playing experiences to improve their skills on the indoor court this fall while competing with the Hawkeyes. Both referenced being pushed to improve their ball control and communication skills at the regional event and feel that their development will help them to a successful showing in 2013.
“I think that when you play with two you have to think about shots more and how you can score,” Blomberg said. “Everyone can hit the ball on the court but being able to hit certain spots is important. It will help us have more ball control this season.”
For now though, the focus is on placing at the championships.
“We would really like to place but we just started doing this so we don’t really know how we stack up against anyone else in the nation, but it will be cool to see how we do. I have really high hopes that we will place,” Blomberg said.
Matches will begin at 9 a.m. PST daily and continue until 6 p.m., while finals are scheduled to begin by 4 p.m. A schedule of matches and results can be found on the Advanced Event System’s website, www.advancedeventsystems.com, beginning on Tuesday, July 16.