2000/01 Match Schedule
Date	Home	Away	Venue		W/L	Last year
Wednesday, 11 October	Mixatus		Coudriers		W 3-0	L 1-3
Monday, 23 October		ITU/WTO	CO de Budé		W 3-1
Wednesday, 1 November	Onvoumé		Coudriers		L 1-3	L 1-3
Tuesday, 14 November		CERN 2	CO de la Golette		L 1-3	L 0-3
Wednesday, 22 November	Versoix		Coudriers		W 3-0
Thursday, 7 December		Etoile Genève	Salle de gym Liotard		W 3-2	W 3-2
Wednesday, 17 January	Viry 2		Coudriers		W 3-1	W 3-1
Wednesday, 31 January		Les Plots 2	Cycles des Voirets		L 2-3	L 1-3
Monday, 12 February		Mixatus	Ecole du Seujet		W 3-0	L 0-3
Wednesday, 21 February	ITU/WTO		Coudriers		W 3-0
Thursday, 8 March		Onvoumé	Salle de gym du Lignon		W 3-0	L 1-3
Wednesday, 21 March	CERN 2		Coudriers		W 3-1	W 3-1
Wednesday, 4 April		Versoix	Montfleury		W 3-2
Wednesday, 16 May		Viry 2			W 3-1	W 3-0
Wednesday, 23 May	Etoile Genève		Coudriers		W 3-1	L 2-3
Wednesday, 30 May	Les Plots 2		Coudriers		W 3-0	W 3-2
All games will be played at 20h00. Last year's game summaries are here.

Match Statistics
Games Played	Won	Lost	Sets for	Sets against	Sets +/-	Points for	Points against	Points +/-
16	13	3	43	18	25	1419	1235	+184
For league statistics and standings, check here.

Wednesday, 11 October v. Mixatus
Score: 3-0
MVP: Alison

25-17

25-23

25-19

First of all, let me repeat that score for you: 3-0, that's three to ZERO, count 'em...one, two, three...THREE to zero. We're back and we're bad!
Ok, now that I've got that off my chest, let me just say ... THREE to zero!
Seriously though, what a way to start the season. After finishing last season on a losing streak, it was fantastic to come back with such a decisive win over a team which beat us both times last year. Always a little nervous at the beginning of the game - not to mention the first game of the season - we fell behind in the first half of the first set but evened the score at 12-12. From there on, it was pretty much easy sailing. Good serving, good receptions and good attacking led us to a convincing and encouraging win in the first set.
Somewhat surprised by our own skill, we went into the second set determined not to let the first one be a fluke. And a fluke it most certainly was not. The second set continued pretty much where the first one left off. Dispite a small hiccup toward the end of the set, which allowed Mixatus to catch up, we pulled ahead right at the end to take it by two points.
The third set?  Well, we don't mean to brag but hey, when you're hot, you're hot.
Overall it was a really good game. We went back to the basics, did them well and it payed off. Our serving was spot on (even Alex managed six in a row, as Emmanuel so kindly pointed out), the serve receptions were better than usual, our attacking and blocking were consistent and we really covered the court well, picking up tips in the pool and attacks in the corners. Oh, and by the way, THREE - ZERO!

Monday, 23 October v. ITU/WTO
Score: 3-1
MVP: Arne

25-13

25-18

25-27

25-22

Still on a roll from our last game - which we won THREE to ZERO, by the way!!! - we went into this game feeling pretty good about ourselves but not really knowing what to expect. This was, after all, the first time we were playing against the ITU/WTO team and all we knew was that they used to play in the league above us.

Nevertheless, in the 1st set we got back down to basics and played well. Our serves went in, we took advantage of their weaknesses (which I cannot divulge in case one of them reads this summary) and attacked well.  As for our blocking, well, it was simply superb, even if I say so myself! We jumped off to an early lead and almost managed to limit them to a single-digit score until they had a spate of points near the end (that may have been while we took a time-out, I'm not sure).
The 2nd set was pretty much a continuation of the first. I think that those five extra points they scored in this set were the result of two missed serves and a few "I can see the ball coming and I know it's going to fall short but I just can't reach it" balls.

In the 3rd set we started looking like the team of last year as chaos raised its ugly head. The opponents got off to an early lead and we thought it was all over at something like 15-22 against us. Then, and I don't really know how, we came back and really gave them a hard time of it, eventually taking the set into extra points. As Emmanuel was quick to point out, however, we conceded five points on poor serves and yet we only lost by two points. You do the maths.

The 4th set finally rolled around and, having suffered our first lost set of the year, decided that enough was enough. I haven't got the foggiest idea what happened but the important thing is that we took the set and game. One more on the board.

Wednesday, 1 November v. Onvoumé
Score: 1-3
MVP: Aase

21-25

25-18

13-25

22-25

Uh-oh, our first loss of the season. But it's not really our fault. You see, while we were warming up before the game there was a really bright flash and then the lights went out. When they came back on again, Team ILO had been transported back in time (through a temporal rift that passed through the gym) and we were suddenly the team of last year. Like the great Yogi Berra once said, "It's deja vu all over again!"

To be honest, I don't know what happened. We started playing like a bunch of nervous wrecks. Our serve receptions were pretty poor (although I'm sure Emmanuel would use another word), our blocking was almost non-existent and our serving let us down quite a few times (compared to the first two games of this season). There was also a lot of confusion on the court with balls being called by one player and then another player running in to take it at the last moment and really messing things up.

This having been said, we actually managed to win one set and get into the 20s in two of the others - so I guess we must have done something right. If you add up the scores, there's only a 12 point difference. Also, to be fair, Onvoumé had one or two good attackers and six really good hustlers who refused to let the ball hit the ground on their side of the court.

I think what's most upsetting is that we had played well in the first two games and then simply fell apart in the third. Also, Onvoumé defeated us both times last year - by the same score as this game - and we were really hoping to beat them. Still, like Yogi Berra also said, "It ain't over 'til it's over."

Tuesday, 14 November v. CERN 2
Score: 1-3
MVP: Aase

19-25

25-15

22-25

22-25

Notre chroniqueur sportif habituel ayant déserté son poste pour aller se faire dorer sur les plages californiennes (soi-disant "en mission", hé hé hé...), le compte-rendu du match est aujourd’hui fait par le stagiaire de service.

Le premier set commença de manière assez équilibrée puis le CERN pris l’avantage pour mener 18-8. Le BIT revint à la marque mais l’avantage concédé était trop important et le CERN l’emporta. Lors du deuxième set, l’équipe, qui s’était fait remonter les bretelles par son coach bien aimé, s’appliqua beaucoup plus. De bonnes réceptions, un jeu sérieux, appliqué, des balles récupérées in extremis et de longs échanges, nous permirent de prendre l’avantage dès le début et de conserver une marge rassurante jusqu’à la fin. Troisième set: même équipe mais jeu totalement différent: balles jouées alors qu’elles sortaient, balles non jouées alors qu’elles étaient dedans (vous pouvez pas savoir comme c’est parfois difficile de faire la différence!), plusieurs services de suite dans le filet etc... Rapidement le CERN mena près de 20 à pas grand chose! Le BIT entama alors une remontée assez exceptionnelle pour revenir à 20-20! Mais le set se finit sur le score de 25-22 avec, malheureusement, un dernier point litigieux. Enfin, quatrième set: le CERN prit l’avantage au début mais le BIT revint au score et le set fut disputé jusqu’à la fin.

Au total, on peut dire que nous avons bien joué mais pendant un laps de temps trop court pour pouvoir l’emporter (à moins que nous ayons mal joué pendant trop longtemps?)

Mais si on regarde le score on s’aperçoit que le CERN ne mène que de deux points (90 à 88)! Cela ne vous rappelle pas quelque chose? Moi je dirais que c’est "too close to call"! Le conseiller juridique de l’équipe a d’ailleurs demandé aux commissaires électoraux du comté de Palm Beach de venir recompter les points... On ne sait jamais!

Wednesday, 22 November v. Versoix
Score: 3-0
MVP: Nghia

25-20

25-20

25-22

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? THREE-ZERO! Yeah! That was just the kind of comeback we needed after a few dismal outings the last two times. We had never played against Versoix before so we weren't too sure what to expect but, hey, we laugh in the face of adversity. We boldly go where no team has gone before. Right, team? ..... Hello? ..... Anyone? Ach, never mind, I know they're out there somewhere.

So like I was saying.....what a game. The first thing to mention is the fact that we were all probably about twice the age of the oldest player on the Versoix team. In fact, when I saw them enter the court my first thought was that some of my teammates had brought their kids along. Then I figured that maybe the school bus hadn't found their homes and brought them back to school ("Return to sender....address unknown....." - sorry, a little Elvis there). It was really only once it looked like they weren't leaving that I thought, ok, maybe this is really the team we're playing against. We should've brought lolly-pops.

The 1st set started off in predictable frustrating manner (not least because I had to ref the set). Neither team really dominated until somewhere near the end. For our part we had another bout of "It's Yours-itis" with tips gently falling to the ground between two players who, incidentally, were busy looking at each other rather than the ball. Still, some good attacks and even better hustling gave us the set with a few points to spare. As Emmanuel pointed out at the end of the set, after the lead had changed hands several times, "Man, you guys don't like to do things the easy way, do you?" Uh, no, coach, we don't. If you don't believe us, see our match summaries from last year.

The 2nd set was pretty much the same.

The 3rd set was a real nail-biter. Versoix got off to an early lead thanks to a few good attacks and good court cover. Fortunately we managed to hang in there and even take a convincing 24-17 lead. I know what you're thinking now. With only 1 point left to play, the game was in the bag, right? WRONG! I don't know what came over us - the fear of winning? - but we completely fell to pieces. Our serve receptions were flying off to the far corners of the hall ... our attacks were way out ... our defense was offensive ... shall I go on? Well, no need really because on the next serve we took the set and game. Finally. I think that the situation was perfectly summed up when the final whistle blew Alison thought that Versoix had won the set!

So there you go. Despite making it look hard, we actually won the game in only three sets. You see, we're actually quite good at this, despite all my cynicism. Although there were a few questionable calls from our refs - that is to say, Versoix questioned them, we didn't - it was a good match with plenty of fair play. That having been said, we're going to bring toys with us next time to try to distract them! I understand the new Pokemon doll is pretty cool.....

Thursday, 7 December v. Etoile Genève
Score: 3-2
MVP: Arne and Gerhard

21-25

8-25

25-15

25-23

15-7

This report is from our special correspondent on the scene:

Ladies and gentlemen, tonight the Salle Liotard witnessed one of the greatest moments in sporting history. Having gone down two sets to zero, the ILO staged a comeback the likes of which had never been seen before. Spearheaded by the German contingent and pushed on a fantatic crowd, Team ILO gave the world a glimpse of what it means to be truly great.

As the game started, no one would have thought that this was the beginning of an historic evening. Despite the 21-25 score, it was obvious that Etoile Genève had the upper hand; their good offensive and defensive game was no match for the ILO who simply couldn't their game off the ground, often making the basic mistakes that have become the hallmark of their matches. If the ILO managed to score 21 points, it was due in large measure to Etoile Genève conceding them. Even Lady Luck was on Etoile's side with balls bouncing off the top of the net and falling straight down...into the ILO's court.

The pounding continued for Team ILO in the second set with an 8-25 thrashing. As the set came to an end and both teams retired to their benches, one well-placed source tells us that in the ILO camp they were already discussing the reasons why they had lost this game and what had to be improved - and the third set hadn't even been played yet! 

Taking the court at the beginning of the third - and what the ILO assumed to be the final - set, the mood was rather glum. Then, from the side-lines, came the chant that, almost as if by magic, transformed Team ILO into an unstoppable force: "Only 65, only 65, only 65...". The ILO had to score 65 points to win the game - 25 in the third set, 25 in the fourth and 15 in the fifth. If they could score these 65 points before Etoile Genève, they would walk away with the victory. The question begged, however, what were their chances? Based on the first two sets, not good.

Something had happened, however. Suddenly Team ILO seemed simply incapable of losing. Arne and Gerhard came alive and combined to score the ILO's first 16 points, leaving Etoile Genève wondering what had happened. Whether it was attacking, blocking or receiving, the German contingent could do no wrong. With each point, the crowds grew ever wilder with the chants reducing in number each time: "Only 65...Only 64...Only 63...". Even Lady Luck, who until then had been playing for the home side, began to see the error of her ways and starting blessing the ILO with her good fortune. Now on a roll and not interested in stopping, Team ILO rode the wave forward to a convincing 10 point win in the third set.

Only 40. As the fourth set began Team ILO now only needed 40 points to win the game. Pumped up by their performance in the previous set, the ILO took to the court to continue teaching Etoile Genève a lesson. Although it was not as smooth going as before, strong offensive and defensive play by the ILO paved the way to a 25-23 victory, evening the score to two sets a piece. This meant that the game would go into a fifth and final set, the first the ILO had played since 16 February 2000 and which, as one of fate's little ironies would have it, was also against Etoile Genève. (Click here to see that match report - it was another epic battle!)

They say that those who do not know their history are destined to repeat it. Well Team ILO certainly knew their history this time. Knowing that their last five-set battle resulted in a victory for Etoile Genève, Team ILO was not about to let history repeat itself, particularly after having trailed by two sets and then come back to tie the score. To chants of "Only 15!" Team ILO took an early and commanding lead right from the start of the set with good serves and strong attacks. Despite a momentary glitch during which Etoile Genève scored all of seven points, they never really posed any threat to the indomitable scoring machine that had become Team ILO. Lady Luck once again smiled upon the ILO when one of their attacks hit the top of the net, rolled along almost the entire length of the net and then gently fell into the opponents' court.

So what happened? What was it that transformed this team between the second and third sets? Was it the chanting and the wild crowds? Or was it that Arne took his hands off his hips? No one will ever know and this will likely go down as one of sport's little mysteries. Either way, it was by far the most exciting game that this correspondent has ever seen and one which will take years to surpass.

Wednesday, 17 January v. Viry 2
Score: 3-1
MVP: Alison (with an "Honourable Mention" to PF for his hustling)

15-25

25-23

25-21

25-22

Another game, another win. But it wasn't easy - especially as it was our first game of the new year and we hadn't played in a few months.

The first set was a bit of a disaster. We went down like a rock almost from the start. Our serve receptions let us down, our attacking was pretty weak and our blocking was...wait, what was that word? Blocking? What does that mean? Get the drift?

As for the rest of the game, although we all started to play better and were scoring points, it has to be said that we probably wouldn't have won without Emmanuel's absolutely amazing serves and his powerful attacks (although we're pretty used to his attacking so it just doesn't surprise us anymore). I think that the proof of this is the fact that even with all of the points we scored on his serves and attacks, we still won the second, third and fourth sets by only a few points - and overall Viry scored one point more than us, despite losing the game (ILO: 90; Viry: 91). It obviously helped that the rest of us were now receiving better, getting more attacks in and actually managing to block some of Viry's attacks but...

Wednesday, 31 January v. Les Plots 2
Score: 2-3
MVP: Laszlo (by Presidential and Vice-Presidential decree)

24-26

24-26

25-14

25-14

12-15

Will you look at that scoreline?! It's the US Presidential elections all over again: the ILO scored more points but the victory went to Les Plots.

Excuse me?!

Do you want to hear the worst part of it? We were leading 24-21 at the end of the first two sets - and still managed to lose them. Talk about the 'fear of winning'. 

You CANNOT be serious!

Um, yes, John, I am. (Note from the editor: let's see who picks up the reference here)

But it was a heck of a game. It was exciting and it was frustrating. It had some great plays and it had some not so great plays. Unfortunately there were a few too many of the latter and not enough of the former, particularly in the first two sets. Offensively we suffered because a lot of our server receptions just weren't good enough - and without good serve receptions, it's hard to set up a strong attack. Defensively we suffered from a lot of basic mistakes - like not covering the 'pool', not 'calling the ball' and, again, poor serve receptions. This doesn't meant that we didn't have our moments of brilliance. We did - and you can't take any credit away from them. It's just frustrating that, as we all know, we're all capable of so much more and yet we continue to make these basic mistakes.

The third and fourth sets were much more satisfying, crushing Les Plots by 11 points in each set. It seemed as though we could suddenly do no wrong - especially with Arne at the net chanting "Only 65" to everyone and then counting down with each point we scored. Both Nghia and Arne showed good court awareness by placing a few well placed tips into gaps in Les Plot's defense. Prabhat also contributed with some amazing short-set attacks which must have left craters behind. Alison and Aase were, as always, strong in defense and Laszlo really hustled (yes, Emmanuel, he hustled).

Unfortunately the wave of success came crashing down in the fifth and final set. It's probably safe to say that we were a little tired by this time, having fought back from two sets down. The same players who played the third set also played the fourth and then started the fifth. Les Plots also started putting on a hitting display which we were unable to stop. Before we knew it, we were six points down and in a set of only 15 points, that's a lot. At 9-14 we were finally able to stage a small comeback, narrowing the score to 12-14, but it was too little too late and Les Plots took the set by only three points.

Like I said, though, it was a heck of a game. We could have - and should have - won this game 3-0. These 'come from behind' games are real nail-biters and fun to play but if we could only stop making these basic mistakes, we wouldn't have to put ourselves - and our faithful fans - through this nerve-wracking experience.

Monday, 12 February v. Mixatus
Score: 3-0
MVP: ???

25-18

25-21

25-23

Hey, why have one match summary when you can have two?

First one, from Alison:

"OK here we go. First set - errrrr. Second set - hmmmm Third set - uhhh

Will that do you?

Seriously though..... I remember Nghia's excellent serves in the 1st set. Also mixatus had that horrid knack of just popping the ball over the net into the corner where the left players play (i.e. me!) - I managed to pick up about 3 out of 5 , by sliding very elegantly in on my knees.

Can't remember the scores of each set - we came from behind in the 2nd I think. A lot of good play at the net, - some mega- hustling by Arne and Prabhat. Not too many missed serves. Reasonable bumps although Laszlo did have to run quite a bit to set them properly. Prabhat did a few great block attempts, even though the ball unfortunately went out on their side. Maurice, their Pres/Capt, was still doing his usual annoying back-hand-flip returns (which he has been doing for the last 10 years we've been playing them!) but didn't catch us out too much.

Last set was tight - I think we came from behind again. It's all very vague.

What I DO remember most clearly however were the chocolate brownies afterwards, sitting on the steps outside the hall - in honour of Prabhat's 36th Birthday. Yummy. Lucky we didn't eat them before the match - we would never have been able to jump - heavy to say the least."

Second one, from our Coach:

"En l'absence de notre chroniqueur sportif habituel et grand amateur des Yankees de New York (en passant selon le New York Times, les Yankees de New York vont connaître une année de transition. Les pauvres. Eux qui ont gagné la Série mondiale les trois dernières saisons et quatre fois en cinq ans, on ne peut même pas être sûr au delà de tout doute raisonnable qu'ils vont gagner cette année, même avec Derek Jeter qui vient de signer un misérable contrat de 189 millions $US pour 10 ans et même s'ils ont une masse salariale de 82 000 milliards. Si vous nous demandez notre humble avis, c'est ce qui fait la beauté du sport. Fin de la parenthèse.) et de son stagiaire de service (22-15 aie!! Ca fait mal perdre à Dublin!) le compte-rendu du match vous est offert directement de la Belle Province. 

3-0. Répétons ensemble. Zéro. Nada. Nicht. Veuillez réfléchir à cela en vous étouffant avec votre savoureux café matinal. Allons directement aux faits, si vous le voulez bien, on se connaît assez pour n'avoir plus besoin de préliminaires. Donc, quelles conclusions doit-on tirer de ce match? Que le volleyball ça se joue se gagne et se perd sur le terrain? Qu'un set, ça dure 25 points? Que c'est plus facile de passer en deux et 1/2? Que sans réception, ça attaque pas fort du tout? Mais non mais non mais non mais non. Sornettes, fadaises, billevesées et calembredaines que tout ça. En réalité, il n'y a qu'un message à tirer de ce match. Le sport est ainsi fait: plein de messages, mais il y en a toujours un plus important que les autres. Une leçon de vie, si vous voyez un peu là où nous voulons en venir (et si c'est le cas, considérez-vous chanceux parce que nous, personnellement et honnêtement, sommes plutôt en train de patauger dans le brouillard). Et ce message, c'est: 3 sets, c'est pas assez! Bref, tout ça s'est terminé en queue de cheval, comme disait PF Recoing. Pas de dénouement hollywoodien comme on en retrouve dans les contes de fées si savamment décortiqués jadis par Dr Reinecke. (C'est un truc: toujours accompagner une citation légère d'une évocation lourde, genre PF Recoing et Dr Reinecke, ou Alex Aziz et Konrad Elsener. Ainsi, vous montrez que vous avez un minimum de culture tout en n'étant pas snob au point de méconnaître les us et aboutissants du monde du sport. Essayez, vous verrez, ça fonctionne très fort auprès des foules.) 21h30. Tout est terminée. Carlos a même pas eu le temps de préparer la bière de Mademoiselle Tuxen. Alors chers confrères et chères consoeurs, lors du prochain match, un petit effort svp."

Wednesday, 21 February v. ITU/WTO
Score: 3-0
MVP: Laszlo

25-20

25-15

25-23

Whassuuuuup?!!!

There just isn't anything else to say.

Thursday, 8 March v. Onvoumé
Score: 3-0
MVP: Laszlo

25-19

25-16

25-23

And today's match summary is brought to you by Gerhard Reinecke, the Employment Sector's secret weapon:

"First of all: 3:0! That makes 9! sets won in a row. 

Secondly, we were only 8 players. Had we been on the stock exchange, stocks for such a lean team would have risen immediately. Unfortunately, we had to cut seriously on cheerleaders, trainers and other overheads – Marianne did some cheerleading during the first set, but soon gave up on it. Also, some of us were crying throughout the game because we missed the enlightening presence of Our President. (You'll go far, Gerhard, keep up the good work. Ed.)

But back to volleyball. The first set was really beautiful to look at. Nobody snoring, long balls, locks and hits on both sides: “It’s such a clean game!”, as chief blocker Arne exclaimed. Even better, we also managed to stay in front throughout the set. In the second set, everything was a bit more chaotic, at least in the beginning. I hate to believe that that was because I was playing… The second half was again very nice to look at. We stayed in front most of the time and the result was a clear 25:16 for the ILO team. In the third set, Onvoumé’s resistance was quite weak at first, allowing us an easy lead. But then we started to think about pizzas and salads rather than Volleyballs, and tried seriously to go for a Forth set. We needed two time-outs to wake up again and take the set home."

Wednesday, 21 March v. CERN 2
Score: 3-1
MVP: Definitely not Alex! Actually, it's Alison (who has 12 fingers on one hand! go figure!)

30-28

25-27

25-13

25-18

What a horrible game! We actually dropped a set! Well, that does it, I think we should just give up the rest of the season. Pack it in. Say goodbye. I mean, life just won't be worth living now.

Ok, I'm getting a little complacent about winning. I should stop that.

But it just feels SO GOOD!

So, where to start? The first set was simply nerve wracking. Although I thought we played a pretty good game, our ever inspiring coach told the assembled masses at dinner after the game that we had done "everything possible to lose the set". What does he know? Ok, so we gave CERN a few points by letting their serves fall in, by serving into the net and by generally screwing up here and there. Overall, however, I'd say we played a good game. CERN took a small lead early in the set but was not able to hold on to it for long. The ILO scraped their way back to even the score and from about 17-17 they were neck and neck (no, that's not the same as necking). At 23-24 CERN had the first of many 'balle de set' but thankfully weren't able to follow through and the ILO came back to 24-24. Then at 25-24 the ILO had a chance to take the set ... but couldn't. At 25-26 CERN gave it another go ... and failed. The ILO tried again at 27-26, CERN tried at 27-28 and it wasn't until the we were ahead by 29-28 that we finally managed to seal the win. I don't know how on earth the team managed to keep their cool on the court but it was sheer hell for those of us on the sidelines. Even now, as I sit here writing this summary, I feel like holding my hands over my eyes! As far as I can remember, we've never played a set up to 30 ... and I sincerely hope that we won't have to again for a very long time. Finally, as a point of extreme interest and pride, in winning this set we managed to extend our streak to 10 consecutive winning sets. How cool is that? The only other team that I know of who has done something similar is the New York Yankees who won 14 consecutive World Series games.

So, moving on to the second set ... as Alison so elegantly put it in her match summary above ... hmmmm! The first mistake was moving the Prez from referee to center. Total disaster - both his playing and his hair (as he was so kindly reminded by most of his darling teammates...not!). With his help, CERN got off to an early, commanding lead of about 5,000-1. Ok, maybe it wasn't THAT bad. The Prez dropped four points on serve receptions from the 'CERN player in tight shorts' (sorry, we don't know your name) - although in his defense (gosh, it's good being the Prez AND the web editor...I get to say whatever I want!), he did manage to block the hell out of the same guy while he was in the front court. Nevertheless, the coach had had enough and pulled him out of the game. On came Thierry - although he wasn't wearing a tie so we can't be sure if it really was Thierry or just someone who looked like him - and the ILO was back in the game. After trailing 2-9 (or something like that), the ILO came back to even the score around 14-14 and, just as in the first set, from that point on the two teams were locked in a one-point-at-a-time duel. With some good attacking and excellent defensive play (unfortunately from the Prez's replacement - talk about adding insult to injuring...he not only replaced me but then he went on to play really well!), the ILO took the lead in the closing minutes of the set. With the score standing at 24-23, the Doc came to serve and attempted one of his infamous suicide...I mean 'jumper'...serves which made a bee-line for the back wall of the opposite court and is probably still embedded in it. From there CERN managed to scrape together a few more points and took the set 25-27 ... thus bringing to an end the ILO's run of consecutive winning sets.

In the third and fourth sets the ILO got back into the groove and, without putting too fine a point on it, really slam-dunked CERN. Everything came together like clockwork and the ILO was literally unstoppable in the third set, at one point leading 17-4 (or something ridiculous like that). Alison put her life on the line and continuously managed to position herself in the path of the attacks from 'the guy in tight shorts' (still don't know his name) and was actually able to return some of them. Emmanuel, of course, continued to astound us (throughout the game, not just in this set) with his attacking (will you teach us how to do that?).  Hilary played an excellent defensive game, often picking up difficult second balls. At 20-8 our coach informed us that, at this point, it was mathematically impossible for us to lose the set. Happily, we decided not take up his challenge. The Doc put on an impressive hitting display as he embedded the balls in the opponent's court (rather than the back wall!) and led the team to an easy 25-13 win. The fourth set was more of the same - although admittedly not quite as easy - and Team ILO walked away with its fourth consecutive win.

So there you go and there you have it. Having won the third and fourth sets we're now on a new streak of consecutive winning sets which will hopefully see us break our last streak. The important thing, however, is that we continue having fun.

Wednesday, 4 April v. Versoix
Score: 3-2
MVP: Koni

22-25

21-25

25-15

25-17

15-12

Well this is what happens when you start getting complacent about winning : a team that we crushed 3-0 the last time we met almost brought our egos crashing down to Earth with a tremendous thud. Fortunately we were wearing a parachute and managed to control the landing and keep our egos intact (hee hee hee). I think there's a valuable lesson to be learned here. When the going's good, appreciate it. On the other hand, when the going's great ... you just gotta tell everybody that we won 3-2 after being two sets down and managed to stick it to them!

Ok, now that I've got that off my chest ... where was I? Oh, yes, I was about to tell you how we won. The only problem, however, is that I can't remember. This game was over a month ago so I've got no clue what happened. I remember that the first two sets were pretty dismal and it really didn't look like we were going to pull it off this time. Fortunately Koni stepped up to the challenge and single handedly put on a great attacking and defending display which not only left the rest of us in awe but pretty much mesmerized the opponents. We dismissed the hosts in easy fashion in the third and fourth sets and took the game to a fifth set, for only the second time this season. The last set was neck-to-neck most of the way but, if the score is anything to go by, it looks like we pulled ahead.

Anyhow, if anyone would like to write a proper match summary, feel free to send it to me and I'll replace this one with yours.

Wednesday, 16 May v. Viry
Score:3-1
MVP: Nghia

25-15

17-25

25-15

25-17

Six wins in a row! Can you believe it?!!! Man, we're getting good at this volleyball thingy. Still, it wasn't all easy ...

It started off with all of us watching in awe at Viry's hitting display during warm up (all of us, that is, except Emmanuel who knew better). We started wondering if this was the same team we had beaten 3-1 earlier in the year. It didn't look like it. It seemed that each and every one of their players was pounding the ball into the ground - and that each and every one of our players was going to get hurt!

I don't THINK so! Read on.

The first set started off in worrying fashion. The ILO went down 0-4 before anyone decided that enough was enough and that, hey, here's a thought, let's score some points. Truly a brilliant idea. We scraped our way back to even the score at 5-5 and from there some solid defense at the net and and back court, coupled with some very timid attacking, helped us take a 12-8 lead. Not content with running away with the game (perish the thought that this should be an easy game), we dropped the next four or five points to let Viry back into the game. I don't know if we were all wearing lead weights on our feet or if we all suddenly had a life-threatening aversion to the ball, but it was quite a sight as six people stood around in a circle (hey, let's have a barbie), alternatively watching the ball ... then the others ... then the ball ... then the others, wondering who was going to bump the ball before it hit the ground. The final consensus was the no one should go for it. Anyhow, from there on we pretty much dominated the game. Viry only scored a handful of points after that while we went on to take the set in comfortable manner.

The second set was a joke. Well, the first 16 points were. You see, 15 of the those 16 points belonged to Viry! Can you believe it? We were down 1-15! I don't know, maybe we forgot to take the court after the first set. Maybe we were looking the wrong way. Maybe (and this is a little more than just speculation) we decided to have another barbeque on the court and stood around watching the ball fall to the ground! Whatever happened, it was a first class disaster. However, never ones to let a little 14 point lead get us down (what a bunch of optimists), we felt that we were still in the game and, after a few time-outs and substitutions, we really put our minds to it and started a come back. Having closed to within five points at 17-22 and with beads of sweat starting to roll down the faces of the Viry players, that was, unfortunately, as far as we were going to go. A missed serve, an attack into the net and, you guessed it, another mid-court barbeque and that was all Viry needed to take the set. What we shouldn't lose sight of, however, is the almost amazing come back which were almost staged. As it was, to come back to 17-25 after having been down 1-15 was quite a feat in itself.

The third set and fourth sets were bascially repetitions of the first set except that, if my memory serves me correctly, we didn't let Viry take an early lead in the fourth set. How refreshing. Nghia continued to play at her usual, season-long, excellent standard. Emmanuel played the fourth set and, from about 17-whatever basically won the game for us with attack after attack after attack. Aase also had her fair share of attacks - all in a row and all on the same point. By the end of the point we couldn't tell if she was tired or fed-up.

So what happened to the team which had overwhelmed us with their attacking during warm up? They obviously took off and had a barbie (or fondue) of their own. Like Emmanuel said, we should never be too impressed with a team during warm up because it's an artificial situation in which all the passes to the setter are perfect and so are all the sets. An interesting point - but how does that explain the fact that when we warm up, most of our attacks go into the net?!!! Hmmmm.

Wednesday, 23 May v. Etoile Genève
Score: 3-1
MVP: Alex

25-19

25-17

25-27

25-21

Wednesday, 30 May v. Viry 2
Score: 3-0
MVP: Alex

25-14

26-24

25-18

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!

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