U.S. Games
Team Southern California Defends its Championship Volleyball Title
By Andrea Disario
Team Southern California played their hearts, lungs, kidneys and livers out as they clawed their way to the winning match for the Volleyball Championship title at the National Kidney Foundation 2008 U.S. Transplant Games.
As the defending champions, they faced fierce competition from Teams Mississippi, Northwest, Ohio, Illinois and Philly while battling it out for medal contention. As the competition wore on, Team Southern California’s depth and training prevailed and the team eventually delivered the winning shot in a final match against Team Philadelphia.
Along the way, their journey was marked by tremendous highs and lows. During the match against Team Ohio, an injury sent one of their top scorers, Carol Rewers, to the emergency room. “That killed us,” recalls Holly Miyagawa, the Southern California team captain. “This was Carol’s first time playing volleyball at the Games.” The disappointed and stunned team watched as their teammate left the courts. “We couldn’t get our heads into the game after that,” recalls Holly. Despite this setback, Team Southern California went on to win games against Illinois and Philadelphia. “Philly was definitely the toughest competition,” says Holly. Southern California proved to be unstoppable, spiking, tipping, bump passing and back somersaulting to victory, all the time drawing huge cheers from the spectators.
See photos from the event here.
