European vacation

Most travelers visit Europe in order to see the sights and take in all the culture and diversity. However, the Portland State women’s volleyball team is not your typical set of travelers. For the Vikings, it was all business and skill building. Well… there was a little bit of shopping.

Leaving Portland June 12, the Vikings began a five-country, 11-day tour that included some of the best junior and college-level teams that Eastern Europe has to offer.

The trip was paid for through donations as well as fundraising efforts by the players.

The exhibition games will help the Vikings hone their skills as they hope to make another trip to the NCAA National Tournament.

Starting out in Prague, Czech Republic, the Vikings won their first game against the Czech Junior National Team before dropping the next two. However, they did show flashes of excellence throughout the matches—the same excellence that got the Vikings to the NCAA National Tournament last year.

“They are the best of their country,” said senior setter Nique Fradella of the Czech Junior National Team. “So they were really good.”

Next, the team traveled to Bojnice and Bratislava, Slovakia, where it played the Slovakian Youth National Team. Losing three of the first five, the Vikings evened the score on the second day, grabbing the last victory and splitting the series overall.

“We were slow to start but found our groove towards the end,” said junior defensive specialist Diana Villalpando.

From Slovakia, it was off to Maribor, Slovania, for two matches against the Slovanian Junior National Team. As the games were not officially counted, and the trip was a whirlwind for the players, the team cannot remember the exact win-loss record for the matches against the Slovanian Junior National Team.

Following Slovania, the Vikings traveled to Belgrade, Serbia.

They played the Serbian Vizura Level 1 team—equivalent to a NCAA Division I team—after a long van ride from Maribor to Belgrade. Portland State dropped both matches to the Serbian team, a low acknowledged by multiple Vikings players.

“That was the hardest match because it was after a seven-hour van ride,” said Villalpando. “It was really close but towards the end we couldn’t finish.”

In accordance with the saying that bad things happen in threes, the Vikings endured two unusual mishaps at their hotel in Serbia to accompany their losses.

First, several players and a coach were on their way to dinner when they became trapped in an elevator for roughly 45 minutes until hotel staffers were finally able to free them.

In addition, after dinner some of the Vikings ended up trapped in their hotel room until the next day when a locksmith could let them out.

“Luckily we had an old teammate with us … she could communicate with the [hotel staff],” said Fradella. “It was definitely a bonding experience.”

After being freed, the team packed its bags and headed back to Slovenia once again, where it played Slovenia’s College All-Star Team. Ending on a high note, Portland State won its final two matches of the trip and played some of its best team offense from the course of its time in Europe.

“We went out on a good note in Slovenia,” said Fradella, and then quickly added while laughing, “Despite everything that went wrong in Serbia!”

After all of the matches were played, the Vikings enjoyed some sightseeing in Vienna, Austria, before heading back to Portland.