Green Hill Manor VolleyBlog

Thanks to Mindy...Thanks to All

2009-09-07T11:22:00.002-04:00

Supreme Court wanted to give another shout out to Mindy for another awesome volleyball tournament. We know she worked really hard on every little detail and it showed in how smoothly it all went. She must have some pull with Mother Nature too because we have been blessed with great weather every year (knock on wood).

So many teams who didn't do that well during the season really stepped it up during the tournament. ATS, what kind of carbo-loading did you do Saturday night because you guys played awesome! Longfield and The Other Team also came out swinging and played an intense and exciting semifinal match.

Many thanks to Denfield, The Crusaders, and Southside for practically giving me a nervous breakdown during those intense nail-biter matches. They also had great attitudes which made those games a lot of fun as well. Asmonga, your serve is amazing! (...even without your short-shorts). And, of course, we can't forget everyone on the sidelines cheering and supporting us during that final match. Thank you all, we couldn't have done it without you!

What a fabulous day to spend with friends and what a great birthday present to my Brian! I wish I could've been able to see more of the other games, but the ones I did see were Awesome!

Check back for some pics.

Volleyball Tournament Details

2009-08-24T09:58:00.002-04:00

Volleyball Tournament

All teams are invited to play.

Date: Sunday, September 6
Time: 1:00
Cost: $100 per team
Deadline to register: Sunday, August 30. Cash or check is fine. If you write a check please make it payable to me.
Format: Double elimination

Teams will be seeded according to the regular season standings. If you have any games to make up, please do so by Sunday, August 30 and notify me and Jason Bartolomeo of the results so Jason can update the standings. That will give me next week to do the seeding. If anyone would like to help with the seeding/brackets it is appreciated.

If games are not able to be made up, then the teams involved will need to decide if there should be a forfeit by one team or if the teams will count the match as a tie. Please don't take this too seriously. Remember in the great scheme of things, the volleyball tournament is not all that important.

This year I am scaling things down. We will not have a tournament-wide cookout so there's no need for teams to provide sidedishes/desserts, etc. I am also not getting water bottles for the players or a keg. It will be bring your own everything. We will have grills available so if you want to grill something you will be able to.

I will rent a moon bounce and have a paid attendant. There will not be babysitters as in years past unless a responsible non-player wants to organize a team of sitters. It is too hard for me to manage the babysitters while trying to play in the tournament. If someone is interested, they may be able to ask HS students who are looking for volunteer hours. If no one needs volunteer hours, I should have money left over in the budget to pay some sitters.

I am also looking for responsible HS students who are looking for volunteer hours to be on a clean-up crew. This will include taking the trash to the fire station in a truck, so we will need someone with a truck. Please let me know if you are interested in taking this on....Sten you mentioned you might be?!?!?!?

We will have paid referees again this year.

Odd numbered teams please provide and set-up nets. Even numbered teams, please provide grills and grilling utensils. I will need help with marking the courts so if I could have several volunteers for that, that would be great. Please let me know if you can help and if you have any type of court-marking equipment.

Any money left over from the funds collected will go to the Fire company as a donation from "Greenhill Manor Adult Volleyball League"

I'm looking forward to another great tournament!!

Gang Green Keeps Improving

2009-07-17T10:28:00.008-04:00

Gang Green traveled over to Union Ridge to take on the (formerly) undeafeted team The Core.

While most of Gang Green was ready to play 2 players showed up late. Coach Karen played at Hershey Park all day but managed to make it to volleyball. Gang Green was up in the first game by the time she arrived and they stayed strong and won the first of 4 games.

Gang Green has finally learned to talk and play together which seems to work..... imagine that.

A few Gang Green players seem to have trouble serving inbounds as the out of bounds lines were close to the fence.... but with a little practice they managed to keep some in.

The Core had some great sets and managed to pull off wining 1 game out of 4.

Thank you for hosting and keeping score.

GO Gang Green!!

Battle of the Greens

2009-07-16T09:23:00.001-04:00

No collard greens were hurt in the battle of the greens. The Block Party hosted THEM at the el rancho Nylec this week for some fun volleyball action. The Darth (ok Dark) green Block Party took it to the net and beat upon THEM for the first game of the match. The lime green THEM tried to find a rallying point or motivation, found something, and won the next two games bringing it 2 – 1. The Block Party pulled themselves together and took the 4th game forcing a sun-setting 5th game to decide the match. Another close, very close, game that THEM ended up pulling out and taking the MATCH, 3 games to 2.

Supreme Court VS. The Crusaders

2009-06-23T13:16:00.004-04:00

It's a good thing the days are getting longer because the last time these two teams met, the volley for serve took about 10 minutes. It then took about another half hour to get out of the single digits. Thanks to the new rally scoring rule, it only took about 25 minutes to hit the double digits this time around. Still we decided to play the best of 5 figuring we could smash lightning bugs all over the ball if the games went past 9:00.

The first 2 games were just as intense as we expected: Long drawn-out volleys, dives to the left, dives to the right, grunting, groins tearing, etc. The lead was traded back and forth several times and both games ended with only a few points separating the scores. Yes, it was going to be a long and painful night. The Purple & Gold took the first game, The Cerulean Blues took the second.

With the match tied at 1-1, it was anybody's to win. Just then The Crusaders' secret weapon showed up. Don struts onto the court like an AVP God. With his crotch-high running shorts and peek-a-boo areolas, he was the definition of "Volleyball Stud." His deep sun-kissed tan emphasized by the fishbelly whiteness of his upper thighs. Be still my Tie-Dyed heart!

Truly inspired by The Don's presence, the next game was even more intense. The men were fearless on both sides, weaving in and out of the ropes to keep the ball in play. Amazingly, no decapitations were reported. The volleys got even longer and it was true organized chaos out there. Several times it appeared that each team was doing their own special line dance as the whole team shifts left, then right, then left again. I would have believed it was a line dance if Garth was coming out of the speakers instead of Akon. Supreme Court won that game by a slim margin and only needed one more to finish the night.

Game 4: Exhaustion setting in and The Court just wanted to win this next game and end the misery. 911 on speed dial...IV bags and nebulizers on standby...everyone was ready, everything was set...game on! The Crusaders were not going to just give this one away. With, once again, the score separated by only a few points, the Purple & Gold is back to serve the game point. Oh No! The Ceruleans get the point and the serve...and they start closing the gap!! The Court only needs one point to claim victory. Do they have what it takes? Are they even still seeing straight? Both teams know this next point is huge. The night becomes eerily quiet with the players deeply focused, trying to read the ball and eachother. The only sound: heavy breathing...sweat dripping...and in the distance...Beyonce. Digging deep and laying it all on the line, the game point is scored with a climactic Supreme Court collision leaving both flat on the ground.

Many thanks to The Crusaders for an exciting intense night of volleyball. My "Single Ladies" dance left much to be desired, but thankfully Patti was there...finally someone who will dance to Flo Rida with me.

Lightning strikes THEM

2009-06-07T20:11:00.001-04:00

The Longfield Lightning hosted THEM for a great night of “gnat-ful” volleyball action on Sunday. Lightning controlled the tempo of the matches and took the first 3 for the series. THEM had their first game with subs and there was some getting to know you dance mistakes that lead to a few points for Longfield.

ATS Hosts THEM for first match of both teams

2009-05-21T11:02:00.001-04:00

Two of the “new” teams met up on Lydia Court for some fun “competitive” volleyball. Many smiles were seen and only a few scatalogical references were exclaimed during the games. The games were very close and there were a few rallies greater than 4 times back and forth. Speaking of rallies, the change to rally scoring took a little to get used to. However, after the adjustment, everyone seemed to be getting the hang of it. The "lady hit” rule was another adjustment factor, but everyone survived (for the most part).

Thank you ATS for hosting THEM. Great night of volleyball and the net and standards are the best in the league! I forget the scores, but THEM had to come back in all of the games to get the match.

TEAM	1	2	3
ATS
THEM	W	W	W

It’s Official, the referees made the games go smoother

2008-09-01T00:57:00.001-04:00

The officials in the picture deserve a lot of credit for a great day of volleyball. Heck, they put up with people at least twice their age giving them “pointers” on how to call the game. I for one would like to say thank you to Mindy and the others on the tournament committee for a great tournament and a great season. Hip Hip Hooray! Who ever game up with the idea for officials should get the golden whistle as I think that this helped keep the games fairer, cleaner, and saved a lot of the chatter that has been observed in past games. Feel free to disagree, but to that I say poopie. Congrats to Supreme Court for a well deserved repeat performance.

Here is the capture of the first serve of the tourney after the fun of having a whistle in a game.

Don’t forget to add your action and other shoots to Flickr and the GreenHill Manor VolleyBall pool.

Great Tourney, Mindy!

2008-08-31T23:56:00.002-04:00

Supreme Court just wanted to send out a huge thank you to Mindy for, once again, coordinating an awesome tournament. My sister came out to watch for a relaxing day in the sun and she was so impressed by how organized it was, especially with that many people. All the teams looked great out there. I was able to watch bits and pieces of other games and witness a bunch of fantastic plays in each game I saw, but mostly what I saw was everyone having fun. I really believe there was a lot of luck involved with us ending up with the win. Each game we played could have easily gone the other way because everyone was playing so well. Hats off to Saddle Ridge, The Other Team, and Denfield for giving us such awesome competition and also hats off to all the other teams that we didn't get to play but were so entertaining to watch.

By the way, Kathy and Mark Wal have just the sweetest kids I've ever met. They came over to our tent all by themselves after the final game and congratulated us. I almost started to cry.

Thanks again, Mindy!

P.S. I got a couple good action shots (I think) before my camera died so check back for those.

Updated Standings

2008-08-27T22:17:00.001-04:00

1. Crusaders (11-0)
2. The Other Team (8-2-1)
3. Supreme Court (7-3-1)
4. Southside (7 - 4)
5. Denfield (7 - 4)
6. Saddle Ridge (6-5)
7. Longfield (5-6)
8. The Core (5-6)
9. Inwood (4-7)
10. BOHICA (2-9)
11. Gang Green (0-11)

First round at noon will be:
6 v 11
7 v 10
8 v 9

Still looking for these items for the kids' games:
24 rolls of toilet paper
sticks or wooden dowels
2-4 jump ropes
2 bases
1 softball
2 softball gloves
kickball
basketballs (big and small) for the 4-in-1

PLEASE let me know if you can provide any of these!!!!

Thank you!

2008 Tournament Details

2008-08-26T19:04:00.001-04:00

Final Tournament Details:
Date: Sunday, August 31, 12:00 noon
Location: Adamstown Carnival Grounds

Food:
Each team please bring:
(3) sidedishes
(2) case of juice boxes or kids drinks
(2) desserts
(2) bags of ice
(2-3) bags of chips/snacky items

Supreme Court is bringing all paper products plus buns and rolls.

Hotdogs, Hamburgers and condiments will be provided.

Parking:
Plan to arrive anytime after 11 -- no later than 11:45. Please do not park near the pavilion. After unloading, follow the cones and form two rows. There will be some teenagers to help direct parking.

Tournament Play:
Play for the first round of games will begin at 12:00 noon. When your game is over, the winning team should go to the scorekeeping table to notify the scorekeepers.

As of now the standings are:
1. Crusaders (11-0)
2. The Other Team (8-2-1)
3. Southside (7 - 4)
4. Denfield (7 - 4)
5. Supreme Court (6-3-1)
6. Saddle Ridge (6-4)
7. Longfield (5-6)
8. The Core (5-6)
9. Morland (4-7)
10. Inwood (4-7)
11. BOHICA (2-9)
12. Gang Green (0-11)

This is subject to change -- there is one game left: Supreme Court vs. Saddle Ridge which will be played on Wed.

The first round will be:

6 v 11
7 v 10
8 v 9 Teams

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 have a bye.

Each match will consist of the best of three games to 21 points. The winning team will advance to the next round. The losing team is welcome to play volleyball on the extra courts that will be set up. There will be paid refereess this year.

Kids Activities:
There will be 4-5 babysitters to occupy the kids 3 and up from 12:00 until the cookout starts. There will be a 4-in-1 moon bounce (bouncer, slide, climber and basketball hoop) plus organized kids games. The games will take place from 2 - 4pm for the kids who are too old for the moonbounce (probably 3rd grade and up). Oh, and the ice cream truck is supposed to stop by so be prepared with a few dollars!

I need the following for the kids activities: (please notify me if you can bring them)
24 rolls of toilet paper
sticks or wooden dowels
2-4 jump ropes
2 bases
1 softball
2 softball gloves
kickball
basketballs (big and small) for the 4-in-1

Drinks:
There will be approximately 400 bottled waters available for players. These are not for the kids. They will be in coolers marked "Water for Players." That is approximately 2 - 3 per person so you will probably want to bring some extra. There will also be two kegs of beer -- Heineken and Coors Light. When it's gone it's gone so you might want to BYOB too.

Cookout:
The cookout will start after the final game is over. The grillmasters will be the first 4 teams eliminated.

First Aid:
There will be a First Aid kit at the Scorekeeping Table.

Popped Goes the Ankle and Crusaders Women Rule!

2008-08-14T16:06:00.001-04:00

Location : Somewhere, Adamstown, MD
Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2008

VERY TOUGH first game that Crusaders lost 21-19. John was out by mid game with a popped ankle. Then the Crusaders fought back (in true Crusader form) and won the last two with three women playing as well!

Team	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Crusaders (10-0)	19	21	21
Inwood Spikers	21	something	something

Tadd posting from an e-mail with Patti.

Green Gang Crusaded

2008-08-06T20:13:00.001-04:00

Location : Reges’ Ranchero, Adamstown, MD
Date: Wednesday, August 6, 2008

It can be tough coming up with titles for these things, but, hey it doesn’t pay the bills. The Blue Gang came down to the Green Gang and no one got hurt, at least not permanent like, in the first 2 games. Maybe a rare commentator will post about the 3 game when there were 4 remaining Crusaders.

Less yelling occurred during this game and pork chop was called more random cuts of porcine tissue than normal. Chris “the new guy” is fitting in nicely with the well oiled (or bug sprayed) blue-bies and is already getting adapted to the banter and ranting.

Gang Green was a pleasant host, except for offering the visitors the blaring sun in the first game. Fair enough, they got it in the second game (the sun that is).

Team	Game 1	Game 2
Crusaders	21	21
Gang Green	10	6

Scores again are to my best recollection, and if they are wrong, I think you should blog about it! Yes, I was typing this during a conference call :)

Crazy Crusaders and Madness in the hood

2008-08-05T21:08:00.001-04:00

Location : Lombardi Acreage, Adamstown, MD
Date: Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The hot-ness known as the Madness brought it to the Crusaders for a make up game. Many smiles and cheers from both teams for each team and each other. A few balls where hit out of the park and luckily the dogs were gone.

Team	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4
Crusaders	21	21	for	Mixed
Morland Madness	5	9	fun	up

The most fun was in game 4 when Pork Chop just had to talk trash to his other team mates. Well Patti “the pied piper” had his tune and she played it! Then there was a few shots to the belly, well worth the ball being played when it would have gone out. King Kong B-man only tried to spike out one of the other team and there was lots of talk about the air conditioning being in a bind, or Gen-Aire needing to vent.

Scores again are to my best recollection, and if they are wrong, I think you should blog about it!

Tie-Dyed & Twisted (Part 2)

2008-08-01T12:59:00.004-04:00

Aah...a beautiful muggy Wednesday night with random sprinkles to send the humidity to the top of the charts. Sounds like the perfect night to play the #1 team in the league (great night to have to work, Brian!)

The 10 minute "volley for serve" told us it was going to be a very long night. Our dreams of serving The Crusaders their first loss was not to be. No need to go into details since Tadd already took care of that. All I can say is that The Crusaders were polished hitting machines that night. Apparently all you have to do is wear a blue shirt and carry a Y chromosome and suddenly, nothing but rockets fly off your hand. The double-Xs were doing their share too. Nothing could get through this Smurf Village. Heartbreaking loss...but not that unexpected.

Great volleys, great hits, great blocks...nothing but great clean volleyball. Just the way I like it (except for the loss obviously).

Excellent playing, Crusaders!!

Tie, Dyed and Twisted The way we like to be (Part 1)

2008-07-30T21:21:00.001-04:00

Location : Lombardi Acreage, Adamstown, MD
Date: Wednesday July 30, 2008

Supreme Court visited the new home field of the Crusaders at the Lombardi Acreage of the hamlet of Adamstown. One of the numerous spectators said that this was one of the closest and intense games they had ever seen. Then they had to have their diapers changed and they were talking about a game at the swings, but still they said it!

The scores below are the to the best of my recollection, so if I am wrong, write it yourself pookie. Oops, I digress as always. Supreme Court started off strong and the Crusaders started their intense looking at each other and sweatin to the oldies, nah, just the looking and the sweating and the yelling. Great serves, bumps, sets, spikes, blocks, dinks, and rallies. In all honesty it was a very good match up of teams and it was exciting.

Team	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Crusaders	21	19	21
Supreme Court	17?	21	15?

Yes, the title is not the true part of the song, but maybe it could be. Yes, I know I had the wrong homonym. Now get out there and write, write, write! There was a camera scene on premises so maybe the waved too person will post them pictures on this here Internet thing.

Destroyers and Crusaders Duel (part 1, now with part 2 goodness)

2008-07-24T09:33:00.001-04:00

Location : Price Ranch, Adamstown, MD
Date: Wednesday July 23, 2008

What a night for volleyball. With foreboding weather, scary spikes from above from players and mother nature. It was a great night in terms of some of the best volleyball match up of the season. Very tight match with some excellent volleys, strategizin, hittin, bumpin, slippin, sliddin, gigglin, spikin, and moving. The Destroyers used the emotion of the home court moving (literally as the Price Ranch was being packed up into the moving truck) to their advantage (OK, I exaggerate, but it makes a good story) and took a very closely contested and matched games

Team	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Crusaders	18	21	21
Destroyers	21	19	17

Game 2 and 3 were played at the Lombardi Estate on Monday 08/18/2008 and were 2 very competitive games. There were many guys wanting to wear the Misty May outfit, thank goodness they didn’t. JTB (as in John The Bartender) made sure that their were appropriate amounts of distilled beverages. One knee was tweaked, no blood observed, a few bruised egos or pouts (from both teams).

Great hits, Bad Hits, Tremendous Serves followed by not so good serves, spikes, bumps, digs, grunts, cussing (under breath for sure), smiles, frowns. It was a Ying-Yang kinda night.

No Wang Chung tonight.

Southside Surprise

2008-07-16T23:25:00.004-04:00

If a team with only one win were to play a team with only one loss, it seems pretty clear who the odds would favor. The odd thing about odds though is that they are sometime wrong. Especially when one team plays very well and The Other Team plays like crap.

And so it went on Bernota Field (Bankey Field had the night off). The Other Team blew a 15-10 lead to lose to the persistent visitors from the South. Problems continued to plague The Other Team in Game 2, including the inability to serve worth a damn, which has been something of a theme this season. Despite coming from behind to take a 20-18 lead The Other Team in black managed to lose again. Game, set, match to Southside.

Battle of the Undefeated Teams

2008-07-10T22:50:00.001-04:00

On the day before Independence Day, the Other Team and the Crusaders met for a battle of the undefeated. ESPN was notified, but, declined as they were busy or something. This blogger was on a beach somewhere but heard that the Other Team handed the Crusaders their first loss of a game this season. Wow, ESPN should have shown up! Well, at the end of the evening, there was only one team left in the league with an undefeated record. Crusaders rallied or drove or some other over used sports term of your choice to take the next 2 games and the match. Pictures and comments to come I am sure, not to sure, but kinda sorta. I am sorry I missed the match as I am sure that there was some great volleyball.

Crusaders rain on the Lightning

2008-07-10T22:41:00.001-04:00

The Crusaders visited Longfield Lightning on July 9th for some rather intense thunderstorm activity of volleyball. The first game of the match was fairly well in hand for the Lightning with a fairly substantial lead in the double digits or so. I guess I need to take notes next time as I forgot the score at the time of the Crusaders march to take back the lead and then the game. The second game of the match was fairly close at times and the Lightning had some bolts from above crashing down on the Crusaders. Again there was some score involved with a few numbers and back and forth hitting stuff. In the end, PorkChop served an Ace for the game and match winner. No major injuries, some blood, but not enough for any transfusions.

Crusaders carry away Southside in 2 close games to take the match

2008-06-26T15:17:00.001-04:00

Location : Price Ranch, Adamstown, MD
Date: Wednesday June 25, 2008

Crusader’s host Southside for some intense volleyball action. I am not feeling too eloquent at the moment, however, I will try to summarize the volleyball events that took place this week at the Price Ranch of Adamstown. There were quite a few extended volleys between the teams, most of these involved the volleyball. Elvis for Southside was cooler than that Elvis Presley dude and played some top notch volleyball. No injuries, but an oozing hoagie was seen near the field.

Southside took off early and stunned the Crusaders. Quite a few great serves, bumps, sets, digs and spikes were needed by both teams to keep the games very close. Crusaders took the first 2 games to win the match to bring their record to 4-0 and make the target on their heads that much bigger.

	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Crusaders	Won	Won	Not played
Southside

The Core, But For a Few Points More

2008-06-25T22:27:00.002-04:00

In the five years of this volleyball league, there have been some close matches, and tonight's contest on Haddington Court was one of them. The Core got off to a fast start and an early lead in Game 1. The Other Team fought their way back and tied the game at 20, and at 21, and at 22, and at 23. The Core would not be denied however, and won the game 25-23.

Down to only five players in Game 2, and with the sun in their eyes, The Core got behind early. They were not ready to give up and chipped away at The Other Team's lead to tie the game in the upper teens. The Black Knight's barely managed to avoid their first loss of the season, and squeaked out a narrow victory in Game 2.

The sun was already touching the mountains at the start of Game 3. The Other Team's case of badservitis continued, but despite this they kept a small lead through most of the game, and in the end, won the night.

Supreme Court is DESTROYED!

2008-06-12T00:27:00.002-04:00

(I know this is 2 weeks late...but what the hell, right? Andy wanted more blogs and there was no way I was gonna compete with him recapping the same game that we had tonight. So my only other choice was to recap our May 28th game.)

Well the long-awaited season opener maybe should have been "awaited" a little longer as the defending champions of Supreme Court were quickly humbled by the mighty Denfield Destroyers.

Spirits were high early on, for they have been waiting 9 months to get back on the court. This is the 1st time in 3 years that Supreme Court has hosted the Destroyers and they were excited with the opportunity of showing some "Happenin' Hippie Hospitality." Spirits soon began to mellow when they found themselves with only 3 guys. Oh well, time for some Girl Power!

Game 1 started out okay with some great volleys and incredible digs from both sides of the net. However, before they knew it, the Court found themselves trying to climb out of a 10-20 hole. They kept telling themselves they've been in this situation before. The pep talk must have lit some kind of fire because they went on a 10 point spree and tied it up at 20. It was then decided to extend a little more hospitality and let the Destroyers win the 1st game (yeah right...you know Mark's like 8 feet tall, right?). Those Double D's didn't need anything given to them. They snatched that win with no questions asked: 22-20.

Time for a well-needed break. A couple beers will loosen the legs. WHAT!! No one brought any beer?! Oh, this night was going downhill fast and no one brought any skis either.

The 2nd game flipped a little and it was the Tyrants in Tie-Dye that took the lead. Just trying to win this game and have a chance with the 3rd, tie-dyed shirts were flying everywhere (with the bodies still in them, of course...let's not get nuts now.) Hendrix would have been proud. That side of the court was nothing but a Gold & Purple Haze. Alas, sometimes you can try too hard. The Destroyers took the lead back...AGAIN...and won it 21-19.

So the fallen champions of Supreme Court learned 2 valuable lessons that night. #1: last year and this year are 2 totally different ballgames, and #2: NEVER FORGET THE BEER!!

What Will Be, Will Be.

Awesome game, Denfield!!

Tie-Die Ties The Other Team

2008-06-11T22:45:00.005-04:00

The Other Team was looking resplendent in their new black shirts (thanks, Hope!) as the Supreme Court descended from the Ridge . Perhaps The Other Team should have paid less attention to how good they looked in their new shirts and more attention to the game, because they quickly got behind in Game 1. Supreme Court easily handled the best the OT could dish out, and seemed to be headed to a certain victory with a 16-11 lead. Somehow, The Other Team clawed their way back and manged to win the game 22-20.

It was already getting dark as Game 2 got underway. It started out much like Game 1 with the terrors in tie-die taking an early lead, and fighting back any small rally the Men (and Women) in Black could muster. The Supreme Court Ladies Auxiliary would not be intimidated when a certain Other Teamer did a bit of slamming right in their faces. The battle raged on as the sun went behind the mountains, but The Other Team did not quite have it in them to pull another come-from-behind. Victory to Supreme Court, 21-19.

The sky was nearly as dark as the The Other Teams lovely new shirts as the rivals set out to play Game 3 to 15 points. No point was easily given, and by the time it was 10-10 it was so dark that the certain Other Teamer from Game 2 could no longer accurately aim his spikes at the women, so it was decided to call it a night, and to call it a draw.

Stopping the Madness

2008-06-04T22:04:00.004-04:00

Dark clouds swept through the Morland Drive North sky, as the Mightly Morland Madness played host to The Other Team. This was the Other Team's debut, and as such there were many questions to answer. Could they overcome their antagonistic history? Could they play as a team? Would they be distracted by volleyball detritus and rainbows?

Game 1 started out tied at zero-zero, as so often is the case. The Other Team pulled out to an early lead, but Morland fought back and kept it close. Then the rains came. As the players got soggy, the game stayed close, and very few points were easily given up. In the end, Morland could not overcome the best game The Other Team ever played.

Game 2 was an even closer match and The Other Team and the other team exchanged the lead many times. Though the final score favored the visitors, it could have easily gone the other way. What is important is that good ~~competitive~~ volleyball and socializing were enjoyed by both teams

Thank you, Andy!

2007-08-20T18:06:00.000-04:00

We all owe a great big thank you to the unsung hero of the 2007 GHM volleyball season: “The Blogger.” Andy, thank you so much for setting up such an awesome web site. The photos, schedule and standings alone have been terrific, but your blog is just over the top. It’s really too bad that more people didn’t jump in and blog, but admit it, you set a very high standard – very few people can write as well and with as much humor as you do. You have a gift for deflecting potential controversy or hurt feelings with your oh-so-very-subtle jabs – like pointing out that your team beat ours not only in this tournament but in last year’s too. But we’re complimented to be the only team singled out in your tournament blog, because hey, it IS a big deal to beat us!

I think most of us have thoroughly enjoyed reading about the Jesters’ journey each week, so thank you for all your hard work and for not being afraid to step out and blog!

Thank You, Mindy!!...Part II

2007-08-20T16:34:00.000-04:00

From everyone here at Supreme Court, a massive Thank You to you, Mindy! I'm sure we only know of a fraction of the time and effort you put into organizing everything, but what we are sure of, is that no one could have done a better job than you. The weather was wonderful, the games were exciting, and the whole day was a total blast! I'd also like to say how awesome and supportive the other teams were. We received so many great comments from many players of other teams that I was just beaming the entire day. Win or lose, the support from our friends and neighbors is what mattered the most and I will never forget that feeling. So once again, a huge thank you to Mindy and to everyone that helped make the tournament run as good and as smooth as it did. Also, a huge thank you to every team that was there. We had fun and friendly games with every team we played. There were no easy games for us. The competition was amazing and I think every one of our games was close. But those are the games that are the most fun and I wouldn't want it any other way. So thanks again and I hope to see everyone at the mixer (if we don't get rained out).

Jesters Get Knocked Down, Get Up Again

2007-08-20T08:16:00.000-04:00

Despite finishing near the bottom of the pack in the regular season, the Jesters arrived in downtown Adamstown with dreams of golden volleyballs floating in their heads. By the time Denfield was beating us 13-0 in the first game, however, it was time to wake up.

Yes, the Jester's started off very slowly, and barely managed to avoid being shut-out by the returning champs. It was less a matter of Denfield's returning alumni, and more about the slow start syndrome that has plagued the Jesters all year long.

From here I can't tell you exactly what happened. Knowing that I am getting forgetful in my old age, I actually took notes on the Jester's journey through the tournament. Unfortunately, I can't remember where I put those notes.

Alas.

I do know that we won some and lost some in the first round. We won our first two games in the second round, including finally defeating our cross-fence rivals, Union Army, whom we have not beaten since last year's tournament. We then blew a late game lead in game three to get defeated in overtime by the Saddle Ridge Slammers. I also know that Southside kicked our southsides in the next game, then it was time for burgers and beer.

So, despite the fact that we didn't win the Golden Volleyball for the fourth time, there was still joy in Jesterville thanks to a well planned and well executed tournament. There are a bunch of pictures up on the GHM VB photo pool that capture the fun of the day. Anyone else who has some shots (and I saw a bunch of people with cameras), please add your photos to the pool.

I can't say what will become of the Jesters in 2008. To all the many teams that beat us this season, and to the few teams that we actually managed to beat, thanks for a great 2007!

Tournament Props

2007-08-19T16:01:00.000-04:00

It was a long day, but another successful volleyball tournament was had. We couldn’t have asked for nicer weather this year!

Thank you to all the teams who participated in this year’s tournament and CONGRATULATIONS to Supreme Court for winning the Golden Volleyball. Your team played great and you deserved it!

A big thank you to everyone who helped make the tournament a success. From the planning committee – Doug Barlow, Dawn Beall, Kathy & Brian Hohl and Kathy Reges to the numerous people who stayed and helped clean up – Santo DeLuca, Kathy Reges, Michelle & Perry Perret, Dave Willis, Mike Larkin, Dave & Robin Rezash and many more than I can remember (sorry!) to everyone in between, it was appreciated! Thanks to everyone who brought a net & helped set it up and the people who brought the grills. Thank you to Perry Perret and Doug Barlow for heading up the set-up team. Thank you to Michelle Perret for being the official keeper o’ the stats. Thank you to Brian Hohl for providing the bracket template and to Mark Bankey for drawing it up. Thank you to all the people who went on an ice run for me and to Howard Souder for getting the keg. Thanks to Chad Bernota & Bonnie Monninger for providing the parking cones and to Kevin Abernathy for helping with the parking. Thanks to all the Grillmasters including the men of Goldenwood Social Club – you spent a lot of time manning the grills and everyone appreciated that. Thank you to Dave & Robin Rezash for taking the time and providing an official volleyball playlist on their ipod! A HUGE thank you to Kathy Reges who did SO much behind the scenes work beforehand (grocery shopping, storing the food and water) and at the tournament (organizing the potluck and SO much more). The tournament couldn’t have taken place without the help of all of you, and I thank you VERY much.

Next year’s tournament will take place on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Plan your vacations accordingly!

Thank you, Mindy!

2007-08-19T12:45:00.000-04:00

If there were a “Has Done The Most for GHM” award, it certainly would go to you, Mindy. THANK YOU so much for taking the initiative to set up this league. Everyone who has been part of it – adults and kids alike – has benefited from having a neighborhood party every week. And a little exercise too. You make what you do look so effortless, but we all know there’s a lot of planning that goes into it, and we appreciate YOU!

Supreme Court VS Southside

2007-08-11T14:05:00.000-04:00

With the weather finally cooperating, Supreme Court invited Southside over last night for their second rescheduled make-up. They won the volley for serve and kicked off the first game with plenty of sets, spikes, and blocks. The volleys were long and exhausting. In no time Southside was leading 16-9. It didn't seem like it was going to happen, but the Purple & Gold managed to come back to win it 21-"something close" for the first game.

The second game had the Tie-Dyers even more nervous. Southside's men were big and blocking everything, the spikes found every hole in The Court's defense, and they were digging everything that came their way. They soared ahead to a 20-10 lead. Luckily, the Purple & Gold managed to get the serve back before the South earned their final point. Little by little they chipped away at the point gap. Each team went through their full rotation before the score evened out at 20-20. The Tie-Dyers didn't know how long they could hold off Southside's final point, but at least now, 2 points were needed for either team to win. Those 2 points were earned and the Purple & Gold eked out a 22-20 win.

With the sun long set and donning fully-sweat-soaked shirts, both teams decided to call it a night and pass on an unofficial third game. Awesome games, Southside! You definitely delivered some really fierce competition.

Jesters Play Like Twosies

2007-08-08T21:56:00.000-04:00

Jesters lose again. This time to Morland Madness in two games. That's all I have to say.

WHAT ?!?

2007-08-06T14:42:00.000-04:00

The Inwood Spikers defeated the Saddle Ridge Slammers this past Thurs. 8/2. The Spikers used the "Old-Jedi-Master" power of persuassion and mesmerized them with their "Haloweenie colored" Orange/ Black Tee's to convince the Slammers that they were too tired from their previous Wed. nite match.

Jesters Make It Interesting

2007-07-25T22:16:00.000-04:00

Turn back the clock 11 months. The mighty Jesters of Haddington Court dominate the first round of the tournament, and are nearly unstoppable. They survive the quarter-final round, and only have 1 team to get past to make it to the championship game. That team was the Saddle Ridge Slammers. It was a hard fought match, but the Jester's season ended that fateful Saturday across the net from the mighty Slammers.

Tonight was rematch time.

Game 1 was a good battle up until the point it was 8-8. The Slammers went on a bit of run then, and the Jesters never caught up. The Slammers took the game 21-13, Big Yellow tried not to think of last August.

The Jesters were not ready to die just yet, however. Game 2 was a battle of the ages, and the Jesters held off a late game rally to win the contest 21-13.

Bring on Game 3 - The Decider. Now the Jesters were ready to die. Saddle Ridge rode out to an early lead of 5-0, and the Jesters did not have it in them to even get to 13 before the game was over. Final score Slammers 21, Jesters 11.

Like beer, revenge is best served cold, so perhaps these two teams will meet again in August and the Jesters will have another chance.

We'll be ready for you, Slammers. Unless we're not.

Tournament is August 18

2007-07-25T15:16:00.000-04:00

I just want to make it clear that the Tournament is August 18, NOT August 11.

2007 Tournament Details

2007-07-23T22:27:00.000-04:00

This year's committee members are: Doug Barlow, Dawn Beall, Brian & Kathy Hohl & Kathy Reges.

The format of this year's tournament will be a Round Robin for 5 games to 15 points each. We will not keep track of the number of points like last year, but keep track of wins/losses instead to seed the teams.

We will have a Double-Elimination Tournament for the second part of the day. Each game will be one game to 21 points.

We will have a cookout at the end of the final game.

The cost of the tournament is $100 per team. This will pay for hotdogs, hamburgers, rolls/buns, condiments, water, moon bounce, sno-cone machine, babysitters, 1 keg of beer. Kathy Hohl will be the treasurer. Please get your money (in cash) to her by Sunday, August 5. She can be reached at: katra343@yahoo.com, 301-874-5984 or 5920 Union Ridge Court.

Tournament Schedule:
12:00 - 2:30 -- Round Robin Tournament
2:30 - 3:00 -- Snack Break
3:00 - 5:30 -- Double Elimination Tournament
5:30 - ?? -- Potluck Cookout

The tournament will be held at the Fairground again....UNLESS it rains on August 11. If that is the case, the firehouse needs the fairgrounds on August 18 and we will need to find another location.

We will need each team to bring either a net or grill. If your team is an even number on the this year's schedule, please bring a net and if you are an odd numbered team, please bring a grill.

Food:
Teams 1, 2, 3, 4 -- Sidedishes
Teams 5, 6, 7, 8 -- Desserts
Teams 9, 10, 11, 12 -- Chips/Snacks
Teams 13, 14, 15 -- Paper products -- plates, napkins, utensils

The first 4 teams eliminated will be the "Grill Masters". The next 2 teams eliminated will be line judges for the final games.

Next year we are most likely changing the date of the tournament to either Saturday or Sunday of Labor Day Weekend.

The Core Vs. Inwood Spikers

2007-07-20T09:17:00.000-04:00

The "Mighty Apple" Core dueled it out with the Inwood Spikers in a battle of the UN-un-beatables last week. Both teams played to a hard fought match LOSS. This has never been done before in the history of the league. The Guiness Book of World Records is investigating while both teams have switched to sipping Guiness'es. OWL did not crash thru any fences for the second week in a row...

Jesta Fiesta

2007-07-18T23:00:00.001-04:00

Greetings again from BloggerWife (premier Blogger is absent for another out of town meeting). This evening the Court Jesters and The Outsiders met for some eating and drinking and volleyball (oh my). A wonderful spread of Mexican style foods and drinks was provided by members of both teams for a scrumptious Dinner/Happy Hour before the game. Many thanks to all who contributed!

This, however, left the Jesters sloshy and slothful for Game 1, which was won handily by the visiting Outsiders. In Game 2, the rice and beans must have started to wear off (and scare the foe), because life returned and Jesters won. Game 3 was well-matched, and a fair fight (if you don't count one unnamed Jester coach spiking on a girl!), eventually going to the Jesters. For full disclosure, it should be said that Unnamed Coach did remove himself from play after shameful behavior, and girl player was OK.

So thanks, Outsiders... lots of fun was had by all... (Jesters with a quite rare win)... a great evening for volleyball... (Outsiders: we'll always let you in!)

Tournament Planning Meeting

2007-07-17T07:19:00.000-04:00

If you're interested in helping plan or putting your 2 cents in about the tournament, plan to meet at my house on Monday, July 23 at 7pm. We'll discuss the format and make other decisions pertaining to the tournament. Children are welcome. Call or e-mail me with any questions. Thanks, Mindy

Gang Green Wins Again

2007-07-12T18:22:00.000-04:00

Last night Gang Green traveled up the street to Morland Drive South to take on Southside. After we warmed up; we got down to playing.Gang Green worked together and it showed because the first game went to Gang Green. With only a 2 minute beer break we went back to playing. After some good serves and a little spiking Southside pulled ahead and took the win. Gang Green stuck together, played hard and came out strong in the 3rd and final game. Ahead 12-0 we lost the serve and allowed Southside to score a point or two. Gang Green won 21-2.

Supreme Court VS The Undefeated Slammers

2007-07-12T12:14:00.000-04:00

(OK, OK, Andy, calm down! This is my first time writing one of these, so please, be gentle)

Supreme Court (a.k.a. The Tie-Dye Team), not wanting to expend all their energy before the game, drove all the way to Underwood Court to face the mighty, undefeated, #1 Saddle Ridge Slammers. They knew they needed every ounce of energy, and then some, to keep up with the fierce competitors of Saddle Ridge. Many Tie-Dyers had spent the day doing their best Native American raindance hoping the game might be postponed. No such luck. With one player still recovering from knee surgery, another held hostage at work, and a babysitting issue, none of them would of lost any sleep if the game had to be rescheduled. However, the babysitting worked out, a sub was called in, and the injured came to cheer them on.

Team Tie-Dye knew they were in for a tough night and were not disappointed. The Slammers put on a great demonstration of why they're sitting in the top spot. The 1st game was a slow one, with the lead being traded back and forth across the net. Supreme Court got out ahead and managed to take the very hard-won 1st game: 21-16.

The 2nd game was a little different, okay a lot different. The Slammers spiked ahead to a 5-1 lead in no time at all. Supreme Court almost caught them at 4-5 (I said "almost"). The next thing they knew one of the She-Slammers served up 7 straight points, bringing it to 12-5. The Purple & Gold kept coming close, but no cigar. The Slammers took the 2nd game: 21-16. Deja vu! The hippies of Supreme Court finally realized what the problem was. They were dehydrated! More beer was ordered and rehydration was completed just in time.

The 3rd game began against the backdrop of a stunning purple and pink sunset (people who wear tie-dye love this kind of nature stuff). A few drops of rain were thought to be felt, but it could have been someone else's sweat flying, 'cause it was hot. Damn hot! And these games were damn long! The Supreme Court sub had to run off to work and their post-op IR player stepped up to fill the open slot. Saddle Ridge surged ahead again to an 11-1 lead. This didn't look good for the Purple & Gold. But they managed a point. "Hey we just doubled our score!" The score was now 2-11. They were getting closer. Then 14-18. Even closer! Then a She-Hippie gets up to serve and calls "15-18." She decides to answer the 7 point run the She-Slammer had in the 2nd game. Serving 6 straight points, Supreme Court takes the game 21-18. It just goes to show you...it's all about the WOMEN!!

After some friendly chatting Team Tie-Dye drove all the way back their Supreme Court with barely enough energy to get out of the car and walk up the front steps. Awesome game, Saddle Ridge! You Rock!!

BOHICA Squeaka' By

2007-07-12T08:39:00.000-04:00

The Jester caravan journeyed to the Field of Dreams to take on BOHICA. The corn was higher than the net as the two teams met, and game 1 got under way. The Bohicans got out ahead of the Jesters, and looked to have the game sewn up with a 20-14 lead. The Jesters just would not die however, and clawed back to a 21-20 lead. Now it was BOHICA's turn to come from behind and win the game 24-22.

In game 2, it was the Jesters who got out to the early lead, and despite some good runs by BOHICA, it was the Jesters who took the victory lap around the beer coolers for game 2.

Then came game 3 - the decider. Maybe it was the humidity, or perhaps the humility of too many bad serves, but the Yellow Machine never got into a groove, and BOHICA took the game and the night. Good work, BOHICA!

..

Lets Hear From Some Other Teams

2007-07-11T14:41:00.000-04:00

Looking at this blog one might think that there is only 1 game each week. Sure, it is super fantastic to hear about the ongoing plight of the Jesters, but I think we'd all like to hear about some of the other teams too.

For example, this week the #1 Slammers take on #2 Supreme Court. That should be interesting. Inwood vs The Core - somebody has to win, right? Denfield vs. Morland should be good since the teams played united at the Shooter Tournament on Saturday, and now know each others secrets.

So how bout it, guys! Write some friggin posts. Anyone can do it - if you are not an author now, just comment and I'll set you up as an author.

..

Battle of the Courts

2007-07-06T10:27:00.000-04:00

The more highly concentrated Supreme Court came down from their lofty lane for a surprise, last-minute match against the only team that blogs, the intrepid Haddington Court Jesters. The Jesters took an early lead in Game 1, racing out ahead to a 1-0 advantage. The Terrors in Tie-Die managed to overcome this 1 point hurdle, and squeaked by to a 21-7 victory.

Rain began to fall in game 2, but both teams were not deterred. A close match with many long and skillful volleys was finally completed by an amazing under the ropes slide save by Jester Tadd, hence forth referred to as Slide. The Jesters evened the match at 1-1.

The setting sun broke through the clouds as Game 3 got underway. The sun was not the only thing setting, as both teams played like they knew what they were doing. Supreme Court proved true to their name, won game 3, and showed they are a team to be reckoned with, despite their shirts.

Jesters Go Down in the South

2007-06-27T21:40:00.001-04:00

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Bloggerwife. I have been assigned the task of giving tonight's game update while Andy is out of town, so here goes.

The Jesters made their way to Southside and showed up ready to go, except for the fact that there were only 3 guys and one of them with stomach flu. But instead of going down 10-0 in the first game, they actually managed to keep it close for about 4 points until they lost 21-8. Apparently, the Southerners were better able to stand the heat and humidity of the evening.

In game 2, the Jesters rebounded to take the game, even though Commissioner Bankey got smacked around a few times. Game 3 was a well fought fight on both sides, eventually going to the South for the win.

Owl v. Fence

2007-06-23T22:35:00.001-04:00

Yeah, there was a game between the Jesters and the Orange Team (Titans of Tang? that's not right - oh yeah, Inwood Spikers) The games were close, one team won, one team lost. Many players from both sides hung out afterwards, which really is the point of this league, right?

None of that matters though. The most memorable thing happened when someone with the unlikely name of Owl went to retreive a ball that had gone over the fence into a neighbor's yard. I won't say which neighbor, but here is a hint: 2000 presidential election ballot controversy in Florida. Anyway, this Owl came nowhere close to clearing the fence. Really, it was quite unfortunate. CRASH! Owl is OK. Fence, not so much. That's what you get for being out of town, Chad.

Owl blamed the slope of the yards. The fact that there was a gate not more than 8 feet from where Owl met the fence makes this even more funny. Fly, Owl, Fly.

Battle for the Basement

2007-06-16T12:20:00.000-04:00

The stage was set. The two remaining winless teams met up on Haddington Drive to determine who would finally get a "W". The 0-3 Jesters made the short trip to the home field of the 0-2 Core. Fans from as far away as Denfield came to cheer on the combatants.

In a change from the previous three games, the Jesters decided not to start out the first game by going down 0-10. This excellent bit of coaching strategy paid off, and the Yellow Warriors managed to win a closely contested first game. Both Jester fans went wild.

Game 2 was another close one, with excellent bumping and passing being displayed on both sides of the net. In the end, the Jesters managed to survive several Core rallies, won the game and the match.

Game 3 was just for fun, and was eventually called on account of darkness. Final score 83-83.

The Jesters travelled back to the Court to celebrate with a bonfire and some pizzas. Unfortunately, Luke's Pizza did such a terrible job of delivering said pizzas in anything resembling a reasonable amount of time that they will never be the official pizza of Jester Volleyball. So there!

Jesters Three-Peat

2007-06-07T07:24:00.000-04:00

To Recap
Week 1: Jesters get down 10-0 in first game, second game is close, lose the night
Week 2: Jesters get down 10-0 in first game, second game is close, lose the night

Two time league champion Denfield Destroyers made the short trip to Haddington Ct to take on the Court Jesters. The Jesters wanted to avoid the slow starts that have plagued them so far this season, and won the volley for serve. That is when things took a turn for the worse. The first serve of the game went into the brand new net and sent the brand new net into the ground. Things did not improve in Game 1 for the Jesters, and Denfield cruised to a 10-0 lead and enjoyed an easy victory.

The Destroyers did not enjoy the second game as much. The Yellow Warriors (yellow is the new red) got out to an early lead that DD could not quite recover from. After the Jesters victory, cheers could be heard from as far away as Bernota field where the Saddle Ridge Slammers were doing some destroying of their own (though I am told these two teams hold no ill will for each other despite what may have happened in last year's championship).

Denfield recovered in Game 3 and took the match 2-1. This preserved both teams' current streaks. A friendly fourth game followed where the Jesters employed some skills and techniques that would have been more effective had they occurred in Game 1 or Game 3. But this game was just for fun, so I won't mention that the Jesters won.

Here are some pictures that show that women can serve more than just dinner:

See more pictures in the Green Hill Manor Volleyball photostream on Flickr, and while you are there, add some of your own.

Jester's Streak Continues

2007-05-30T22:37:00.000-04:00

The Haddington Court Jesters travelled to Morland Drive to take on ~~Morland Madness~~ Gang Green. Just like last week, the Jesters played with 3 men and 3 women because of equal rights and because no other men showed up. Also, just like last week, they got down in the first game 10-0. Gang ~~Grey~~ Green easily won the game 21-10.

With the sun at their backs in game 2, the Jesters took an early lead. Gang Green caught up, and there were many lead changes and ties before the eventual outcome which I won't mention.

Big Yellow turned things around in the third game, despite the fact that it did not matter. So it goes.

Haddington Court Heartbreak

2007-05-24T09:00:00.001-04:00

Looking resplendent in their new black shirts, Goldenwood Social Club started off their 2007 volleyball season last night at 7:00 at Bankey Field. Unfortunately, their opponents, The Court Jesters, didn't kick off their season until about 7:05 and by that point were already down 10-0. The Jesters managed to close the gap a bit, but never really threatened the Club and lost 21-12ish.

After some liquid refreshment, The Jesters, now playing with 3 women, took an early lead in game 2, and though the team in black stayed close, the heroes of Haddington Court won the game to the delight of the crowd.

It all came down to game 3, as it usually does when these long time rivals meet. As the sun set behind the mountain, a Social Club late game rally was enough to end the Jester's unbeaten season. Final score: Social Club 21 - Jesters 17. The Yellow warriors were distraught at the loss, but some more liquid refreshment and everything was right again with the world.

Schedule Posted

2007-04-25T14:16:00.000-04:00

The schedule for the 2007 season has just been posted at: http://www.greenhillmanorvolleyball.com/schedule.html

Opening day is less than a month away, so it is officially time to get excited.

New Site Launching Soon

2007-04-09T11:58:00.000-04:00

The official home page of the Green Hill Manor Adult VolleyBall league will soon be available at: http://www.greenhillmanorvolleyball.com/

This will be the place for general information about the league, rules, and standings. It also will provide a portal to this blog as well as the Flickr photo page.

Welcome to the GHM VolleyBlog

2007-03-23T15:36:00.000-04:00

This is where the news, discussion, and trash-talking will take place.