BACK-TO-BACK @ MBO... same but different

How did we win?? That has been the lingering question in my head this entire past 18 hours. How are we back-2-back MBO champions? How are we getting another penny on the pier? Why do we give everyone heart attacks on the regular? How do we play our best when our backs are against the wall? How can we get that out of us all the time? These are also other questions bouncing around in my brain.

I am going to excuse myself as I am writing this on our plane ride home… 6:55am flight Monday morning after maybe 5 hours of sleep is probably not conducive to the best writing.

2025 MBO ended the same way as 2024; however, it was a completely different experience. For starters, our flight out to Cali was pretty much an entire TKN plane. I swear I knew about 1/3 of the people on our plane and that didn’t include the other travelers on different airlines. We had a CREW coming this year. If you recall in 2024, it was just Taryn, myself, Drew & Mary. By crew, I mean we had about 60+ people there in support of our names being etched into the Manhattan Beach Pier.

To pass the time on the flight, (I hate to admit it but) Taryn and I caught up on the latest Summer I Turned Pretty episode. We finished this episode being Team Conrad all the way.

Since this was our first time back in Cali since May, Team USA staff wanted us to come into the headquarters to do some testing, so us and our men ventured to the Torrance Beach Headquarters. We tested, got treatment and then headed to our Airbnb to drop bags before curing all of our hangryness. Un Caffe Altamura was the lunch/brunch spot of choosing, and it hit the spot. We are fans of this place if you are ever in the MBO area. Right after eating we had to get back to the Airbnb to start the getting ready process for the pier ceremony. The fact that we were going to the be the people at the ceremony was not sinking in (still hasn’t).

Listening to the goat, April Ross, talk about us and giving us high praise was a special moment. Just for some context, at the ceremony they have a “legend” come and speak about the winning team before the plaque is unveiled on the pier and April Ross was the chosen person for us. It’s kind of funny that before the ceremony we can see the plaque already on the ground and people were sending us pictures of it on the pier the day prior, but when pulling up the covering to unveil it still had me overjoyed. This is forever here!! As Mr. Joey says, “my great great great grandkids will see this.” It’s a crazy thought to think about. Taryn and I each gave a small little speech. I could have thanked people for hours but to keep it short, I gave an overarching THANK YOU to everyone. We are continuously reminded how lucky we are to have the amount of support and love we get and it was very apparent as our crew took up more than ½ of the people at the ceremony. Following the ceremony, we had a small, sponsored event powered by Zenni Eyewear to help celebrate. Zenni made a life size cutout of Taryn and I in our custom Slunks suits so of course after some alcohol, my family thought it would be hilarious to carry this cutout through the streets and all the way to our dinner restaurant. Taryn and I’s faces were being plastered on restaurant windows to people who were just trying to enjoy a casual Thursday meal, but my family thought it was the funniest thing.

Taryn and I both closed it down for the night early since our 8am match was going to come quickly. Thank goodness for time change because a true 8am game would have been very challenging for me. It still sort of was as we lost the first set but panic was not happening. I knew we would settle in and settle in is what we did. 2 wins before noon meant we had the rest of the day to chill. I was exhausted from the games but I think even more so just from all the emotions from Thursday afternoon. I had no energy to do anything Friday afternoon other than sit on the couch and get up to use the restroom when I needed to. I was knocked out before 8:45pm that night as we again were slated for 8am.

The early mornings were tough, but we had great assistance from our MVPs (most valuable parents Tricia & Tracy) as they would walk to grab our breakfast and coffee orders so we could have everything promptly ready to eat around 6:15/20am. Saturdays early morning match was a little more smooth as we won in 2 against two Cal Poly girls. They were a breath of fresh air - super kind and showed such joy when playing. They stuck together and never would get aggravated with each other it seemed. Not to mention they had the cutest support dog.

The Saturday afternoon match was a big one… either win and into the semis or lose and have to hang around and play another match in the hottest part of the day. I was not very crisp in this game but we managed to pull it out against Quiggle and Van Gunst to punch our tickets into the semifinals. Like the day prior, we had the afternoon to chill and see one of our MVPs on the trip for some treatment. Thank you Tricia – (chanting MVP, MVP, MVP). Like the night prior, Taryn and I ordered Mexican food for takeout while everyone else went out for dinner and drinks. This is the hard part about events like this… we are working and have to chill while everyone else gets to enjoy each other’s company on vacation. Hope at some point in my life I get to see what being on that side of things looks like!

Championship Sunday at MBO!!! Coakley & Pater were our opponents as they are a young up and coming collegiate team that upset a lot of teams to get into the semis. After the first couple of points we quickly understood how they were still playing on Sunday. Super scrappy play and aggressive serving had us going back and forth with them. We even had to fight off some set points but we managed to make key plays when it mattered and pull out set 1. Surviving that set put me in a very confident place. I did not think they could keep that level of play and that was the case as we were able to pull away in set 2 and cruise into the finals for the 2^nd year in a row. Since we were the first game of the day, we had time to make the quick 5-8 min walk up hill to our Airbnb before the 1pm scheduled final. We watched the other semifinals on the TV while just hanging out with our men. It was so nice to have our guys there to distract us from volleyball and provide us with some entertainment. They also make for great food picker-uppers. Thanks guys!

Warming up for a championship match is usually pretty chill for us. At this point, you don’t need a lot to get the body going and fighting for a spot on the pier will give you eno9uhg motivation needed for a lifetime. Meg & Therese came out firing on all cylinders. They both have very lethal serves so when they are both clicking that is a scary sight. Tagging sidelines and seams both on serves and attacks was the reason for 21-15 defeat in set 1. We figured the serves would settle down some but we still had to clean things up and eliminate the unforced errors. Set 2 was back and forth. We would take the lead and then they would take it back. We were down 17-14 and it was now or never. We had to start making plays and thankfully we rattled some off as we saw the score go from 17-14 to 18-18 to 21-18 in our favor. We were playing more volleyball, and 15 points was going to decide whose names were getting etched into the pier a year from then.

Set 3 was back and forth. It was a game of two-point runs. We would get a lead and then let it slip, and they would do the same. We were up 10-8 and then we were switching sides at 10-10. I would be lying if I was not thinking in my head, “hmm maybe this is the time Meg and Cannon get us?”. However, you obviously put those thoughts aside when the point starts and you lock it in. Seeing the ball sail off my hand out of bounds to switch sides down 13-12 had a choice word rolling off my tongue. My next thought was just getting this next serve receive ball up. The pass went up and then the game was tied. Taryn hadn’t gotten a solid block in a little while, so I figured she was due for one which is why I signaled a 4 (angle) block for T at 13-13 and fortunate for us it played out perfectly. Seeing the ball get blocked and out of reach of them to cover had me amped. One point away. I gave T the same call as I wanted Cannon to hit a high line to me running there and again the play played out perfectly. Taryn set up a beautiful transition ball and my brain said KILL THIS BALL. I was able to get it down Cannon’s line and after what felt like an eternity, T and I saw the ball hit the ground causing an aggressive fist bump and leap into Taryn’s outstretched arms. BACK-TO-BACK MBO CHAMPS. There is not much of a better feeling than winning and winning a game like that… an absolute battle for such an iconic prize. EPIC.

Getting carried into shellbacks, taking the infamous Fanta shots, screaming “We are the Champions” all while celebrating with the people we care about most…. 2025 was way better than 2024 because we were able to bask in the glory with our family and friends. These memories will last a lifetime.