We felt a shift in our attitude after the three weeks of training at home with our coach. We gradually brought more intensity to every rally and it was resulting in better execution.

 

We won our first match against one of the all-time greatest battling teams on tour, Mariano Baracetti and Martin Conde of Argentina. This team has been ranked in the top six teams in the world for the last six years, and the biggest reason they have stayed there is because of their ability to battle well and execute at key times in the match. They did play well at times, but it was Heese-Cadieux who clutched out the 2-1 victory. The scores are telling of just how exciting this match was: 21-19, 27-29, and 18-16!

 

We weren't finished either. So often after a big win, it's easy to let up a bit and come out in the next match a little flat, but our intensity level remained high, and we pulled off another upset 2-1 win against the 6th-seeded team in the tournament from Holland, Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Shuil. Despite being a relatively new team, this Dutch tandem won the FIVB event in Bahrain a month ago, so this win was quite a confidence builder.

 

Our next opponent was a bit of a surprise. Miguel Maia and Joao Brenha of Portugal have been around seemingly forever, and after three Olympic Games (including two 4th place finishes in Atlanta and Sydney), they are back for another run at Olympic glory. Already at this tournament, they had rattled off three victories in the qualifier, and then upset teams from China and Austria en route to playing us in Round 3. The result? Another exciting 2-1 victory for Heese-Cadieux!

 

We had noticed a bit of a pattern developing at this tourney, with three 2-1 victories in a row, guaranteeing us a minimum 5th place. With two shots at making the semi-finals we hoped to continue the winning pattern but preferably winning in straight sets instead.

 

The next two matches against Australia and Estonia were won in straight sets, however, this time we came out on the losing end. We weren't quite as energetic as our first matches and didn't exercise as much patience once things started going wrong. It's amazing how that magic comes and goes.

 

All in all, we have to be pleased with a 5th place, as this sets up more main draw opportunities down the road, and is a definite solid result that counts towards a berth for the Olympics next year.

 

We're now headed to Portugal!