Texas State volleyball adventured overseas from June 9-20 on the program’s first International Tour. They faced off against multiple European squads and traveled across five countries.
The Bobcats began their trip with a lengthy nine-hour flight from Austin, Texas to Amsterdam, Netherlands before taking a short flight to Prague, Czech Republic. The Charles Bridge marked the first landmark the team visited on the tour.
Day two started with more tourism, visiting sites such as the Prague Castle, Astronomical Clock Tower, the John Lennon Wall and Old Town Prague. Later that day the Bobcats headed to their match against Olymp Praha, a professional Czech women’s volleyball club that plays in the highest Czech league, Czech Women’s Volleyball Extraliga. Texas State began the match down two sets to none before battling back and taking the final two sets, ending in a 2-2 draw. The next day the Bobcats would take on Olymp Praha once more. Another tight match went to the fifth set where Olymp Praha won in extra points.
On June 13 the Bobcats traveled through three different countries until they reached Vienna, Austria. The team split off to shop, tour the area, visit the city’s catacombs and see the St. Stephen’s Cathedral. From there the team went from Vienna to Slovenia, and then stopped at their hotel in Maribor.
The first full day in Maribor included touring the Plague Collumn in Maribor City Center, which commemorates those who lost their lives in the plague outbreak in the 1600s and the Spomenik Database outside of the Maribor Castle that memorializes the fallen during World War II. The Bobcats then prepared for their match with Branka Branik. In a four set match Texas State won all four of them and two of which took extra points to decide. Texas State Volleyball ESPN+ commentator and former USA Volleyball coach Mick Haley met the Bobcats for dinner at Pohorje Mountain after the match.
June 15 marked the team’s final day in Maribor where they split into two teams to face the Slovenian U18 and U17 teams.
The following day the Bobcats got on a bus to Venice. The team took water taxis into the city and ran into some rain. That didn’t stop them from exploring the city and trying the infamous Italian pasta as well as some gelato to really immerse themselves into the culture.
June 17 called for an early 3 a.m. wake up to catch their flight to Paris, which was the final stop of the tour. After arriving the Bobcats visited their first Paris landmark, the Arc de Triomphe. Then the team ventured off to Versailles to see the Palace of Versailles. Laters that evening they prepared for a matchup against a local Parisian team that involved the experience that is the Paris metro. The Bobcats played a four set match and came away victorious in each one, ending their international games on the tour. Middle blocker Jade Defraeye, a France native, was able to join the team since she was at a camp with the French National Reserve Team.
After a long day of travel, new scenery and volleyball, the Bobcats played tourists the rest of the trip. They visited famous Paris sights such as the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. The team spent the final three days of the International Tour exploring the culture, cuisines and historical sites of Paris before returning home on June 20.
