DAY 1

After 21 hours of travel, the Hornets landed in Portugal for Day 1 of their foreign tour to Portugal and Spain. Three and a half hours after landing, Sacramento State battled jet lag and a professional team named CS Madeira. The two teams played four sets, and Sacramento State won each handily by 25-17, 25-13, 25-18, 25-12 scores. Below is the first installment of a series of blogs every Hornet player will write during the 12-day trip. Today, we hear from senior outside hitter Caitlin Volkmann.

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We started the day with the freshmen picking us up from our house and driving us to campus. All of us were so excited. We got on the bus and headed to San Francisco. We check into TAP Air Portugal with what felt like all 50 of us taking up the entire line. All of us were a little worried about having to leave our bags in Lisbon to make the second flight which was the only way to make our game this evening.

Since our flights were in two reservations, we would have to leave, get our bags and go through security all over again which would most likely cause us to miss our flight. Luck was on our side, however, and Ruben got them to check our bags through both flights all the way to Madeira. Everything was smooth until one of our teammates, Ashlynn (Archie) Archer, had issues with her second flight. It took 90 minutes just to check our bags and we were off to security.

Security and boarding was quick and easy. All of us were scattered throughout the plane, but as ready as you could be to embark upon an 11-hour flight. With food, blankets and pillows, the flight wasn't as bad as I would have thought. To me, it went quickly but some had issues. Caty (Cordano) did not feel well mid-flight, and ran to the back towards the flight attendants and threw up on one of their seats. They had to move her and Hailey (Plugge) so they could have a new seat near the exits. We made it to Lisbon safely, and fortunately, Caty started feeling better.

When we landed, we noticed we had just 10 minutes until our next flight boarded. We hustled through the passport check and to the gate. Archie never got her second flight figured out, and, at the gate, they told her they couldn't let her on board. Her and (assistant coach) Sarah Chlebana had to stay behind (both would eventually land in Portugal later that evening).
 
We then take off, and eventually circle around Medeira Island four times before landing. We drive about 30 minutes to our hotel through a town of light-colored houses and beautiful tropics. This is like the Hawaii of Portugal - many vacationers and plenty of beautiful vacation homes. But once we arrive, there wasn't much time and we had to rush to get food, get our room, and change for our game in less than an hour.

We rush to a supermarket nearby where we find a self serve to-go area. We scoop random foods and pay before heading to change. Our food was very good, and we get on the bus to our game only two and a half hours after landing. The total travel day was nearly 24 hours - leaving us confused and not knowing the time or what's really happening. But, once we got to the gym, it really hit home we were playing a game we love in PORTUGAL.

We walk into the gym and everyone smiles and stares at us. It almost feels like we were famous. The other team was very nice and fun to play. We completed four sets and won each of them. We got to trade some t-shirts and talk with the other team once we finished. They were mostly around the age of 17-20, but there were some ages 30+. Many of them knew English and spoke it very well, asking us questions about Sacramento State and where we are from. After some photos and more chatting, we take off to dinner.

We had dinner at a pizza place near our hotel, winding down from what felt like a whole week in just one day. Having an actual meal was so good and we were all so hungry. It hit the spot. As a team, we walked down the road to finish the day with some delicious gelato!

Was an amazing first day and I can't wait for many more experiences!