Love & Volleyball

There I was, sitting in my last period class waiting for the bell to ring. When I finally heard that glorious bell I dashed for the classroom door, grabbed my bags, and headed to the gymnasium to meet up with the team and head onto the bus for our game. It was playoffs and they couldn’t have taken any longer to come. We had been practicing day in and day out for the whole season and we could hardly believe we had made it this far. We took the match to three games and finally won in the last few points scored. It was a miracle. It was the first time our school volleyball team had ever made it to Regional’s and I felt so proud to be part of the team. On the bus ride home I was deep in thought, thinking about how much I truly loved the game.

I turned to my friend and we talked about how much hard work it took to make it that far. It took a lot of commitment and passion to love those three hour long, sweat filled, floor-burned knees, and smelly knee pad practices. But once you were in the game, none of that mattered. My position on the team was more of an offensive player. I was an outside hitter and blocker. There was nothing more satisfying than getting the kill or getting the block for the point. There was something I loved about stepping back off the net and running with all of my might in order to jump my highest and slam the ball down onto the opponent’s side of the court. Being on the net provided many opportunities to talk crap to the other team and to let them know you were here to win.

When I told my friend how much I loved my position, she said she would have to disagree. She was a defensive specialist, also known as, a libero. She loved the feeling of not knowing exactly where the ball was going to hit and she loved being able to judge the other team and hopefully make the play. She loved the game for a whole other reason than I do. She loves the feelings she gets when she gets a great dig which leads to my kill. All in all, our two positions work hand in hand. And we both have a love for the game.