volleyball

volleyball

Final Games

Thursday 24 October 2024

The end of an era is nearing. Tonight was the next-to-last home game in L's high school volleyball career. It's likely to be highly emotional on Monday when it's the last home game, but tonight, there wasn't time for emotion. It was time for revenge.

Our girls were playing Hillcrest, a team that beat them 1-3 earlier in the year. However, they lost in five sets to Easley, whom our girls beat soundly in straight sets the first time they met this season and won again (though in five sets) the other night at home. It was, in my eyes, a must-win game.

The Girl thought so, too.

The Mavs started off weakly, though: they trailed most of the first set, and in the end, lost it 19-25. "The Hillcrest girls are so confident," K observed, "despite the fact that they've lost their last five matches."

Everyone knew the second set was a critical set: lose it, and it would be hard to win the match. Reverse sweeps are not unheard of, but they are rare. We pulled ahead quickly in the second set, and then launched a huge attack that ended the set with a 25-17 win.

One set each makes the third set the momentum-maker: whoever wins that one needs to win only one more set. At first, I didn't think our girls wanted it: they trailed by about five at one point. But they pulled back and pulled ahead. Then they let Hillcrest catch up. In the end, though, they held them off and won 25-22.

The momentum was definitely on our girls' side of the court that fourth set: they pulled ahead after being behind 1-4 and never looked back, winning a deciding third set 25-22. It extended the Hillcrest girls' losing streak to six, and while I usually don't like seeing someone lose like that, I didn't mind too much tonight.

Neither did our girls.

Game Night

Thursday 17 October 2024

We're nearing the end. The Girl's volleyball has been a constant in our lives for years now. The Girl and volleyball -- we can't imagine one without the other. Two years of middle school volleyball followed by four years of high school volleyball with club volleyball each of those years: it's all coming to an end in just a couple of weeks.

So often, we don't see the end coming. We don't know when we're in the midst of some last or another. The last time we see this person. The last time we visit this place. The last time we watch someone do something they love. This last, though, is approaching with unrelenting certainty.

I revel in nostalgia. I wallow in it at times. These last few days, I've been looking for pictures to send to our volleyball coach for the upcoming senior night, and I've found pictures throughout L's volleyball career, one from the very beginning:

She was the Boy's age in this picture, perhaps a little younger. She was just learning, and an overhand serve was the stuff of dreams. An overhand jump serve (as if you'd do an underhand jump serve) was something she couldn't even imagine. Now she does the easily (when the coach leaves her in rotate on the back line to serve, which is admittedly rare these days).

And in a few more games, it will all be over. She's not going to be playing volleyball college (at last not for the college team -- she'll likely get involved in intermural sports). So we enjoy each game in a way we probably never have.

Greenville Game

Thursday 10 October 2024

One thing that rarely happens to me at L's volleyball game is meeting former students. The two high schools that most of my eighth-grade kids attend are not 5A schools like Mauldin High, so we never play them. This year, however, Greenville High (where probably 45% of my students end up attending) ranked up to 5A, so we now face them a few times a year. The first time was at a weekend tournament that I was unable to attend. The second time was at Mauldin, but I was shuttling the Boy here and there. So tonight, we all went to Greenville High for the final game between these two schools.

There were lots of familiar faces. First and most significantly was E, who was in my English I class four years ago and on L's travel volleyball team (along with H, another of my students). At weekend tournaments I would sometimes see E and H huddled together, papers spread about, talking to each other.

"What are you girls doing?"

They would both look up at me with mock anger: "Studying for your test, Mr. Scott!"

But E wasn't the only former student I saw. In total, I'd guess about eleven or twelve kids came up to me to let me know how things are going in high school.

"Guess what, Mr Scott? I have a 98 in English 2!" J, a student from last year, boasted with a smile.

"Do you have all As?" I asked C, who is now a junior.

"Of course!" came the laughing reply.

The game itself was a grueling, five-set slog. Our girls won the first set 25-13, which got them a little too confident. Greenville jumped out to a lead in the second set, and at one point it was 13-19. Our girls didn't give up, though, and fought back to make it 16-19 before falling apart and losing the set 17-26. The third set went to Mauldin, but just barely: at one point, our girls were down 4-9, but they battled back and won 25-22, going up two sets to one. Of course, Greenville tied it at two sets each with a 19-25 fourth-set victory. Mauldin jumped out to an early lead in the deciding fifth set, going up 5-2 then quickly adding two more to make it 7-2. But as our girls like to do, they gave most of it back and were only up by one, 7-6. Ultimately, they kept a lead, increased it a bit, and won the final set 15-12.

Old Friends, Old Teammates

Thursday 19 September 2024

They've known each other for years. They've played together on at least three different teams. During high school season, they've played against each other for four years.

Two years ago, when he Mauldin girls took state, L's team beat S's and E's team in straight sets.

Tonight, the roles were reversed. Woodmont is a regional powerhouse this year just like Mauldin was two years ago.

But no matter who wins, the after-game picture is always the same.

Home Game

Thursday 05 September 2024

It was a tough loss: the girls were up 15-7 in the first set only to lose 22-25. It's tough to lose after having such a lead, and it's tough to go back out for a second set. But they did. And the struggles continued, and the frustrated girls took another one on the chin: 21-25.

Then came the third set. They jumped out to a quick lead just like the first set, but this time, instead of losing it, they increased it, taking the third set 25-14. "See? That's what we're capable of," they seemed to be saying.

Then came the fourth set, which the lost 16-25. It's these ups and downs, these moments of brilliance followed by moments of -- what? -- that are so frustrating for this year's team. They know what they're capable of: they're just not managing to maintain it consistently.

Yet through it all, there's our L, always the upbeat cheerleader of the team, always celebrating even the smallest victory, always cheering up the team when they're down, always believing in her team.

Tuesday 27 August 2024

The volleyball season hasn't officially started yet: we still haven't had any regional games, but we've been in a few tournaments. Tonight was our first home game. Our girls had a tough time of it the first two sets, losing by quite a margin due to silly errors. They pulled it together for the third set, but ended up losing it 23-25.

What impressed me about the Girl -- other than a couple of monster hits she had -- was how little she's changed regarding volleyball. She's always been the most enthusiastic cheerleader on her team. No matter how the game is going, she's always up, always positive, always cheering and encouraging her teammates.

Everyone notices it; many have commented on it. More than her playing ability, I so admire that positivity.

Start of the Final Season

Thursday 15 August 2024

We're not the powerhouse we were a couple of years ago when the girls took the state title. But the girls love the game nonetheless.

Orlando 2024 Day 4

Friday 28 June 2024

The girls won their first game but lost their second: the same story. They were up 22-19 but had several moments of trouble and ended up losing 23-25 in the first set. In the second set, they had a 12-9 lead but lost it, tying at 12, before dropping the second set 20-25.

And thus ended the third and final experience with AAU Nationals in Orlando.

Orlando 2024 Day 3

Thursday 27 June 2024

It couldn’t go on for the whole tournament, I suppose. Well, I guess it could: teams go undefeated in tournaments, but it’s rare. We were all hoping, of course, that the girls would make it through a third day without a lost — hopefully without even losing a set, but certainly without losing a game. But the first game of the morning, they met a team that was roughly as good as they are, and our girls couldn’t maintain 100% and the other girls could, so our kids had their first loss.

The first set was as close as it could be without going into extra points: 23-25. In the second set, they were going at it point for point until it was 11-11 until our girls pulled ahead, eventually reaching 17-15. But as so many teen volleyball teams seem to do, they gave the points right back to them and it was 18-18. Then it was 18-19. And then 18-20. A two-point lead is entirely different later in the game that it is when both teams are still in single digits. “If they lose one more point,” I thought, “It’s likely a done deal.” And there it was: 18-21. The girls just kept shedding points, and it was 19-23. THe opposing team needed only two more points; our girls needed three times that many. A four-point lead at that point is insurmountable unless the team has sudden burst of brilliance or the other team falls apart. We’ve seen both in the past; unfortunately, today, we saw neither, and the game ended 20-25.

The second game of the day started out tough, but the opposing team had a bit of self-destruction and our girls took the first set 25-15. Unfortunately for the other team, that meltdown continued into the second set and only deepened: 25-10.

“Only one more game, right?” I asked the Girl afterward. Usually, there are only three games a day.

“No, we have our regular 1:00 game, but we have a challenge game at 4:00.”

This was the game to determine our bracket for the final day. If we won, we’d go to gold; if we lost, we wouldn’t go to gold. So the final status of the medal portion of the tournament would depend on one game alone.

That’s a pretty high-pressure game.

To win a game like that against a good team would be exceptionally challenging. They would need to bring their very best game to the court. The defensive players would have to dig every ball; the setters would have to place every set perfectly; the hitters would have to swing fast and true; the blockers would have to be a wall.

Sadly, that’s not what happened. In fact, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. It was 1-3 in a moment, and then it just slid downhill from there. Before the girls got themselves together, playing a semblance of what they’re capable of, it was 3-11. The other team brought their very best game to the court, and the first set ended 18-25.

The second set started well. The girls were angry and determined to do better. And they did. Within moments it was 5-2, and it looked like the girls had regained their footing. Then it was 6-2, and I thought, “Alright girls, we’ll take it to three. This looks great.” And it was great, until it wasn’t. Soon enough, it was 9-6, then 9-9, and in a blink, the girls had given up a 3-16 run. The score had gone from 6-2 to 9-18. The second set ended worse than the first with a final score of 14-25.

All the girls were angry; all of them disappointed; all of them were aware that they’d simply beaten themselves. All of those times they were on the other side of such defeats this tournament disappeared because this was the only one that mattered.

It so exemplifies the nature of teen volleyball and probably teen sports in general.

Orlando 2024 Day 2

Wednesday 26 June 2024

Yesterday there was a team from Texas who, I believe, lost all their games in straight sets. L has been there: she’s been on teams that leave a tournament day without a single win. The Texas team was up 11-8 at one point, but our girls rallied and beat them.

Today, it was more of the same: straight-set victories for the first two games, including a brutal second game with sets that were 25-10 and 25-11. “It’s good to be on this side of that score,” I said to another parent, “but we’ve been on the other side, and I know how that hurts.” It does a real number on your self-confidence, and soon, the bad mistakes (like the ones they were making: hitting serves out and sloppy serve reception) pile on each other. They reach a point that essentially, the team is just as much beating themselves as being beaten. Again, we’ve been there, too.

The final game was a bit of a different story. In the first set, the girls were quickly down 2-7, but the pulled it together and ended up taking the set 25-19. The second set started out much the same, but once again, they were able to pull back and then take the set 25-21

Today was Pink Out day, when all teams wear pink uniforms and I guess thinking at least in passing about the fact that women (and a few men) die of breast cancer every year. “Believe there is hope for a cure,” one shirt reads. It has a certain religious ring to it, but it’s antithetical to the whole enterprise of looking for a cure. While it is science and not faith, belief, or hope that will cure cancer, I understand the implied optimism in the shirt, certainly a critical element for anyone fighting cancer. One of the players I noticed yesterday is clearly just after chemo. A strong female outside hitter without a single hair anywhere on hear head, she stood out in more ways than one. Perhaps the pink encourages her. Hopefully.

As for today's pictures, I focused on the setters, which I don't think I've ever done. In a lot of ways, their the brains of the whole team: they read the defense, make quick adjustments, and then decide which hitter to set based on perceived weaknesses in the opponents' defense. Their sort of like the steering wheel of the team, or the neck. "Brain" seems to take something away from the other players.

In truth, all the players are completely critical. If you don't have good defensive specialists, you won't get a good pass to your setter. If you don't get a good pass to your setter, or if your setter is not on her game, you won't get your hitters in good position to attack. If the hitters are attacking, you won't be scoring (except from opponents' errors and blocking, and the occasional well-placed lob to the empty back corner from the setter or a DS).