The stands were packed with crazy moms cheering on their kids and the constant sound of the ball pounding on the unbreakable court. Nervousness took over now as I started to think about every mistake I could make. My stomach started to get butterflies and my face got pale.  It was my first tournament playing for Impact Dynamic volleyball.

Captains, Justine and I met the refs for the coin flip by the judges stand. “Heads!” We both blurted out at the same time. It was heads, that means we get first serve.

I was first to serve, “Don’t mess this up, get it over” I kept repeating to myself. I felt all the eyes of the parents on me. I could not let my team down. I watched my hand as I tossed the ball up and took a deep breath as watched my arm met the ball. As soon as the ball went over I raced to my setting position at the net. I was anxiously waiting for a good pass. They returned the ball with a hard hit but our back row passer, the labero passed it right to me. I had my hands up shaped like a triangle. I carefully watched the ball fill my hands.
“ONE, FIVE, NINE!” The hitters were screaming to get a set. I leaped into the set and pushed it to the one or the outside. I watched as the ball gracefully and silently flew in an arch to the hitter. She did her three step approach and heard a loud “BANG!” as the ball smacked the floor. We all clumped together and were cheering and clapping. We got the point and got to serve again.

The score was twenty to sixteen, game point.  It was their serve and everyone was on their toes. A shriek filled all of the players ears. He motioned for the player to serve. I didn't take my eye off the ball and watched it like a hawk until it fell into the mesh on the net.

Everyone from the bench sprung up and ran over. We huddled in a circle and screamed of happiness. We won our first game but had two left to go before we could win the match.
We rotated sides and huddled up.

“It was too close, they are doing nothing that you can’t do. Everyone did great lets keep it going for the second game.” Coach talked us up and positioned us on the court. I was drained and wouldn’t be sitting another game.
This time around our opponents stepped up their game and had us worn out within minutes. In the end our effort wasn’t enough. The score was twenty to twenty two. That meant our last game we had to beat them. The team was disappointed and worn out but we were not going to let that affect us.

At last the third and final game had come. Everyone was nervous and anxious to see the outcome of the game. We used all of our energy  and it payed off.

All of a sudden I felt a cool breeze rush past me, then there were countless arms around me. I was in the middle of a circle of shrieking, giddy girls getting pushed up and down. I glanced at the scoreboard. Twenty one to Nineteen. “We did it, I did it” I thought to myself as I was being buried by nine of my teammates.

It was all a blur to me and went by fast. All I remember was running back and forth to do whatever I needed to reach the ball before it touched the floor. I was washed with excitement and my face was as bright red as a tomato.

Walking out the door I was congratulated with many adults and players giving me praise.

“Good game” and “Nice job today” was commonly exchanged but what my coach said is something that stuck out even more.

“You carried the team and made this possible. We will see what can do for you next game.” I pondered what they may have meant for hours.

Finally When we got home all that was on my mind now was my warm and inviting, cozy bed. Without saying a word I snuck into my dirty room and stumbled on mountains of clothes. laying in bed I thought more about my team and our accomplishment. “We did it. I did not let my team down, we did it.”  I yawned as I fell into a deep sleep. Realized I was nervous for nothing, my team did great and the experience brought all the girls closer together. Proud was just one of the good emotions I felt of the amazing job we all did. Now I was confident of my team and my new friends.