Behind the Game Face

game time

One of the reasons I decided to commit to this school had to do with the atmosphere. Especially in volleyball. Now, of course there weren't as many people attending games when I was in highschool but hey, people like to watch their teams win.

And if you win a lot, you get a lot of fans.

The crowd roared with anticipation as the teams ran out from the tunnel. The sheer volume along with the crazy lights, noisemakers, and random beach balls being hit created a crazy atmosphere to play in.

The crowd was filled with crimson red and gold and only a tiny bit of blue and silver, and this was only a scrimmage.

"Alright ladies, huddle up." Coach yelled over the deafening sound. We all got into formation. "We know how they are, go out with fire and play some clean volleyball, let's go!"

I called us out before we all waited to get our names announced. After my teammates got their names called out, the crowd cheered, louder for some than others.

I focused on my breathing as I mentally prepared for the upcoming match, trying to block out the noise.

"5'11 Junior, Outside hitter, Lilah Montgomery!" The announcer yelled over the mic. The crowd got ten times louder as my fan cam played on the jumbotron. I did a small wave at the crowd with a closed smile feeling my hands shake.

It never got easier playing in a gym this big with so many people. Before I knew it, the game had started.

Point by point flew by. Timeouts were taken. Mistakes were made. Perfect runs were captured and I felt my jersey starting to stick to my skin as I continued to play at my best.

The ball was served as I was in serve receive, directly to me. Keeping my knees bent, I allowed myself to get under the ball as it came in contact with my forearms.

Getting up, I came to the middle of the court, running a two ball as Emma faked a quick run, Gabby set the two ball. Like muscle memory, I allowed myself to take an approach and jump as high as my legs could reach before slamming the ball down on our opponents side.

The crowd's cheering broke through the roof as we celebrated the point.

"Let's go!" Liv yelled as she chest bumped me. I kept a straight face as I high fived Gabby for the great set before moving on to serve.

The ball boy tossed the ball to me as I smoothed my hair down before taking a deep breath. I let the familiarity of the ball spin in my hands as I turned back to the court.

The ref blew her whistle as I bounced the ball, once then twice. After a deep breath, I threw the ball in the air as I have many times before, tracking it before jumping and hitting it as hard as I could.

The ball whizzed through the air, putting the other team out of position as they had to deal with sending an easy ball over.

I stayed in the middle back as Liv passed the ball up to Gabby who set Emma. The ball was dug on the other side as they set up their right side.

Here's where it got tricky. I read the opposite's shoulders as she swung, seeing it come directly between me and Gabby. But neither of us talked as Gabby suddenly lunged infront of me.

A mistake on both of our parts.

"Go!" The team yelled as the ball ricocheted off of Gabby's arms.

The ball was sent flying to the back of the court and Liv chased it down, being able to get it back into play. However, it was still too far. I chased after her and just when the ball seemed too far to bring back into play, I let my body fly. My arm came out, swinging so that I could even attempt to get the ball over the net.