(PS: #2 is ME)

Saturday Jan 11-12, I had a volleyball tournament with my teammates. I am in the 13s group of Lionheart, a newly formed club in Massachusetts.

During Jan 11, which is Saturday, we played three games. During those three games, I realized that the most important thing in volleyball is mental positive thinking and communication.

My teammates are not as skilled as me since I started playing volleyball in five grade and most of them started this year. But, communication is super important on the court. Saying, I got it, or outside, outside! Is a good way to speak out to your setter as well as other people on the court.

We beat two of the teams easily, but the last team was very hard to beat. They had strong serves, strong passes, and even strong hits. They won the first set with 25-14, which makes us 11 points apart. During the second set, they beat us to 24-16, and it was game point. However, our team really concentrated, talked on the court, and tried everything to get the ball over the net. Eventually, we gained 8 points and the score was 24-24. 2 more points to win. We fought hard, with serves, spikes, and kills, but eventually, still lost the match with 26-24. We had a whole fan group, and everyone was cheering us on!

During Jan 12, our team discussed our approaches and rotations. Now, I understand everything and during our first game, I got 8 aces in a row, carrying the team to a lead and a mental turn. At first, the other team served 6 in a row and the score was 6-0. Then, I got 8 aces in a row so our team was in the lead with 8-6. This drove the other team crazy and they had so many time-outs during the time.

Then, playing the second team, I was serving first and got 11 aces in a row. The score was 11-0 and the coach on the other team was frustrated. He can’t do a thing about my amazing serves. The whole team and parents were cheering like crazy. Even the 17 boys were cheering from the other court.

We won both of the matches and eventually won silver in our tournament. This is the first ever girls win in the LionHeart history and I. Am. So. Proud. Of. My. Team.