The boys volleyball team had their first game on Tuesday, April 8th, and I’m going to talk about everything I saw before, during, and after the game, both on and off the court.
When we first walked into the gym, the thing that stood out right away was how small it was compared to the main gym we have at Hillcrest. Right in the middle of the court, there was a long pipe hanging from the ceiling that made it tough to send the ball high into the air. That ended up causing problems for us later in the varsity game.
JV played first. Their warm-up wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible either. Once the game started, they made a lot of mistakes, but that’s expected for a first game. We made the same kind of mistakes last year, like not calling the ball, not running for it, struggling with receives, not getting it over the net, and having bad tempo. These are normal for a new team still getting used to playing together. In the end, JV lost, but they scored a decent number of points for their first match, and honestly, I’m just glad there are new players stepping up for when we seniors leave.
As JV was finishing their second set, we, the varsity team, started stretching out in the hallway. It was cold and really cramped because everyone was trying to stretch and pass the ball in a small space. After we finished our hallway warm-up, we went back into the gym to complete the rest of it. It was a bit sloppy, but that has been the case in practice too, so it wasn’t a surprise.
After warming up, we lined up at the end of the court for the Pledge of Allegiance. Then they introduced the starting players. Hillcrest was called first, and then Evergreen Park came out with a theme song and turned off all the lights. That part was actually really cool and gave the game a bit of energy.
When the match started, things went downhill. We kept hitting the ball into the ceiling, couldn’t receive it properly, and made mistakes we knew better than to make. I think it was just first-game nerves. At least we can take what happened and use it to improve for the next game.
The second set was even worse than the first. We only scored three points, and those came mostly from the other team making small mistakes. After the game, it was pretty embarrassing. A good number of people came out to support us, and we didn’t give them much to cheer for. The coaches gave us a talk afterward, then we got on the bus. The ride home was rough. The bus was rattling, bouncing, and shaking the whole time because of all the bumps in the road.
But in the end, it was our first game. Everyone makes mistakes, and the only way we grow is by learning from them.
Both JV and Varsity ended up losing to Evergreen Park, but it’s only the beginning of the season. We have time to turn things around.
