It was a good serve and could have been an ace if it weren’t for a pretty spectacular dive from Leena, who just scooped the ball up inches from the ground. The ball was passed across to me, and I jumped to attack it, sending it right to the back of their court.
Their captain dove for the save, but the player who received it fumbled, and it bounced out of the court. We scored! A surge of excitement rushed through me, and the cheers echoing around the hall from the crowd sent swells of exhilaration roaring through my veins.
Our players all high-fived each other, and the traces of nervousness seeped away. All it took was getting that first play out of the way. I was in the zone now.
We played hard and kept our intensity up throughout the first game, which we took very convincingly at 30 points to their 13. We took a quick break after the first game to have a breather and rehydrate. Leena got us in a huddle.
“We're kicking ass, girls; we're kicking ass,” she announced, and a murmur of agreement rippled around the circle. “Their defense is obviously their weak point. They lose points and are unable to defend every time we launch a strong attack. They're much better on offense, though, so we can't afford to let them get anything set up because, as good as our defense is, when they get a setup, they smash right through us. We have to keep the pressure on, and keep attacking.”
We all agreed, so for the next game, we arranged our positions in an attack formation. We'd weakened our defense, yes, and probably would lose a few points, but we'd win points far more quickly.
I was positioned on the net, and anything that came my way was spiked with merciless force right back over onto their side of the court. The roar of the crowd and the knowledge that my mom and sister were watching me and cheering was electricity in my veins.
Every time I would glance across at Wade to see that encouraging smile on his face, it added a whole new dimension. I could feel his eyes on me; feel his support and reassurance filling me with a new strength.
We took the second game by an even bigger margin. Our strategy was working.
Wade ran over to us as we dabbed at our sweat with towels and sipped on Gatorade.
“Girls, you are absolutely demolishing them! Yes! Hell, yes! Keep those attacks strong. You're breaking them under the pressure. You just need to take this game, and we'll all be able to go home early!”
I grinned; I couldn't remember when I'd last felt so charged, so exhilarated. We got back onto the court for the third game, and I had a strong feeling it would be the last one. I wanted to make this a totally decisive victory.
Again, we attacked with everything we had offensively, but I put just as much effort into defense. I dove and saved at least two strong shots from them, turning them into points for us. They were fighting back hard, though, and we lost a lot more points this time around. Eventually, it came to a match point; we were on 29, they were on 28.
They sent a strong serve over. Leena blocked it, and another team member set up an assist, bouncing the ball over to me for a spike.
I sprang into the air and made it seem like I was about to smash it with comet-like force across the net, which had their defense diving in anticipation…except I didn't. Instead, I merely brushed the ball with my left hand so that it just cleared the net and dropped softly to the floor. It was a perfect ruse – and it had just won us the game and the match.
“Game and match to Florida State University!” shouted the ref as she blew her whistle. The crowd went wild, and my team congregated into a big, excited group hug.
Wade ran over too, high-fiving all of us, with a huge smile beaming from his face. “You girls did it! You did it! Well done, well done, I'm so proud right now, so proud!”
I was proud, too – of my teammates, of my best friend, and, of course, of myself. It was an amazing moment, one that I knew I'd remember always.
“Girls, I'm taking you all out to lunch, right now, to celebrate. Go get showered and then we're going to get pizza!”
*****
I said goodbye to Leena and the rest of my teammates, and then walked over to my car, which happened to be parked next to Wade's. I was still on a high from winning the game. I got in, turned the key, and after a few seconds of what sounded like the motor whining at me, a series of clicks tapped over and over. I tried it again. Same result.
Still, I refused to let this put me in a bad mood. Not after the awesome day I’d had. Just as I was about to try it again, Wade came walking along to his car after having said his goodbyes to some other members of the team.
“Hey, Eryn, is something wrong?”
“Well, I think it’s dead,” I replied jokingly.
“Hmm, try it again. Let me take a listen.” I pushed forward on the key once more only to me met with another series of clicks.
“Yeah. Sounds like your battery died. We'll have to get a new one; without it, this car isn't going anywhere.”
“Well, crap,” I replied. “Is it too late to get one now?”
“I’m sure we can.” He glanced at his watch. “The auto parts place should still be open. Come on, we'll drive over and see.”
Thirty minutes later, we were pulling back into the parking lot of the pizza joint with a new battery in tow. “You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you missed your calling as a mechanic,” I told him teasingly.
“Actually, I’ve been thinking about changing careers if this coaching thing doesn’t work out,” he retorted.