Throughout my life, I have made very special bonds with friends and family.

These love
relationships will always be impactful to me. However, many other things other than people can
make me feel elated. Something I dedicate myself to, volleyball, has been something I’ve
always enjoyed, no matter whether my motivation to get better was at a high or a low. Many
memories were made in my volleyball experience, whether it was making friends or getting hit in
the face, one particular memory has stuck out to me. A memorable part of my early volleyball
career was winning our first tournament. My high performance on this day came from my love of
volleyball and my love of winning, a deadly combo if you were my opponent.
The tournament was in June, in Triangle Volleyball Academy located in Durham. It was
called “City of Oaks.” The reason why this was so impactful on me is because it taught me to
win under unforeseen events.
Before the ultimate match that determined our victory, we had to play with lower-level
teams. This happened in the course of the first 2 days, and the 3rd day would be the
championships. I remember feeling very light and unworried, as we had an interrupted winning
streak for the first 2 days. We had gotten placed to play against another team for championships
that had the same experience as my team, but I assured myself that it would be another easy
victory and we would win. Before starting the match, our coach gave us a pep talk, and even
though she was trying to mask her stress, it was inevitable that everyone could pick up on how
important this match was.
When my team and I started the match, we could tell that the other team was also just as
advanced and experienced as us. However, one of our most vital players had come down with
the flu right before the match. We couldn’t back out, so we had to play with a sick player. It was
an obstacle in itself, but we worked with the given circumstances. We were doing relatively well
in the first match, which we won. The first match glided along with an easy victory. We were
able to spot out their weaknesses, and when we took advantage of it, a win was guaranteed for
us. During the match, we had realized that we had severely underestimated the team. We forgot
that they had a brazen streak of victories, just like us. When we moved on to the second match,
it was a close match, but the other team won. They started to see our performance slowly
degrade from the pressure, and they took the opportunity to keep us out of system so they could
win the match. The stress was starting to show on everyone. I, and I can guarantee many
others on my team, were doubting our own skills and the tension between everyone increased
by ten-folds. We had to play the third match, and this was the ice-breaker, to determine the
winner.
It was a back-and-forth game, no team getting the lead. I felt very concerned and
intimidated. When we were nearing the game point mark, my anxiety was hitting the roof. Both
the opposing team and our teams’ performances had dropped down due to the stress that was
accumulating onto everyone. I was doubting my skills, and at one point wanted to sit out and I
didn’t want to be the player that messed up on the final point, which would have resulted in the
opposing team’s win, but I still played to the end. I remember the game point match very vividly.
Our hitter had spiked right into one of the players, forcing her to deflect the ball against the wall.
My reaction was almost instant. The moment the ball touched the wall, my entire team and I
erupted into cheers and yelling. The entire team, and our usually very stoic coach, started to
jump up and down in glee.
 We had won by 2 points. It was very emotional for everyone, and some players on my
team were even crying as they were so overjoyed. The other team was also emotional, but they
didn’t cry because of happiness. This was a surreal experience, and even though the victory
streak was short-lived due to a couple losses in the tournaments after City of Oaks, it was the
highlight of my entire volleyball career.
Many lessons were learnt from this experience. We learnt to acknowledge our
opponents to be just as powerful as us, and how to aim at their weaknesses. Knowing where to
jab at them is the key to moving up and staying up. TIn fact, after the tournament, the entire
team decided to sit down and discuss how much the stress had affected us. Playing under
stress is a necessary skill to be a competitive athlete, and we just got to experience it for the first
time. Winning the championship is one of the reasons why I love volleyball so much and why it
resonates so clearly with me.