I can’t believe that this is actually happening! My head is spinning. What if I mess up? What if we lose? We had come this far and I didn’t want to disappoint my team. But is my best enough for us to win?
While waiting for the whistle my right arm pulls back and I toss the ball up in the air. My hand hits the volleyball with all its might. The ball flies over the net and drops to the floor. The other team gawks at the floor. “Ace!” my team shouts and my teammates extend their arms to high five me. The whistle is blown and I serve again. The other team returns the ball with a spike and I dive to get it, but I miss. My face is on fire. I want to hide, away from the crowd, away from my team, away from the smirking opposing team.
The other team serves the ball. It’s heading right for my face! Oh my gosh! But then I back up and pass it to the setter, who does a perfect set. And then the hitter spikes the ball over the net. We all cheer, we’re winning! We have twenty-one points and the other team has 20 points.
“Go Kyla!” I cheer. She serves the ball and the other team sets it over the net. Our team taps it over. We all cheer and then Kyla serves again.
“Short!” calls the opposing team. But then the ball tips over the net.
“Ace!” we all cheer again. Thank goodness! She serves again, but the ball goes out of bounds. Seriously?
The other team serves and this time the ball doesn’t go over the net. Elizabeth serves and the other team returns it with a set. Come on, concentrate, this is it. I jump up and smack it down. The score is now twenty-five to twenty-one. I, Nicole, had just helped us win the game! The other teams frowning faces couldn’t wipe the oh-my-gosh-this-is-really-happening smile off our faces.
But it wasn’t over yet. We still had to win the third game. My coach started announcing the players for the next game. “Elizabeth, Kyla, Kailyn, Rikki, Taya, and Nicole,” she said hoarsely. Hurray! I was playing in the third game. Now I hope I don’t mess up.
Five minutes later…

The score is twelve to fourteen. If we don’t get this point the other team will win the tournament. I take a deep breath and bounce the ball eight times. Then I toss the ball and hit it hard. My hand burns like it had been hit with a ball of fire. The audience is cheering, clapping, and whistling. The other team hits a free ball, but it bounces off the ceiling. I serve again. No one retrieves it and I grin from ear to ear.
I serve for the third time, and the other team returns the ball. Rikki spikes it back. My teammates and I give Rikki a high five. I serve yet again, and the ball jumps off a girl’s foot. My team cheers loudly. The referee blows his whistle, signaling that the game is over and the two teams shake hands. Cheering that we had won, high-fiving the other team, jumping for joy, and smiling about our win we go to collect the trophy.
Salty tears of joy rush down my face. As we gather around the trophy, the disgusting aroma of sweat fills my nostrils. But what can I expect? We had worked hard to achieve our goal. Cheers echo through the gymnasium. As we raise the glistening trophy into the air the metal feels cool against my clammy hand. This brought an exciting thought into my mind that would linger in my memory forever. I can’t believe we won the tournament! I guess my best was good enough.