If you haven’t read my previous blog entry, you may want to do it before starting this one. I want to share my beautiful experience during day 2 and day 3 of the NCAA Volleyball Championship in Pittsburgh.
Day 2
The first thing we did in the morning of day two was breakfast in a big room reserved for all the student-athletes. On the way there, Adriana, one of my teammates, AKA ‘Frenchie,’ showed me the student-athletes lounge. I didn’t know a student-athletes lounge existed. The lounge is a big room connected to another one, with all sources of video games, ping-pong tables, and other entertainment stuff, where athletes hangout during their spare time.
The best part of day two was practice time. During the official practices, several NCAA members supervise that every team is following the rules and everything goes as planned. We were in our assigned locker room for the tournament, when a NCAA staff member came to bring us to the court, and what a feeling. This gym is the most beautiful and amazing gym I’ve ever seen and getting to play there is another dream come true. After practice, we visited Liberty Elementary School and had a fun time playing volleyball with the kids.
We had dinner in a little, cute Italian restaurant 20 minutes down the road. I have a very weird superstition before important games; I am always looking for signs and I want to believe that I found a good one. As I was entering the restaurant, I had a Deja-vu and I thought that had to be a good omen. Also, I saw a shooting star; I’m guessing that counts too.
On the ride back to the hotel, I texted my dad and we talked about Pittsburgh, about us, and about volleyball. He’s been my fan number one (along with my mom), since I started playing when I was eight. It’s funny how at the end of things, we always look back to remember why everything started.
Remembering my very first volleyball games gave me another reason to enjoy every single second of tomorrow’s game. Somewhere behind the athlete I’ve become and all the experiences I’ve gone through is this little girl, and I just want to make her proud. The last message my dad sent me said “never stop being that little girl.” Dad, I will not. How could I have thought that one day, that eight-year-old who couldn’t make her serve over the net, will be about to play a National Championship in the United States? Strange world.
We finally arrived at the hotel and had treatment with the trainers. I started to get nervous. The game was closer than ever before, and all types of feelings started flowing through me. One of the hardest things for an athlete is waiting until game time. I wish I could see the future—patience has never been one of my strengths. This excitement is something I am really going to miss after this weekend. For those who don’t know me, I am a very talkative person. However, a few hours before the game I got so quiet. I see this as the way my body tells me is time to focus. If I am honest, I am scared for tomorrow. I don’t want regrets, I don’t want “what ifs”. That’s why staying aggressive is important to deal with the pressure. It’s the moment to risk, to put everything at stake, pray, and hope for the best, because this is it; It might be all gone tomorrow. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do know that we are going to play our hearts out.
Day 3
‘We are three games away to becoming National Champions. Just three more games.’ This is all I can think of in the morning of day three. When you are about to play such an important game that might be the last of your volleyball career, nothing else matters. It is like being in a bubble, where the rest of the world has faded away. This adrenaline that makes you feel more alive than ever is what I will miss the most. Actually, what I will miss the most is the feeling of belonging to a team. In my team I found a family away from home. The relationships we have built are very strong. We have struggled together, celebrated together and none of us is the same person than before this season started. We all have grown in many different ways and being part of that metamorphosis is just beautiful.
We arrived at the gym and my heart raced. I’ve never been more excited in my life before a game.
Everything was perfect. The locker room was decorated with motivational quotes and everything was so beautifully set up. The Tarleton cheerleaders and plowboys were loud even during the warm-up. I would never be able to thank them enough for their unconditional support. It didn’t matter what the scoreboard said, they kept giving us their energy.
I made the very first serve of the match, that very first ball that started it all; and when I was at the end-line, holding the ball between my hands, in a gym full noise, I swear, I heard the silent. We lost, and the rest is history, but I wouldn’t want to be here with any other team. I can’t find words strong enough to explain how it feels to play a National Championship match, in such a wonderful environment, with a team that has made me a better player and a better person. I know many athletes who would give all they have to experience something like this and probably some of them deserved it way more than me; but here I am, doing what I love, among the eight top teams in the nation, in the court of my dreams, and with all my family and friends supporting…how can I feel anything other than gratefulness?
The hardest of all, wasn’t the losing, it was knowing that we were better. We had control of the game the whole time, but we couldn’t execute at the end. I am proud of the fight. We never gave up. I can’t stand seeing my teammates and my coaches suffering, but that pain is just a reflection of how much we wanted this. As a senior, it’s hard to let go, and understand that this period of my life is over. But sometimes I wonder, is it really over? Because all I’ve felt, the good and the bad, is so deep in my heart that even time could never take it away.