The Volleyball Classics Game

The Volleyball Classics Game. A literal classic. It’s been a Lycée tradition for years; the girls’ and boys’ volleyball teams eagerly compete against one another, all while knowing that it is just for fun, making it that much better. And this time around, it was extra special, with the appearance of a familiar friend. 

Tuesday, November 19, the girls’ and guys’ volleyball teams went up against each other in  a friendly scrimmage. A large crowd attended, unlike any crowd before. Personally, I was surprised, as I had participated in a scrimmage before and not had such an audience. The school’s new mascot, Lenny the Lion, also attended, and energized the spectators. He rallied up the crowd while both teams prepared themselves for the one set game – a set is a total of 25 points, and you usually need two sets to win; however, this was a particular case. Both teams were confident that they would  take the victory. Although the girls volleyball team had not practiced together in over a month, their confidence was still at its peak. The guys, on the other hand, had practiced just in the past week, as their season is now approaching a start. 

The girls started off strong. They got the first serve and they aced their opponents due to  their uptight serve receive. The girls aced several more points in a row. It was all fun and games  until the guys started getting good passes, running an offense and winning points through kills, mostly from the front row. Might I add that Mr. Manet, the adored volleyball coach and sports  teacher, had told them not to hit from the front row, but they did anyway. This was the moment that the girls, who had kept a decent lead of around 5-8 points for half of the set, realized that they were in serious trouble – they were cooked. 

Photo provided by author.

From then on, their defense started to crumble, and the game became extra amusing. I, for  one, crashed into Francesca Biasolo, one of the captains of the girls’ team, who caught me as I did  a full 360º around myself. I swear I'm not clumsy, though I did feel disoriented, but I quickly  focused as another hit came down just above my head. Just a side note, while I, and all the  other girls who were on the court are seasoned players, there happens to be a fear of getting the ball cracked at your head. Luckily, this did not happen – in fact, Vivian Giorgetti, one of the outside  hitters, even did a full split in an attempt to pass a ball. The girls were very driven not to lose. However, despite Mr. Manet’s slightly biased efforts to keep the girls in the lead, it was to no avail. The short game was won with the guys coming through with a block, an ace, and a kill, to win at a three-point lead, 22-25. The impatient audience, mostly the boys, broke out in cheers when a disheartened Mr. Manet announced that the guys had won. 

Mr. Manet (Left) and Lenny the Lion (Right), photo provided by author.

So, what were your thoughts on this match? I suggest you keep your eyes and ears peeled for any news on upcoming games. Hopefully there will be another Volleyball Classics game this  year - I have even heard rumors it might become a monthly event. But either way, this is one of many more to come.