Oh, how sweet it is

My last season of volleyball just ended in two whirlwind weeks that have made me the proudest I have ever been to be a part of a team. Our team got into the regional tournament with the equivalent to an at-large bid then proceeded to show everyone at the tournament we were indeed at large. Our team came together and played with so much heart, confidence and pride. Our coach always reminds us that every team has an identity whether that identity is memorable or not and during the regional tournament we cemented ours in a very memorable way. With a west region championship we headed off to Bloomington, Illinois and the national tournament. This really was an experience unlike any other. We had a banquet with all the teams, got free stuff (including a really cool backpack that I will wear for the rest of the school year) and really just got a huge visual picture of the status we had achieved as a team. What makes this even cooler is that us seniors especially feel like we have taken a program that was struggling and brought it back to its former glory (dramatic, I know, but I couldn't help it). And whats even cooler is that two of our assistant coaches were players on the last team that went to nationals. It is so cool to have them here as part of our team as we re-establish UPS as a national caliber team. It really feels like the tradition matters and is something to be proud of. Us six seniors leave the team with a legacy and thats just about as good a feeling you can get as a team athlete. More than any of the above, for me this was the reward for all my years on teams that had all the potential in the world but never the necessary drive to make that potential into the reality of an amazing team. We finally did it. I finally was part of a team championship (west region). Even greater, my best friends in the whole world were also part of the experience. So even though we went to Illinois and lost our first game in three and probably didn't play our absolute best, I'm ok with it. We made it to the elite eight and peaked at the perfect time in the season creating memories, feelings and friends I will never forget. I'm pretty sure the season could have only been better had we actually won the whole thing which is a pretty tall order. In any case this was the sweetest ending to my competitive volleyball career I could have imagined.