U14 Girls Volleyball

by Lau Yih Hsuan Athena (S2R)

When we had our first match of the season, many of us didn’t even know each other’s names, and some of us didn’t know how to play volleyball; yet we had to play our first match of the season against HKIS. We ended up losing 25-3. Two months later, we got into playoffs and beat that same team in an intense tiebreaker 15-13. Although it was mainly the starting unit that played on court, I feel that the growth of the entire team has been incredible. Many of us new players were novices to volleyball, yet by the end of the season, our form, technique, and movement were much better.

Playing volleyball has made me realise how important it is to really put in effort into what you do. Many players took out their own time to practice their serves, sets, and spikes during recess and during lunch in the sports hall. That has contributed immensely to our improvements throughout the season and has made me see how much truly committing yourself to a sport can help you hone your skills.

In addition, I think that having the volleyball season start so early in the year was a blessing in disguise. We faced so many setbacks and challenges, but learning to overcome them one by one and in such a short period of time has not only helped us bond as a team but made us stronger as individuals. When we just started learning how to serve, many of us couldn’t do it. But as we forced ourselves to improve, to correct out technique with help from the more experienced players, gradually, more and more serves made it over the net.

It is impossible to describe the joy and happiness many of us felt when our team captain, Eunice, hit the last point with an ace, winning us the bronze medal in the playoffs. Making it into playoffs and even getting a medal in Division 1 is a huge achievement, and we saw it as both a culmination of our efforts and all we had put into our training and games throughout the year. At the end of the season, we can see how far we’ve come, from not knowing how to play to getting a medal. The progress we have made this year is amazing, and we have done it as a team. That is what made our volleyball season so special this year.