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Kristin Hollifield English 1101 Mrs. McAmis Wednesday, April 11, 2012 Between the Lines To a mere spectator, volleyball can be perceived in numerous ways. From the outside looking in you may think that volleyball is complex or simple. People who see it as complex see the small details put together to make the bigger picture. Those who see it as simple, see just what is going on and choose not to read farther in to the different positions, lingo or technique that go hand in hand with the game called Volleyball. Seeing these differences puts the divide in a player and spectator. Volleyball not only is a complex sport, but includes tedious skill tactics, knowing what position you fill and what that encompasses, and reading the whole court. The sport itself is known for not being an easygoing sport; it is not something you can pick up after one game. Volleyball is team sport where if one person falls the team either falls with you or picks you back up, like a support system. Andrew Carnegie once said: Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results. Taking time to see volleyball from two different perspectives can put a spin on the game for a long time player or someone who has never touched a volleyball in their life. The first perspective is from a person in the stands truly trying to understand the meaning behind everything. To know the meaning behind everything, you have to know the basics. I observed my team at our last home tournament as a person in the stands for one of my own teams

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game. I had no bias, I looked at the game as a blank canvas to see what things had gone unnoticed to me before. I sat in the stands as the match began. Match: a match is a set of games, normally best out of three or best out of five depending upon the ranking and type of game. The winner is determined in two different ways: by who has the most points from all the games compiled or by who has won the most sets out of the match. As I sat and watched the game set up begin, players stand beside the benches stretching getting last minute advice in with the coaches, practicing with other team mates and studying their opponent. Before each match begins ,you have five minute increments to warm up, during this time, the girls warm their arms up and begin preparing for the game. Each team has a warm up, performs it, then the opposing team does the same. Then they both have a two minute time-period to serve back and forth. While watching what I myself had done many times I noticed that all the girls take every little action seriously. Faces go from smiling to focused on every detail of what is going on. The other team has the opportunity at this point to see what they are facing. I watched as both teams took the other teams actions in to thought. The faces of the girls ranged from various serious stares as the setter sets the hitters and passers pass the ball back. From the side line this is just a pre-showing of what is about to occur. The sidelines of the team warming up showed faces preparing for what looked like war. Continuing to be a bystander in the stands, I watched as the match between Appalachian State and UNC Charlotte begins. Looking at a court I see six players on each side of the net in specific positions waiting patiently, looking over to see where the first serve will come. A good serve can set the mood for the whole entire game. Starting off with an ace from the opposing team the crowd for that team goes wild, yells of fans and parents good serve!, ace! An ace is when a ball is served and the passers either get no pass or shank the ball meaning, it is an attempted pass that isnt followed through with a set or hit. From the side lines throughout the game, the girls are

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continuously running around and yelling out positions and volleyball terms that the players themselves understand. As I continued to watch from the stands I could see easily how people would think that volleyball is unorganized or messy. Girls are constantly hitting the floor, running to make the pass, jumping to block the ball and doing whatever it takes to put a hand under the ball. I could hear the shouts from the players jump my ball, my ball, my ball setter out these terms are repetitive for a player and another language to a spectator. As App begins to gain points over Charlotte, the faces of the girls on Charlotte go from ready and calm to jumpy and anxious. Every little pass after this is scrutinized if something goes wrong. You can hear the players saying: we need those passes, keep going, push farther, we can do this. The atmosphere at the game can change with every point. In a volleyball match in-order to win you have to win by two points. A game goes from 0-25, first to 25 or in cases that are close, you must win by two points even if you are over 25. Watching the whole match from the sidelines confirmed for me that you cannot understand volleyball through just watching. Its like trying to put together a thousand piece puzzle and having a single piece missing. Without that single piece it will never be a complete puzzle. After that game it was my turn to take the court, it was my team against our other club team, UNC Charlotte 1 against UNC Charlotte 2. Even though I was no longer a spectator taking the teams actions in to play in a way I still was. We begin to warm up, pulling our knee pads up. Knee pads are part of the volleyball uniform; they protect your knees from the court that you fall all over. They are optional and some players choose not to wear them. Each player individually then takes their position on the court to begin the warm up. The six positions on the court each have different meanings. The front row, or the three girls closest to the net are the hitters, also at the net you have the setter who sets the volleyball up for the hitters. In-order to get a pass for the

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setter you have to have back row players, or the three girls behind the attack line. The attack line is the ten foot line from the net where the hitters begin their approach for the hit. Back row must pass what the opposing team sends over. In volleyball you will always hear it all starts with a pass. These words are taken to the most extreme form in volleyball. Without a good pass from the back row players, you cant get a set and then the hitter will not be able to hit. Each position has their own area to cover and be in. After warming up I sat on the bench and took the spot of what I had watched before. Watching the other team warm up can give you key information into what you are about to go against. My team mates study and talk about each strong hitter (the front row players who position there hits and hit them down.) The pre-game jitters set in and it is finally time to take this to the court. Heavy breathing begins as my team mates and I begin to walk on to the court. We start yelling our chant louder than the other teams chant. The first serve comes over and the passer makes the first pass, the setter sets the ball and the hit is hit down. Thats the prime scenario in my head for what should happen every time the ball comes over the net. The ball is like an egg, you cannot let it drop. One drop can change everything. I yell I got it, I got it before every time I pass the ball. This is telling my other team mates that I am going to pass it, to back off, in other words. The game continues to heighten in excitement as the game runs neck-in-neck for points. You can hear the other team yell free ball meaning they could not get a hit on the ball and it should be an easy pass for my team. Its the last set and we have to win to keep going. As we continue on through the game play the faces of my team mates stay solemn as we watch the ball go back and forth. As we go to shake hands and say good game after a tough loss, I came off the court with a better understanding of a sport I had never taken time to sit back and watch before. I had always

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been inside the lines never outside. The spectator vs. the player role in volleyball is a difference that you have sit and take in with no other thoughts on your mind, sole concentration. Through picking out what others would not notice I noticed the truly minuscule parts that put a sport together. Volleyball is six players with different skills and talents thrown together on a court and made to be a team stitched together by a common love for their sport and hard work.