Tonight we had a tall order at hand, a match scheduled against the #4 ranked team in the world, Serbia. Last night we had endured a [for lack of better term] butt-kicking from the Polish, and in all honesty... the mood was a bit gloomy. The day unfolded in a relaxed fashion. I was eager to get a few swings in at practice, since my well rested body was itching to twitch and jump and such. Although I felt both physically and mentally present, gosh... I just wasn't that good. Sloppy, undisciplined, and instinctive in the stupid way [there's a difference].
Our meeting was brief, the Serbs had just played a masterpiece of a match against the Germans the same night we lost to Poland, and the mentality was very much, "We have the chance to test our abilities against some of the best in the world. Take what you can learn, let's see if we can win a few points out there."
It was so difficult watching the last match from the stands [regardless of my cheerful demeanour in the videos], it's a feeling of helplessness, and that's why being told that I would dress today meant a lot to me. I was there for my team, I had THEIR BACK.
The bus ride was uneventful, we were calm, relaxed, and I was admiring the sights of a commercial & industrial port town. A lot of odd things happen at world championships, and like I say, "Odd is rarely a bad thing." In the 10 meters between our bus and the entrance to the arena, we were greeted by fans bearing Polish wear. Apparently Red & White fashion preference transcends cultural background. That, and the most famous man not in Poland is on our team. [I'm talking about, Adam Kaminski. Who will be playing in "Fart" this year, Polish A league. An instant fan favourite. I even heard he got offered some man's daughter after the game... rad.]
Gord and I stepped onto the court first, looking to play our traditional pre-match/practice pepper, but due to procedures the balls were nowhere to be found. We had a team meeting, reiterating a few key points about the game, and then the whole team took the floor. I'm not sure who they were, but they were dressed in blue, appeared to be school children, lined 1/2 the upper bowl of the arena, and went WILD as we stepped out. These fans were excited, for volleyball, and for the Canada.
Warm up is a fun time, it's like the non-lethal blood sport component to volleyball. Everyone flies high, hits shots they would never dare to in match, and gives the fans a taste of what it is to come. I felt good at this point.
As the match began I took my more familiar spot in the reserves box, and awaited to be called upon. To my surprise, and many others, Serbia decided to start their incomplete line up. Perhaps they figured this was a match in which they could rest their stars, get their bench valuable experience... and win. That's the nice way of putting it.
We started playing, and we started playing well. Before you knew it, we had won the first set. It was surreal, regardless of who was on the court, in the books we had won a valuable set. We went into the 2nd set much the same, and they started exactly the same. It was a fluke, everyone knew it, Serbia would settle down and settle in, and Canada would let them. But after we continued to lead in the early going, Serbia decided that the possibility of losing another set was too much of a gamble, so they called upon their Studs. But to no avail, we took the 2nd set too! The stadium was packed, we were pumped, and the Polish fans were backing us up 100%. Things suddenly felt good, we were on the verge of a major upset. And we loved it.
The 3rd set... happens. I mean, this isn't the minors anymore, the #4 ranked team in the world is not going to get beaten up on. It just doesn't happen, often enough for us to be surprised at what happened. We went down big, and quickly. At one point it was something like 20-10. I think that's when Gord, I, and Dallas went in. The self titled "176 crew" [we live together, and that's part of our address], and in my opinion we lit it up! There was no winning the set, but the tie breaker formula factors wins, then points for, so every point matters a great deal. Gord had an incredible kill to end a monstrously long rally [in which I was ACTUALLY too tired to jump anymore], Dallas had a major block and vital shots, and I put down a couple balls myself. We managed to get out of that set with 17, not too shabby.
For the 4th set I am reminded of a quote. "Do you know what I miss most? You're going to laugh when I tell you this... Sports. Yeah that's right, I used to love getting to the game just before [it begins]. If I timed it right i could sit down right [in front], then let the emotion of the crowd flood over me. Waves and waves of it, like electric current." -- Gaius Baltar, BSG season 2.
Don't judge me, it's a good quote. It's what I felt, the crowd, the waves, the energy, it's... indescribable. It would have been VERY easy for us to lay down, and let Serbia have the 4th set, and nobody would have said BOO because they all knew that for us, it was already too good to be true.
I got the call to start, here was my chance... I'd waited for it quite a while, and like I said, "I was well rested." I've played with our setter Dustin for several years, and as much as we banter back and forth about petty issues such as;
1. The set being too low OR
2. Me being too tight to the net, and that's why it's low, or why I can't hit my shots.
I think that there is a really strong trust between us.
Canada started fine, and so did Serbia... but things were looking all right. All I can remember are flashes:
1. Dallas smashing monstrous kills from near impossible angles.
2. Fred, Toon, and Dan Lewis passing absolute DIMES [that's cool-vball-talk for good pass]
3. And the feeling that we were at a level we hadn't been this summer.
But let's fast forward to the end. 24 - 23 Canada, Toon Van Lankvelt passes a perfect ball to Dustin, and here's where it gets interesting... I had killed 6 balls in 7 attempts, I was playing well, and I spoke about Dustin's trust... A part of me knew that he was going to give me the chance to finish the match, and an even bigger part of me knew that "If the other part was correct, I better succeed." I rushed in, jumped as high as I've ever jumped [according to Dallas] and swung with complete delinquency, disregard, and instinct [the good kind].
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEEvd0WdWII <-- Spoiler Video of the final point.
As the ball hit the floor on the Serbian side of the court, I paused for a moment in mid air. "I don't want to change a thing." I didn't know what to do, I'm not much for celebration... before I could voluntarily do anything, I had sprinted 1/2 way around the court while high-stepping, and beckoning to the crowd. The team quickly caught up, and we shared a brilliant moment of embrace. We were more for that moment, more what? who knows... but MORE. And as Glen joined us in celebration, and I don't mean to embarrass, I could see the tears of joy brewing inside. This meant so much to him, and to see that much passion from another person almost [but certainly did not, no matter WHAT Gord says] forced me to follow.
It's 1am, I should be asleep. But I had to share this with you tonight. I never thought I would get this into the blog... but it's become something for me to reach out with, and I want to thank everyone who has been reading it. We play Germany tomorrow, who lost to Poland in 5 tonight. If we win we're safe, and on to the next round, if we lose 3-1 or worse we're out, and 3-2 would go down to the tie breaker. Wish us luck, we want this. Until tomorrow, all the best
-j.duff
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