One Spike, One Point, One Game at a Time

Albert Jeong

            

On Friday, September 28th, Dalat hosted its renowned Spike and Strike tournament, which involves the soccer and volleyball teams competing against other international schools around the country.

It wasn’t surprising that a lot of supporters and spectators watched the games; every Friday, lots of students stay on campus until 10pm to hang out, especially on game days. The first volleyball game started at 4pm, but the gym was packed even before the match started.  The first team Dalat played was ISKL.

To start the first set, Daniel Kang (12) was placed as setter, Albert Jeong (12), Yao Tan (12), and Trevor Ronning (12) as outside hitters, Karl Chan (12) and Zhi Yong Lee (11) as the middle blockers, and Seunghwan Kim (10) as Libero. At the beginning of the match, Dalat picked up the pace, head-to-head against ISKL. The tension during the game rose as the whole crowd cheered, wondering which team would break their rhythm first. Unfortunately, for Dalat, the serve error had led to receiving difficulty, which led to the loss of the first set.

These mistakes in the first set, however, visibly carried into the second as Dalat continued to make mistakes in service. When the score was 16-20 with ISKL in the lead, one of the ISKL athletes made two aces in a row against the home team. The audience saw the defeated look upon the Dalat athletes’ faces, and the game soon ended with the score of 18 – 25.

Dalat’s next game at 6pm that day was against the Floaters. Once again, the crowd was filled with supporters. Team captain Daniel Kang (12) stated, “Play every round like it’s a game point.”

Dalat fought intensely, winning the first set and losing the second. The audience noticed the looks of concentration on Dalat’s athletes, as even one mistake could cost the team a lot. Towards the end of the third set, the score was 15-14 with Dalat in the lead, as a tiny error from the opponent led the Dalat Eagles to victory.

Despite all the bittersweet moments that day, Dalat’s varsity boys got their happy ending. Meanwhile, varsity girls dominated the tournament and even got first place!  Mikaela Steinkamp (12) stated, “It was an awesome time to bond with the team as well as play some good volleyball.”

This tournament was full of intensity and excitement, and through it all, Dalat’s varsity teams worked hard to achieve their victories.