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"A Weekend of Grit and Glory at ISKL" by Tia Emmanuel

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“Come on, guys, do it for Kyra!” yelled Evangeline Fan (10) beside me as we pushed through the second set against Yangon International School. We were fighting for third place in the Twin Towers Volleyball Tournament, hosted by the International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL), and every point mattered.

The first set had been a breeze—Jacy Ho (10) had an incredible serving streak, with Lee Yan Tan (12) following closely behind. We ended that set 25–4. But the second set felt endless, with each point traded back and forth. The bench couldn’t sit still. Every one of us played with Kyra Lim (10) in mind—she was out due to an injury, but her spirit was with us. 

“We just wanted to win it for her,” Evangeline said afterward, still beaming.

When the score hit the 20s, Yangon called a timeout. Coach Schultz gathered us in a huddle and told us, “Finish strong—this is your game.” 

We went back out, hearts racing, and fought for every serve, every dig, every hit. When we finally won 25–23, we erupted in cheers. Parents and teammates rushed to celebrate, forming a tunnel of high-fives. We’d done it—third place!

After catching our breath, we ran to the opposite side of the gym to support the boys’ varsity team, who were battling the KL State team for the championship title. The gym was packed, energy buzzing. “Jackson, nice serve!” shouted Abraham Johnson (12) as Jackson Closs (11) stepped up—a Dalat tradition that always hypes everyone up.

The boys started behind, 4–10, but when KL State served out, everything changed. Samuel Yeoh (11) served calmly, Joshua Stevens (12) and Zong Jue Tan (10) blocked like machines, and the crowd went wild as they tied it 10–10. The points kept trading until 15–15. Then Kai Ji Bok (10) served, and after a tense rally, Joshua tipped the ball perfectly over the blockers—game point! The entire gym exploded.

“Winning the tournament was surreal,” Joshua Stevens (12) said afterward. “After hours of hard work and cheering for my team, it finally paid off. When I scored the final point, the only things I felt were pure excitement and joy.”

“We were really proud of the whole team,” added Ivan Chan (11). “Even though we had highs and lows, we encouraged each other and knew we could turn the game around. That final comeback was well deserved.”

We’d just witnessed Dalat’s first-place win in the boys’ division. The cheers, the hugs, and the pride made it a weekend none of us will forget.

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