Lauren Adams' Volleyball Diary: 9/18/06
9/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 18, 2006
Each week, senior volleyball player Lauren Adams will take a few minutes to chronicle the Ladyjacks' weekly journey in search of their third consecutive Southland Conference Championship. Be sure to check out www.sfajacks.com every Monday throughout the season to keep up with the Ladyjacks.
We set out for this weekend's series against Troy State and Louisiana Tech at 9 a.m. on Friday and arrived in the thriving metropolis of Ruston, La., just in time for lunch. There we encountered a plethora of fine dining opportunities ranging from Johnny's Pizza to Quizno's. Coach decided on Quizno's, but when we entered we found that their staff was faced with one serious obstacle . . . they had no food. There was no lettuce for salads, the vegetables were scarce and the only meat they had was frozen chicken. Danny, our sandwich technician, tried his best to persuade us to stay by informing us that they did have fresh bread, but was quickly silenced when Coach pointed out that they had nothing to put on the bread. While Danny attempted to process that information the team left the restaurant in search of something more suitable. We spotted a Subway in the adjacent strip center and decided to give that a whirl. Though they were out of the highly sought-after BBQ Baked Lays and made their salads with the shredded sandwich lettuce, the meal was acceptable, and we left full.
After our meal we headed to the gym to watch the match between the two teams we were going to play that weekend and to get ready to warm up for our match that evening against Troy State. We finally had a full warm-up for the first time this season so when it was game time, everyone was ready. The match went pretty smoothly and we were able to win in three games. Pleased with the win, we departed the gym to rest and get ready for the next day's match.
Saturday morning we ate at our hotel before leaving for the gym. We had an early passing time, which meant that we would have a 45-minute break between that and the official game warm-up. To fill that void we had get-to-know-you time where each person on the team can ask anyone anything. This was probably the most hilarious point in the weekend, but cannot be shared in order to protect the guilty. When it was finally game time we went out and played strong from the start. We were able to win the first two games easily. However after the break between the 2nd and 3rd games La. Tech came back with a vengeance. They swung the momentum their way and got off to an early lead. So, after a few missed serves, Coach decided to mix things up and told me to go in and serve. As soon as I heard her utter those words I began to go into tiny convulsions and lost control of my breathing. I literally thought that I might pass out before it was even time to actually go in. (But I was totally confident the whole time, Coach, I swear.)
The average person may not understand why this was such the earth-shattering event I made it out to be. To understand why this was so crucial one would have to be familiar with my stats so far this season. In the three service attempts I had made I had accumulated three service errors. So you can understand why the word stress does not even come close to describing my state.
Anyway, to make a long and traumatic story short, yours truly was able to not only finally serve a ball IN the court, but I was actually able to throw in an ace. It was a truly satisfying moment for me and the shock of me finally executing a legal serve was enough to get the momentum back. We were able to come back and win the 3rd game and the match.
We left Ruston with an overall record of 9-3 and some added confidence. The team was able to play well and it was a good boost prior to beginning conference play. With a good three days of practice before our next match, we should be prepared to win again. Our first conference match is next Thursday in San Antonio versus UTSA.
