Boys Volleyball - PASB v. EABH: Roles Reverse, the Prey Predates

Riding the high wave, the EABH Hawks are on a winning streak already. Despite it being 8:00 PM, the boys were feeling confident after such an adrenaline-inducing playoff in the last game. It’s safe to say that they were a little nervous and a little tired, which caused them to start the game off on a bit of a negative note. At 0-2 the Hawks were trailing behind the Pan American School of Bahia Panthers with missed serves and missed calls on balls being in or out of bounds. Fear not, however, said co-captain Matheus Cali (10) and Bernardo Dias (30) who blocked, dove, and sprinted after the balls flying and nearly causing point losses. The tempo was slow but steady. With Tiago Loures (5) levitating effortlessly above the net and spiking, the game broke a tie that was marked at 2-2. The crowd felt like this was going to be a tough match with serves barely tipping over the net, spikes missed that were brushed off but reacted to tensely, and silly mistakes appearing every now and then. 

PASB was at no advantage in terms of height, especially considering the Hawks have Chase Mason (8) and Pedro Jorge (20) who measure a height over 190cm. The teams began chasing each other with ties at 6-6, 7-7, and 9-9. Blocks were failing, the fluorescent lighting was getting hazy, and the crowd was filled with silence. Energy was low either due to the time of day or the tension in the air–regardless, the teams were cheering for each other internally.  This energy didn’t stop the athletes from sticking to strategy, taking advantage of certain players’ weaknesses, and working in sync. Joshua and Pedro Luis (18) went flying to create an illusion of Joshua spiking, but Pedro Luis replaced him instantly. The gap instantly started opening. At 11-9, the Panthers called for a timeout in an attempt to re-spark the light they were shining in the beginning. Little did they know, the Hawks were doing the same thing: fueling confidence that was already present. Back on the court, Chase lasered his eyes on every spike and lifted his arms up in sync with his jump to block a ball. The action was so rough it instantly went flying on the libero and it rolled off him and hit the roof. Right then, the crowd began cheering for him. The teamwork was especially immaculate with Joshua diving and team captain, Arthur Mello (14), receiving spikes. As previously mentioned, Arthur is very familiar with the physics in volleyball. His receptions are immediate parabolic motions that fall directly in good hands, PL’s. The teamwork was like cultivating a perfect ecosystem that in turn, created the perfect climate for victory. Climbing the ladder, the Hawks used their one and only power to freeze scores once again. Chase blocked at every chance he got. If he failed, the team standing behind him was ready to run to protect their precious territory. The gap opened to 15-11, then 16-12, then 17-13. The Panthers began slowly messing up every pass and every spike and their stress gradually became more visible. With such a gap, the team was comfortable with brushing off their silly mistakes. For every beautiful serve by the team captain, there was an overload of force by the outside hitters. There was even another 30 seconds of ping-pong which ended with a beautiful point by the Hawks. To end the first set on a beautiful 21-16, Tiago flew above the net and spiked straight down with no room for them to save it. The ball was buried. 

The second set was back to a moment of silence. If the Hawks won this set, they’d get to dinner earlier and would get to have a good night's sleep feeling achieved. The game started with a tie with missed serves and missed spikes. But to coach Laura, it was an opportunity to put pressure onto the reserve team. Jakob Timmerman (13) stepped onto the court for the first time as the points began opening up. The team was encouraging and the points indeed were getting wider and wider. At 8-4 the Panthers called for a timeout which was immediately followed by screams of excitement by the coach Jill and Laura. Bernardo went flying to the back of the court to save a ball, even with the team leading by double the points. His hustle showed just how much effort every player was putting in. His heroic action landed on their side, which was saved when Coach Laura ran out of the way for the teammates to pass it to the other side. The distance was kept at doubles which means the Panthers were capable of scoring points, but not catching up. Persistence prevailed and PL went after every single ball, even if it meant accidentally pushing Pedro Almeida (11) out of the way. They brushed it off, shook hands, and continued slamming the ball onto the other side. The coaches were getting tense at every slip-up and urged the court to focus until the very last second, regardless of the score. The final points were made by Pedro Jorge spiking straight down with the perfect pass from PA. 

It was a good round, but there was little-to-no excitement in the air. There was tension, expectation, and sleepiness. But that just goes to show how the Hawks have a great chance at winning gold this season.