Rockets prevail in epic five game match, 22-25, 25-16, 23-25, 25-18, 15-13.
Sports memories -- and fantasies -- are constructed and revealed in different forms. For baseball fans, it's bottom of the ninth and two out with the base loaded. For football, it's the final two minute drill driving for a victory. In soccer, it's a tie score in overtime heading toward a shootout. Whatever sport you happen to enjoy playing, or watching, or cheering on your favorite team, you know when something special is happening on the field of play. Your hands sweat, your heart races, your emotions flip-flop with every turn and twist. And in the end, the difference between winning and losing can be measured by the widest grins, the weight in a pair of cupped hands supporting a bowed head, energy renewed by celebration, and heartbreak consoled only by time and reflection.
Crosstown rivals Richard Montgomery and Wootton battled on the volleyball court in a five game match on Friday, April 18. The winner is the first to take three games. Play to 25 points and, if necessary, a fifth game to 15. Win each game by two points. High school boys competing on a warm Friday evening, with nothing at stake but for the sake of sport. During the course of the two-and-a-half hour match, the temperature and intensity in Wootton's gym grew with each volley.
The Rockets of Richard Montgomery got the upper hand behind a relentless defensive performance...refusing to allow the ball to drop on their side of the net without an all-out effort. The Patriots, playing at home, played through several adverse situations with a level of intensity--fueled with emotion--that came directly from the gut.
And with both teams performing admirably when facing gut check, back-against-the-wall moments, the winner turned out to be the sport of volleyball. Boys Volleyball. Montgomery County Boys High School Volleyball.
If you weren't in Wootton's gym on Friday, April 18 between 6:30 pm and 9:00 pm, you missed a heck of a match. And perhaps more significantly, for those that were there, it was an opportunity to see young student-athletes grow, even if just a smidgen.
Congratulations Rockets and Coach Matlock. You are true sportsmen. And to the Patriots...you can be proud of being part of something worth remembering (especially by your coach...who is very proud of you!).
Wootton Boys Volleyball 2008
website: http://woottonvb.googlepages.com/
newsletter: http://woottonvb.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment