On October 19th, the boys volleyball team set out for the 2022 volleyball SAISA, hosted by Lincoln School in Nepal. Upon arriving at Kathmandu airport, the entire team was picked up by one of the school buses which took us to the hotel, Hyatt Place. As we arrived we got some lunch, went it our rooms, went for a swim as a team, and relaxed. At the end of the night before going to our rooms, we got together as a team in the lobby of the hotel to discuss plans and strategies for the next three days of the tournament. Since we were in the very first game of the tournament we decided to wake up earlier in order to get to school as early as possible to warm up before the ceremony.
Immediately after waking up, we rushed over for breakfast and took the first bus out to Lincoln school to stretch our legs before the opening ceremony. After a 30-minute ceremony in which each team was introduced and welcomed by the Nepalese school, the first game of the tournament began where we were against the home team. Our rivals were supported and cheered by their school while the stress slowly augmented. For the first set, it was really close in terms of points for both teams, but we were able to squeeze out a win for the first set. Once we had settled in, we were a lot more comfortable in our defense and offense which propelled us to a comfortable win over the home team.
With our first game early in the morning, we didn’t have our next game till 18:30 pm. This gave us a lot of time and opportunity to meet new people from other schools and to create new friendships. To fill in the rest of the time we were also watching the majority of the other games to observe the strengths and weaknesses of all our opponents. After a long wait, our next game was finally up where we had warmed up 30 minutes before. Our second game was against ACS. With the first set we came out victorious with some lethal serves that they were not able to receive. With a few points conceded, we were able to win our second set leaving us with two victories for the day. To close out the day we had dinner as a team and went back to the hotel to recharge for the next day.
The next tournament day was very similar as we had two more games against Dhaka and ISOI. With our first game in the morning, we were up against one of the hardest teams in the tournament, Dhaka. With a tough loss in the first set, our drive and motivation were even higher. Showing resilience and strength, we were able to win the last two sets of the game. Later that day in the afternoon, we had to win one more game against ISOI to secure a spot in the semifinals. With a few close sets, we were able to win our last game of the day for a clean sheet. With a tough day ahead, we went to bed with a winning mentality.
Upon arriving at school later in the morning, we started warming up trying to stay as calm and loose as possible for the semi-finals game against Chennai. With a close and competitive win in the first set, we were starting to play less intensely causing us to lose by one point in the second set, pushing us to the third and final set of the game. We were able to outplay our opponents in the last set who seemed more anxious, which got as a shot to be the next champions of volleyball SAISA.
For our final game of the tournament against Dhaka, all the teams and schools participating in SAISA were there to cheer for both teams. For the finals, instead of playing a maximum of three sets, the final game of the tournament was out of 5 sets which meant we had to win three sets out of the 5. With determination, we managed to comfortably win our first set. However, Dhaka then came back with a vengeance convincing everyone on the court and stands that they were going to win the second set. But by boosting each other’s confidence, we managed to catch up from an 8-point deficit and win the second set. By shocking our opponents, their confidence was at a down low which boosted us even more to be the 2022 SAISA volleyball champions!
Volleyball team huddle (Credit: Ms. Sue)
Winners! (Credit: Ms. Sue)
2022 SAISA Volleyball Squad