Forth a Comeback: SAISA Volleyball 2019-20

“A trophy carries dust. Memories last forever.” – Mary Lou Retton

This season was special because we knew as a team that we had the potential to be crowned as champions and expectations were very high. We travelled to Muscat, Jordan where TAISM hosted the annual SAISA Volleyball tournament with 10 different teams competing.

We started the tournament with a solid win against AISC Jordan, we dominated the first set and slowed down in the second where we eventually killed the game off. We then faced AISC where we won that game and took 2 sets, the next 2 games were back to back losses against Dhaka and TAISM where both games were very close but we took positive things out of it as we showed potential to be greater than what we were. After the letdowns, we started to perform like a contending team, showing our defensive and attacking strengths. Our attacking assets showed real quality during the next few games against Chennai, Lincoln and the Pakistan schools. We were then tested by Bombay where their team had great spikers and all-rounded players. We lost to them in 3 sets which showed that they were a tough opponent. We were then defeated by Dhaka (AISD) after narrowly bringing it into a third set but we just couldn’t finish that set on top of Dhaka. It was a hard one to take as it was an opportunity for us to be in the finals for the first time in a long time. We held our heads high as we played to the best of our abilities and were just outsmarted by the opponents.

Day 3 brought us up against TAISM in the 3rd-4th place decider. A tough match as they were the host team, it was us against TAISM and their crowd. The atmosphere nevertheless was unbelievable as the crowd got louder and louder. We dominated the first ten points in the first set but lost momentum and the nerves started to kick in throughout the team. We ended up losing the first set but we needed to win this set to kickstart our winning mentality back in. It was clearly too late as we still couldn’t shake the nerves out. TAISM took set 2. This time we wanted to fight even harder because we knew that we could pull a comeback as we’ve done it throughout the tournament and proved everyone that we had a ‘fighting’ and ‘never-give-up’ attitude. And so we narrowly won that set. The next set brought out pressure for both sides as this was a decider for TAISM and a lifeline for us in terms of sets. It was a hard-fought set from both sides and a set which showcased qualities of both teams, but sadly we were outplayed by TAISM.

We finished fourth in the tournament, a position that didn’t reflect the quality of volleyball we played throughout the tournament. We knew we could have done better but sometimes that’s how it goes and we just got to accept it. What was surprising was that we held our heads high and was proud with how we all contributed to the team. We were a family and we enjoyed every moment we stepped on to the court with each other. We held each others backs and when someone got down on the team, we would always lift them up. This is why I love the sport of Volleyball, the pure teamwork and chemistry which was essential for a team’s success. The teams called us “Comeback-Kings” as we showed the teams that we do not give up no matter what happens. It was a journey that was a joy to be a part of and I’m hoping that I will be a part of it next year. “Geckos Awoosh”

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