Volleyball

So I don't have any exciting pictures of us totally killing the other team (NOTE: By killing, I mean slamming the ball in their faces), but I do have some nice photos of our team, minus a couple people who played off and on throughout the season. From top left to bottom right:

Brad: Never played a game of volleyball in his life until now and now he is one of our best servers and getting very limber at the net too.
Juliana: She may be little, but she is vicious! Gotta love the forearm pads, which may just be her secret to being the best passer ever! She can send that ball right on over the net from any place in the court. And, she can serve overhand.
Jared: Don't let him fool you. While is also our comic relief and likes to entertain us by sacrificing his face, more importantly he is one of our best all around players and most improved. He passes well, serves awesomely and consistently (one of our starting servers), has great net skills, AND he is moving up in the world with his setting skills.
Amber: The best setter a team ever had. Need I say more? She is the reason we actually have the opportunity to slam the ball in the other team's faces!
Me: Just another member of the team. Mostly I tell everyone what to do and where to go and they are very patient with me.
Jeff: Our secret weapon. Once he realized he could hit the ball, he wasted no time in taking advantage of his skillz. There's no need for him to flex his muscles.
Chuck: He may be quiet, but he is backing you up all the way. One of our best all around players. Can't forget his awesome blocking skills. He can read a hit coming a mile away!

Now for the info on us. We were ranked 18 out of 19 teams in a local volleyball organization when it came to tournament time. But, a little practice and a lot of luck, we made it to the championship game. Really, the first two teams we were supposed to play never showed and so then we had time to actually practice and we all know that practice makes perfect! It was so fun seeing everyone improve practially overnight! We went on to win the next two games.

Then it was championship game night. We lost the first game horribly but came back to win the second by a long shot. We were on and totally could have beat the other team, who felt so threatened that they put in their best server to start. Somehow, we lost our rhythm and fell out of sync, but hung on until the end. We ended up losing the third game, but fought the whole way. We totally could have beat the other team. I saw the fear in their eyes. With a little more practice, we will win next year and I hope we get to play the same team. That would be awesome!

A nicer photo of us. Brad and Juliana are married. Jared's wife, Esther, played a couple times. Amber is one of our bestest friends in the whole world, as well as her husband, Noel, and Maddox is best friends with their son, Greg. Jeff and I are married, of course. And Chuck is married to the designated babysitter of the kids.

Juliana is sitting mighty close to Chuck, but she is not married to him, nor is she hitting on him, even though it may appear that way with her long, silky smooth, leg all up in his face. That is just the way we are-having a great time! Jeff and I wake up the morning of a game and say, "Today is a good day. We get to play volleyball tonight!" Thanks to all those who watch Maddox and make it possible. We really appreicate it!