November 11th, 2013              

    Admittedly I know next to nothing about volleyball. Short of keeping the ball off of the ground and hitting it a maximum of three times per side, all of the rules are foreign to me. Because of this lack of knowledge, I don't have a lot of commentary that I am able to add about today's game. From what I can see, the teams play a total of three sets regardless of who wins each one. Since Sam's team won the first set and lost the second, their third set was meaningful. When the other 7th grade team played (after Sam's game), they lost their first two sets but still played a third. I'm not sure of the reasoning, but it is good practice in a sport that is new to virtually everyone playing it.

    As I said, Sam's team won 2 out of their 3 sets, giving her team the victory in today's match. She played fairly well overall, getting to several balls hit in her general vicinity. She definitely needs to work on her serve, which typically came up short of the net, but that will come with experience and practice. In fact, most of the errors made today can be chalked up to a lack of experience overall (that applies to the opposing team as well). For the most part the balls that she hit went over the net or were to set up a teammate - I think she may have hit a couple out of bounds (one almost went into the basket... for a second there I thought she was aiming for a three-point shot!). Again, her play was no worse than anyone else on the court, and it was certainly better than some of the others...

Game 1 - vs. Clio Carter Middle School
	Samantha was selected by her coach as one of the two team captains prior to today's match.
	Sam hitting the ball towards the net.
	Sam's team faced one player backwards (her, in this instance) when the other team served, so that she could more easily see where her teammates hit the return of the serve.
	Sam waiting for the other team to serve.
	Sam throwing the ball up for her serve...
	...and following through.
	Sam hitting the ball once again.
	Another shot of Sam hitting the ball.
	Sam going down to get the ball...
	...and watching as it heads towards the net, hoping her teammates can finish the play.
	Sam looking up after hitting the ball.
	From what I gathered, Sam and her teammate touched hands in order to switch position after the serve (although I could be totally wrong on the reasoning).
	Samantha reaching up for a serve...
	...and following through.
	Sam watching another one of her hits.