Have you ever sat down and watched a volleyball match?
More specifically, have you ever watched the MSU women’s volleyball team compete in a match?
If not, all I can say is you’re missing out.
After spending the majority of my weekend in Jenison Field House watching the Coca-Cola/MSU Volleyball Classic, I have a higher level of respect for volleyball and for the people who play it.
Not that I never respected volleyball players, I’m a former high school baseball player and I spent most of my time in high school surrounded by jocks. All athletes have my respect, regardless of which sport.
However, watching the Spartans “never say die” attitude that Saturday gave volleyball a permanent place in my blood.
The No. 12 Spartans’ match against the South Carolina Gamecocks was one for the ages.
“That’s one of the best matches I’ve ever seen,” MSU head coach Chuck Erbe said after the contest.
In my mind, there will always be those historic sports moments that live with you forever: the 2001 World Series, the Pistons winning back-to-back World Championships in 1989 and 1990 and the Spartans 26-24 win over the Michigan last year in “the longest second.”
Somewhere mixed in with those events, there will be a place in my heart for the MSU-South Carolina volleyball game.
The Spartans got shelled in the first game 30-20. The fact the Gamecocks played a flawless game made chances of a Spartan win pretty dim.
When game two started the same, things looked even dimmer. Then the unthinkable comeback began.
The Spartans took game two 31-29, going into extra points for the first time that night. The next two games both went into extra points as well with MSU coming out on top 33-31 and 34-32.
There are thousands of volleyball fans that packed Jenison Field House for that Saturday evening match. They were awing at each kill, groaning at each South Carolina point and booing the referees for nearly every disputable call.
At times, the noise was so deafening, pardon the cliché, but I really couldn’t hear myself think.
During the entire match, my heart was racing. My blood was boiling. My head was ready to explode because of all the excitement.
Ricardo Cooney, the volleyball reporter for The Lansing State Journal told me after the match, “This is volleyball. This is how it’s suppose to be.”
Indeed.
Chris Mackinder, the State News volleyball reporter. He can be reached at Mackind8@msu.edu
