Reflections from the National Tournament – Day 4

Junior Jenny Benson:
I woke up at 9:30am to get ready for the day. Once everyone was ready, we went to Fire house subs for lunch at 11:00am. After a quick bite to eat, we went to the gym to watch the first matches of the day. In preparation for the game against Kentucky Christian University, you could feel the excitement and nervousness in the locker room. The mantra of the day was "ball out" which means to give your all and leave it all on the court. This was an interesting idea for myself as I don't have opportunity to give my all on the court in the same way as most of the team. The way I "ball out" is by cheering and supporting my fellow teammates. This has been a challenging role to fill. In the past, I thought the only way I could "ball out" was by playing on the court and giving it all I had. But today, I realized that in this game there is so much more.  During the game against KCU, it was a hard fought match. The team gave their all but KCU came out triumphant after a four set match. I was so proud of what my teammates accomplished and how hard they played that it was okay. After a brief break and refueling. We went up against the host team Bob Jones University, who were strong defenders with a great offense.This game was one of the more mentally challenging games we've had all year. There many great strides made by both sides but BJU inevitably came out on top. After our day of volleyball, we finished the night off with dinner at Moe's Southwest grill and highly anticipated Blue Bell Ice cream. I am so proud of my team and I can't wait to see what the next game brings! Let's Ball out Y'all!

Freshman Wynne Vandersall:
Today definitely had its share of difficulty, but even with the many painful moments, I am so proud of how the Lady Eagles stuck together through it all. Although we were not expected to win against Kentucky Christian or Bob Jones, we definitely wanted to win! And although losing hurts, our Heavenly Father promises that every situation has a purpose and that He is working in all things for His glory and for our good. This tournament has brought us closer to God and to each other, and that is so good!  Something that is also very good is getting Bluebell ice cream from the famous Publix grocery store late at night (LOL). We had never been to this grocery store before, to the dismay of southerner Lyndra Davis. Lyndra, who obviously knew her way around, led us straight to the ice cream where we picked out an assortment of flavors to bring back to the hotel and...not finish, (shout out to Alyssa from the Johnson volleyball team for finishing our ice cream for us:). So, we sat laughing and eating ice cream while waiting for our amazing assistant coach Abigail Hoyt to arrrive. What were we laughing about? Lyndra drinking her half-gallon of egg nog. "I also love egg nog ice cream," said Lyndy Hops, in defense of her haterz. Thanks coach Pitman for buying us food, listening to us sing, and just being the best coach!

Abi arrived from her flight with smiles and hugs! She has made such a big impact on each and every one of us this season, and we are so excited to have her with us tomorrow when we take on our Canadian friends from Providence for the first time! We are so thankful that everyone stayed safe today, and that we have one more opportunity to ball out on the court before leaving the beautiful state of South Carolina.