The entire gym felt louder after we tied the score at 15–15.
Not physically louder maybe, because the noise level was already ridiculous, but my brain noticed everything more sharply now. Parents clapping in the bleachers. Coaches yelling court numbers across neighboring games. Volleyballs bouncing from warmups on nearby courts. Even the referee flipping the score cards suddenly sounded important.
I backed into middle-back while we rotated again, wiping my hands against my shorts one more time. Across the net, San Marino's libero Adrian was crouched low already, talking nonstop to his teammates.
"Short if he floats!"
"Middle's late!"
"Watch cross!"
Coach Daniel had told us earlier that good teams sounded organized before they actually looked organized. Adrian definitely sounded organized.
Mason rotated back to serve for us and immediately bounced the ball three times way too aggressively like he was entering the NBA Finals instead of a U10 volleyball tournament.
"Do NOT murder the ball," Coach Mia warned from the sideline.
"No promises," Mason answered.
Then he served directly into the net. Our entire bench groaned instantly.
Mason looked horrified for about half a second before pointing dramatically at the ball retriever. "That wasn't inflated correctly."
"You touched it for like ten seconds," Tyler said.
"Exactly. Sabotage."
San Marino regained set point at 16–15, and suddenly my stomach tightened again. The rotations felt slower now because every point mattered more. I could tell both teams were getting tired too. Footwork wasn't as clean anymore. Players were reacting late. Some passes drifted too tight to the net because legs stopped moving first.
The San Marino server this time was their right-side hitter, a taller kid with a really flat float serve that kept moving at the last second. I lowered my stance immediately while Dylan shifted slightly deeper beside me.
The whistle blew.
The serve crossed fast toward left-back, drifting directly between me and Alex. Earlier in the set that probably would've caused confusion again, but now Alex yelled "YOU" immediately before the ball even crossed the attack line.
I slid underneath it cleanly and angled my platform toward center court. Perfect pass. Not just playable. Perfect.
The ball floated high to target near the middle of the court, and Lucas barely had to move. Coach Daniel clapped loudly from the sideline the second it left my arms.
"Yes Matteo!"
Lucas jumped into the set and pushed the ball backward this time toward Tyler on the right pin. Tyler's approach was messy — way too close to the net — but he adjusted in the air and rolled the ball softly over the block instead of trying to hit hard.
That ended up being the right decision because San Marino's middle blocker bit hard on the swing and jumped early. The tip dropped untouched behind him into open court.
16–16.
Tyler immediately pointed both thumbs toward himself while jogging backward. "Im a volleyball genius."
"You almost tripped," Noah answered.
"Details."
The next rally turned into the longest one of the match so far.
San Marino served short again, forcing Dylan to sprint forward and pass while still moving. The ball floated too far off the net, and Lucas had to chase it almost into right-front before sending a high free ball over instead of running an actual attack.
San Marino transitioned quickly after that. Their setter pushed outside. Their left-side hitter took a full swing cross-court.
Noah closed the block correctly this time. Three quick shuffle steps. Hands pressed over. Shoulders squared toward the hitter.
The ball slammed into the outside of his hands and deflected upward instead of straight down. I reacted automatically and sprinted behind the block coverage line while the ball floated toward deep middle-back.
I dropped low enough that one knee nearly touched the floor and dug the ball high toward the middle of the court again.
"FREE FREE FREE!" Lucas yelled immediately.
Alex sent a controlled ball over. San Marino reset.
Their libero Adrian passed perfectly this time, and their setter ran a quick middle attack that caught Ethan slightly late closing the block. The ball clipped Ethan's fingertips and shot toward deep corner.
Dylan chased it all the way near the sideline and somehow one-armed it back toward center court while stumbling into the scorer's table.
The parents exploded cheering after that save. Even Coach Mia looked impressed.
Lucas tracked the second contact while backpedaling and sent a high outside ball toward Alex again. Alex approached too early, had to hesitate mid-steps, then still managed to poke the ball high off the top of the block.
San Marino's right-back defender shanked the dig toward the bleachers.
Point Stormbreaker.
Our side erupted immediately.
I heard Ethan yelling louder than anybody else while Alex looked completely shocked the point actually worked.
Meanwhile in the bleachers behind us, Mom had both hands pressed against her mouth while laughing nervously.
"I'm more stressed watching this than I thought possible," she admitted.
Mason's dad leaned forward beside her. "I forgot children's sports can feel this intense."
Henrique smiled without taking his eyes off the court. "Matteo's going to replay every rally tonight like game film."
"He already does that," Mom answered.
"That's honestly a little terrifying."
"It's less terrifying once you get used to it," Henrique said casually.
On the court, though, nobody felt casual anymore.
Stormbreaker finally moved ahead 17–16 after Ethan scored his first clean block of the day. San Marino's outside hitter tried swinging line from the left side, but Ethan timed the jump perfectly this time and sealed both hands directly over the net.
The ball dropped straight down onto their side before anybody could react.
Ethan landed looking stunned.
Then Noah grabbed both sides of his shoulders and started shaking him violently. "YOU'RE A WALL."
Coach Daniel immediately called instructions while we rotated again. "Stay disciplined now! Don't rush!"
That became important immediately because Tyler almost tried diving for a ball that was landing five feet out of bounds.
"LET IT GO," I yelled.
Tyler pulled back at the very last second while the ball sailed long.
18–16.
San Marino called timeout.
Their coach gathered everybody near the sideline while Adrian kept talking animatedly with his teammates and pointing toward defensive zones. Across from us, Coach Mia crouched down slightly in front of our huddle.
"Listen carefully," she said while pointing toward the court. "You're winning because you stopped panicking after the first touch. Trust your platforms. Trust the next person."
Then she looked directly at me.
"Matteo, keep owning middle-back. You're reading the serves early now."
My chest tightened a little hearing that. Not nervous this time. Happy.
When the timeout ended, the gym noise crashed back over us immediately while both teams returned to the court. I bounced lightly on my toes while the referee checked rotations again.