"Just Believe"

On October 6th there was a volleyball match between BYU and TCU. It went to a fifth game where TCU was up 9-4. The coach called a timeout and said, "Just believe." The team came out of the timeout and scored 11 of the next 12 points to win the final game 15-10.

I've thought about that game quite a bit during the last 3 weeks. It was quite the profound experience to me. This was no small feat even against an inferior opponent. Over the rest of game 5, the team did something very remarkable. The first point out of the time out was BYU scoring on a sideout. The remainder of the points were 9 points scored with the serve and only one other sideout. TCU scored only one point on a sideout over that final stretch.

In volleyball statistics there is the sideout percentage and the scoring percentage. The sideout percentage is the number of points scored when receiving the other team's serve divided by the number of attempts. Here BYU was 2 for 2, 100%. The scoring percentage is the number of points scored from serving divided by the number of serves. Here BYU was 9 for 10, 90%. A good team will have a sideout percentage above 60%. If a team's average sideout percentage is 8 points higher than their opponents sideout percentage (their own scoring percentage is the same as their opponents sideout percentage) they will win pretty much every match they play against that opponent. BYU going 100% on sideout attempts isn't that big of a deal with just two attempts, but the fact that they scored 9 points on 10 serves is pretty amazing to me. Using that 60% figure as a benchmark, BYU should have only expected to score about 40% of the time on the serve. Even taking into account that the two rotations that they did this featured two of the most consistently good servers in the lineup, this was a huge feat.

I remember very distinctly going into that timeout feeling the inevitability of defeat looming on the horizon. I remember wondering what on Earth the coach would say to rally the troops. Then I see him with a happy expression and saying, "just believe." I can't remember how many times he said it, but that simple instruction was given and received.

One could reasonably say that going 9 for 10 with only a 4 in 10 chance each time is virtually impossible. A definition I once heard for virtually is almost. Something that is virtually impossible is only almost impossible. There is still the potential for success. Whatever that opponent is, just believe. Take that quiet confidence and start chipping away. Take it one point at a time, manage errors, and believe.