Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Chapter One: Travel Team?

  Chapter Two: A New Level

  Chapter Three: The Panthers

  Chapter Four: Dance Party

  Chapter Five: Hurt Feelings

  Chapter Six: Tough Decisions

  Chapter Seven: Going All Out

  Chapter Eight: Making Up

  Chapter Nine: First Game!

  Chapter Ten: The Final Set

  Author Bio

  Illustrator Bio

  Glossary

  Discussion Questions

  Writing Prompts

  Volleyball Terms

  Explore More

  Copyright Page

  Back Cover

  Chapter One

  Travel Team?

  Asiyah Najjar and Lucy Stone were cracking up. They were eating lunch at school and were laughing so hard that they both almost fell out of their seats.

  “You are the funniest person ever!” Lucy exclaimed. “You always make me laugh.”

  “We definitely have a lot of fun together,” Asiyah replied.

  “We’ll have even more fun if we make the travel volleyball squad this year,” Lucy said. “You are trying out tomorrow, right?”

  Asiyah groaned. “Ugh, maybe? I’m not even sure if I want to join.”

  “Why not?” Lucy said, picking up a french fry. “I know you’re not as excited about it as I am. But we’ll improve so much. We’ll play against better teams.”

  “I don’t know. I like the old rec league where anyone could play,” Asiyah said. “I don’t think I’m competitive enough for travel volleyball.”

  “You’re a good player. You’ll be fine,” Lucy replied. “Plus, you’ve gotten so much taller since last year. You could play in a bunch of different spots.”

  “I guess. It’s just that travel teams have so many practices! When will I have time for piano lessons, or time just to relax?” Asiyah said.

  She paused. “And on the town team, I didn’t have to explain to anyone about wearing my hijab. The coaches and the players understood what it is and why I wear it.”

  Lucy looked at Asiyah’s bright, flowered headscarf. “No one will care that you wear a hijab. Lots of Muslim girls wear them in all kinds of sports,” she replied. “You have the skills to make the team. Try out!”

  “I guess if I didn’t make it, I’d just be back on the rec team,” Asiyah said.

  “So you’ll do it? Are we are going to be travel-team buddies?” Lucy asked.

  Asiyah put both thumbs up. Then she did a little dance, wriggling in her seat and whipping her head around. The two girls burst out laughing again.

  Chapter Two

  A New Level

  The next day, Asiyah and her older brother, Rad, walked to the town rec center. That’s where the Lakeville Panthers travel team was having its tryout.

  “Come on, Asiyah,” Rad said. “You don’t want to be late for tryouts.”

  Asiyah sighed and walked faster. “I’m not totally sure the travel team is even right for me,” she told her brother.

  “It could be really great,” Rad said. “You know how much I love my travel soccer team. It’s tough work, but it’s worth it.”

  Soon they reached the rec center. Rad opened the door for his sister. They could hear the coach talking in the gym.

  “Oh no, I am late!” Asiyah exclaimed.

  Rad laughed. “Good luck, Asiyah!” he yelled as his sister rushed inside.

  Asiyah scanned the gym and found Lucy sitting on the floor. Asiyah hurried over and plopped down next to her friend.

  “I’m so glad you decided to come!” Lucy whispered.

  Asiyah made a goofy face, and Lucy giggled quietly.

  “You have to stop being so funny, or we’ll get kicked out of tryouts!” Lucy said.

  Asiyah smiled. “Fine, I’ll stop. For now!” she whispered back.

  They listened as Coach Elise talked. But soon Asiyah was looking around.

  “Hey, Lucy! It’s Shivani, Rachel, and Jessica from our old team,” Asiyah whispered. She waved to her friends.

  “We need to pay attention,” Lucy said.

  “Oh, right. Sorry!” Asiyah replied. She turned back to the coach.

  “Players on this team rely on each other,” Coach Elise said. “They push themselves because they want the team to succeed.”

  Asiyah sat up straighter. She still wasn’t sure about travel volleyball, but the coach did make it sound exciting.

  After Coach Elise finished her talk, she asked the girls to come to the net. “I’m going to hit a ball over,” she said. “Tip, bump, or spike it back.”

  Asiyah was the first to go. As the ball came, she jumped high. She brought her hand down for the spike. But she hit the side of the ball. It dropped softly over the net.

  “Try again,” Coach told her.

  This time, Asiyah was able to hit the ball a little harder. But it still fell weakly toward the sidelines. I’ll have to do better than that! she thought.

  Lucy was next. She was shorter than Asiyah. When she jumped, she didn’t go as high, but she smacked the ball deep into the court.

  After each girl had a few turns, Coach Elise blew her whistle. “Next, let’s return some serves.”

  The girls lined up behind Asiyah in the back of the court. The coach served the ball.

  Whoosh! The ball zoomed over the net.

  Asiyah lunged for it. She put her hands together and bumped the ball into the air— then she landed on the floor with a splat!

  “Yikes! That’s the fastest ball I’ve ever seen,” Asiyah told Lucy as she got back in line. “That serve twisted me into a pretzel!”

  Lucy smiled. “You handled it pretty well, though.”

  Asiyah watched as her friends from the rec team stepped up. Shivani, Rachel, and Jessica easily returned Coach Elise’s serves. Soon Asiyah got used to the speed too. On her third turn, she bumped it back—without doing a face plant.

  By the time the tryout was done, Asiyah was tired and sore. She and Lucy gathered their things and started walking home.

  “Phew! That was a lot of volleyball!” Asiyah exclaimed.

  “Yeah, those drills were tough,” Lucy said.

  “I was kind of awkward at the beginning,” Asiyah added. “But it felt awesome once I got the hang of returning Coach’s serves.”

  “I think you have a really good chance of making the team,” Lucy said.

  “I know you will. You were great, like always!” Asiyah said.

  “Well, we’ll find out tomorrow,” Lucy replied. “I can’t wait until Coach Elise posts the list!”

  Do I want my name to be on the roster? Asiyah thought as they walked. It could be fun. But I might not be good enough. And it might be too much work!

  Chapter Three

  The Panthers

  Asiyah’s phone rang the next day while she was practicing piano. She checked her phone’s display. It was Lucy.

  I bet she’s calling about the travel team, Asiyah thought. Her stomach twisted as she hit answer. Am I good enough to make it?

  “We’re both on the team!” Lucy shouted. “Coach Elise just posted the roster.”

  “Really? Woo-hoo! I’m doing my happy dance with two thumbs-up,” Asiyah replied.

  “Shivani, Jessica, and Rachel from our old team also made it,” Lucy said.

  “Awesome! That’ll be so fun. So will practice start next week?” Asiyah asked.

  “No, silly. Practice starts tomorrow,” Lucy replied. “We have one every day after school this week. We can walk over together. This will be great, I promise. Two thumbs-up!”

  “Four thumbs-up!” Asiyah said.

  Lucy laughed. “See you tomorrow!”

  Asiyah felt more excited about the Panthers than she thought she would. I’ll get to play with all my friends. Maybe it won’t be so different from the old team after all.

  * * *

  The next day, Asiyah and Lucy went into the gym. They spotted their old teammates.

  “Hey, guys!” Asiyah shouted. She ran over and gave everyone a big hug.

  “Asiyah! I’m so glad you made the team,” Rachel said.

  “Yeah, you always make practices fun!” Shivani added.

  “I sure hope these practices will be fun too,” Asiyah said. “Because they’re going to last so much longer than our old team’s practices.”

  The girls were still chatting when Coach Elise walked in. She blew her whistle, and the team gathered around.

  “Welcome to the Lakeville Panthers!” the coach said. “You were all chosen because I believe you have the skills to be successful on this team.”

  Asiyah and Lucy smiled at each other.

  “You’ll notice big changes between rec volleyball and travel volleyball. You’ll be learning new positions. And you’ll be working extremely hard,” Coach Elise said. “Your teammates will depend on you to give it your all during practices and games.”

  “Gulp,” Asiyah said lightly.

  The girls around her giggled.

  When Coach Elise finished, the team went out onto the court. They lined up.

  “First is the warm-up,” Coach said. “We’ll practice getting to the net and lightly tapping the ball over.”

  The girls took turns running forward. Coach bumped the ball over, and they tried to tip it back. When they did it right, the ball would gently fall close to the other side of the net.

  Asiyah got ready for her turn. She rushed toward the net and j umped really high. She raised her hand and tried to tap the ball. But she pushed too hard. The ball went deep into the court.

  “Try to keep your fingers together, Asiyah. But that’s a good effort,” Coach Elise said. “Keep going, girls. We’re going to repeat this drill until everyone gets comfortable.”

  Asiyah went to the back of the line. As she got behind Lucy, she wobbled her knees.

  “The same thing over and over? My legs are going to turn to jelly!” Asiyah said, expecting a laugh from her teammate.

  Instead, Lucy sighed. “I might need to do this all day and night just to get it right. I wish I was tall like you. Then jumping high enough would be so much easier.”

  Asiyah stood up straight. “You’ll get better at it,” she said.

  “Maybe, but it won’t happen magically,” Lucy said. “It’s going to take a lot of hard work.”

  Asiyah didn’t reply. Lucy was taking this way too seriously. Sports are supposed to be fun, she thought. If we’re working so hard, we should at least be enjoying it.

  Chapter Four

  Dance Party

  A few days later, Asiyah and Lucy were hanging out in Asiyah’s room.

  Asiyah took out her phone. “Oh, Luce, you have to see this music video. Look at the way the singer spins. She’s amazing!”

  Asiyah turned the volume up. She and Lucy stood and danced to the upbeat music. They giggled the whole time.

  “Let’s try to do that move,” Asiyah said.

  Both girls twirled around and around. Soon they were falling to the floor, laughing.

  Their dance party was interrupted by a knock on the door. Rad poked his head in.

  “Hey, Asiyah. Mom and Dad have stuff to do in town, so they can’t drive us to the rec center,” he said. “But I can walk with you two to practice. We’ll just need to leave in the next ten minutes so I can get to my soccer scrimmage. I’ll wait in the living room.”

  “Ah, man! We were having so much fun. I almost forgot we had practice,” Asiyah said. She looked at her phone. “Maybe we can watch the video one more time . . .”

  But Lucy shook her head. “We should probably get ready so we can walk with Rad.”

  “Why do we even have practice on Saturdays?” Asiyah asked. “We’ve already practiced so much. Plus, we just do the same things over and over. It gets kind of boring.”

  “But working on the same skills helps us get better,” Lucy said. “When we play against a tough team, we’ll be glad we practiced so much.”

  “I suppose,” Asiyah said. “But you know me, I like doing different things. I just want to have fun!”

  “Seriously, Asiyah,” Lucy said, frowning. “You are good at making things fun, but everyone has to work hard in practice. You don’t want to let your teammates down by not being prepared.”

  Asiyah sighed and started gathering her volleyball gear. But I haven’t let people down. I’m the one keeping things light and fun! she thought. Isn’t that part of being on a team?

  Chapter Five

  Hurt Feelings

  At the start of Saturday’s practice, Coach Elise called everyone together.

  “Since our first game is a week away, we’re going to scrimmage today,” she said. “It’s important to treat it like a real game, so we can see what we need to work on.”

  Coach Elise split the girls into two groups. She put Asiyah and Lucy on different teams. Asiyah was in the front row, next to the net. Lucy was right across from her.

  Asiyah made some goofy faces at her friend. But Lucy didn’t react. Instead, she looked very serious.

  As everybody was getting to their spots, Asiyah turned around. “Shivani! Rachel! You guys have to see a music video that Lucy and I were watching. The singer had some great moves,” she said. “Watch this.”

  Asiyah twirled around like the singer.

  “Nice!” Shivani said.

  “Thanks. I can show you how to do it,” Asiyah added. “It’s really easy.”

  Asiyah was about to spin again when Coach Elise blew her whistle. “Give us your full attention, please, Asiyah. Caroline is about to serve.”

  “Sorry, Coach! I’m completely ready,” Asiyah replied.

  Asiyah continued to sway back and forth as the serve came. The ball sailed straight to the back row. Rachel bumped it up high.

  Using her fingertips, Shivani pushed the ball straight into the air. She set it perfectly for Asiyah to hit. Asiyah ran toward the ball, jumped up, and brought her hand down hard.

  But she hit the ball off the side of her hand. It flopped over the net.

  Lucy was right there to block it. She jumped and slammed it back onto Asiyah’s side. No one could get to the ball. One point for Lucy’s team.

  Asiyah shook out her arms and legs. She moved her shoulders up and down. OK, time to focus, she told herself. I won’t let Lucy stop my attack like that again.

  But Asiyah couldn’t help bopping to the music in her head as the next serve flew toward them.

  Jessica slid on her knees and got under the ball. It was a great dig. Shivani then set it to the left of Asiyah.

  But Asiyah wasn’t in the right spot. She hadn’t been paying close attention to where Shivani was putting the ball. Asiyah rushed over. She hit the ball, but she barely managed to get it over the net.

  Lucy was ready. She smacked the ball down. Asiyah couldn’t set up in time to block the shot.

  THUNK! The ball hit the court.

  “Yikes!” Asiyah said. “I’ve already let in two points.”

  “That’s why we have to keep practicing,” Lucy said from the other side of the net.

  Asiyah could feel her face get hot. Lucy sounded more like a teacher scolding her than a friend. It was a little embarrassing.

  Lucy’s team scored more and more points. It wasn’t until the score was 6–0 that Asiyah’s team finally got a ball past Lucy and the other blockers.

  Jessica pounded the serve for Asiyah’s team. On the other side, Caroline set the ball. Lucy sent it spinning back over.

  Rachel bumped it up. Asiyah smacked the ball, but she hit it way too hard. It flew toward the sidelines.

  “It’s going out!” Lucy yelled to her teammates. “Don’t touch it!”

  The ball bounced hard off the floor— about six inches outside the court. Lucy’s team had scored another point.

  Asiyah let out a frustrated sigh. I just can’t do anything right today, she thought.

  Coach Elise blew her whistle. “Girls, take a water break,” she said. “Then we’ll go over what we can improve.”

  Asiyah walked to the bleachers to grab her water bottle. Lucy, Shivani, and Jessica were gathered around a nearby water fountain. The girls couldn’t see Asiyah because she was blocked by the stands. But Asiyah could hear them talking about practice.

  “What’s up with Asiyah today?” Shivani asked. “I mean, she’s so funny and upbeat, like always. But it doesn’t seem like her head is in the game.”

  Jessica nodded. “I noticed that too,” she said. “It seemed like Asiyah was just trying to make us laugh during the scrimmage.”

  “Yeah. Like the way she was dancing between points,” Shivani added. “It was distracting. She’s not taking anything seriously.”

  Asiyah’s heart sank. She did like to clown around, but she didn’t want anyone to think the team wasn’t important to her.

  I’m sure Lucy will stand up for me, Asiyah thought. She knows that even though I like to have fun, I want to do my best for the team.

  “Yeah, I don’t get it. Asiyah could be a great player,” Lucy said. “She just has to learn to focus and get more into the practices. We’re all working our hardest. I wish she did too.”

  Asiyah didn’t want to hear any more. She hurried toward the water fountain on the other side of the gym.

  How could Lucy say that? Asiyah thought. I might have complained about practices, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been serious. It doesn’t mean I don’t care about the team.

  Asiyah sat down on a bench. She thought more about what her best friend had said. It wasn’t too different from what Lucy had told her before practice. But it still hurt her feelings.

  Maybe I should tell Lucy I overheard her, Asiyah thought.

  Before Asiyah could do anything, Coach Elise blew her whistle. The break was over. Asiyah hesitated, then jogged back onto the court.

 

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