I have played a lot of volleyball in my day. It is a great social sport because it accommodates various levels of ability. Also, you can gather quite a crowd on each side and make it work. I speak not of those gym class free-for-alls that routinely devolved to controlled anarchy and waste of time. No, I mean the sport where you get to jump and yell in united purpose.
Keeping a game from going pear-shaped requires players to have a sense of how the games is played. Teams are allowed to hit the ball three times before sending it over the net. You can, that is, set up that third shot for maximum effectiveness. Receiving the first shot might be simply to keep the ball aloft. The second tap would be a set up at the net for the leaper who sends it where the opponents ain’t.
That’s the theory. Teams needn’t use all three touches but the game plays better when people work for the best shot. Trying for the kill shot from the back row in receipt of service is not, just to illustrate, the best shot. Beyond that, the more people involved in ball movement, the more fun.
Naturally I have to turn playing volleyball into a metaphor. Wearing a mask and maintaining social distance is good volleyball. It means we’re scrappin’ together. Those who can’t/won’t do so are slamming the ball against the gym wall haha and the game goes flop. States are now talking a goddamn reset of the Coronavirus response because libertarian hubris was allowed to gain momentum. Measures that should have been taken in March and even much earlier must now be taken. Yes, we know who screwed the pooch for us. We can remember that when the time comes. For now, wear a mask, step back from others, and leave the store quickly.
