The first touch—the receive—can be either shockingly beautiful or horrifically terrible. The second touch—the set—determines the pace of the attack, whether slow and precise, fast and powerful, or somewhere in between. Then comes the spike, the most intense offensive moment in the sport; you either score, or you don’t. But you shall not fret, for even if a wall stands before you, I will be there. Even if you don’t notice me now, I’ll train until you do.

I bust my butt to recover that bad pass. I help get the ball up so you can get a kill, and I watch as you get the applause. But I know what I do, and one day, you'll see it too. Remember this: you wouldn’t have your kill without me. Who else would go after that bad pass? Someday, everyone will remember my name. I am a setter. I am proud. I am—

“OH MY, AND HERE COMES VLAST WITH THE SAVE!!”

Under the ball appeared a six-foot-tall, gray-haired man. He easily received the ball and stood up, smiling. The team setter glanced over.

“Nice receive...”

The man grinned, sprinting straight for the net. He swung his arms back, planted his block step, and flew into the air as the ball appeared in front of him. Two kids standing beside the court watched in awe as the sound of the ball slamming against the court echoed through the stadium.

“And there you have it! The Russian Men's National Volleyball Team secures their first victory of the season!”

The crowd erupted as the Russian team members huddled together. As they walked off the court, the gray-haired man glanced toward the two children who were jumping up and down excitedly. The woman standing behind them blushed slightly.

“Wow, my husband was always an overachiever,” she murmured.

The older of the two kids turned to look at her.

“Daddy also over-exaggerates,” he muttered.

She chuckled, patting his head. “You’re really smart for your age, you know that?”

The other child grabbed her hand and placed it on his head.

“Me too!”

She smiled warmly and ruffled his hair. “Okay, okay. But we better get going so we can meet up with Daddy.”

The twins cheered, grabbing her hands.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!”

She led them out of the stadium and into the main lobby, where they sat down to play while waiting. Kurai sat next to Kaneko.

“Hey… Kaneko? What do you wanna be?”

Kaneko looked up. “A spiker like Daddy! What about you?”

Kurai gasped, his eyes shining. “I wanna be a setter! They do the coolest stuff on the court!”

Kaneko grinned. “Yeah! We can be the best spiker and setter duo!”

Kurai leaned in, whispering dramatically. “In the world.”

Kaneko jumped up, fists in the air. “In the world!”

A shadow fell over them as someone approached from behind, blocking the light. The twins looked up to see their father towering over them.

“That’s a pretty hefty dream, you two,” he said with a laugh.

“DAD!” Kurai shouted.

“DADDY!” Kaneko echoed, both of them jumping up to hug him.

“I take it you two enjoyed the game?” he asked.

Kaneko beamed. “Yeah! I wanna be just like you in the future, Daddy!”

Their father chuckled, giving them a confident smirk. “I’ll be waiting for you up here at the top of the food chain then.”

Kurai smirked back. “I’ll be up there faster than you can say rhombicosidodecahedron!”

A brief silence followed before their father let out a hearty laugh. “I see you’ve been learning new words?”

Their mother walked over, smiling. “Yeah, he’s been studying because he wants to impress you.”

Kurai blushed, looking away. “MOM!”

She chuckled, ruffling his hair. “Well, in the spirit of victory, why don’t we go out for a nice dinner?”

Kaneko and Kurai erupted in cheers. “YAY!”