Volleyball team thrown into the national spotlight after embarrassing opponent with kick save
Soccer may have the attention of the sports world at the moment with the World Cup going on, but it was another sport that had perhaps the best kick save you’ve ever seen.
You learn something new every day, and many sports fans learned that kicking is legal in volleyball, thanks to an unbelievable play by the Texas Pistols Volleyball Club.
Playing with heart! Girls Jr Nat’l Championships Detroit. TX Pistols 15 Black makes the play of the day with Kacely Goforth’s huge hustle play to score the point after Taylor Thomas uses her foot off the dig by Kylee DeLong. 7-0 Day 3 @SportsCenter #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/4No7gpzbNQ
— Texas Pistols Volleyball (@txpistols) June 28, 2018
The Pistols are the team in white and are on the receiving end of a serve. After a successful return by the Pistols, the team in black seemed to execute a block that fell to the ground of the Pistols, thus scoring them a point.
The team in black then began celebrating — were unaware that No. 22 Kylee Delong made a diving save to keep the ball alive.
Delong hit the ball just high enough for No. 6 Taylor Thomas to then execute something you don’t see everyday, and likely didn’t know what was legal.
Thomas kicked the ball into the air, which gave No. 7 Kacely Goforth just enough time to hit an over-the-head shot that clipped the net while going over to the team in black’s side. That seemed to throw off the receiving player, who was unable to return volley as the ball hit the ground and gave the Pistols the point.
This rarely seen play would not have been legal years ago, but the kick save is now a legal play. According to USA Volleyball, the official rule book states, “When the ball hits any part of your body, including the leg or the foot, it constitutes a legal hit.”
The intent for that rule was to increase the chances of saving the ball, so kicks with the foot or knee are allowed at any point during a match, except when serving.
The play soon went viral and has been picked up by ESPN, Yahoo Sports and MaxPreps, among other outlets. It also provided an educational moment for many fans as the comments sections on Twitter indicate that most were unaware kicking is legal.
Speaking of legal kicks, there was another play that received a “SportsCenter” Top 10 nomination this week, but this one came in a different sport with a net.
Footvolley isn’t really that popular in the United States yet, but after seeing this play that could change very shortly.
Level of difficulty: Off the charts 😱#SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/s1bbQz2DIF
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 30, 2018
Nearly as amazing as the kick over the net that was executed was the fact that the player attempted that kick while on concrete.
Making that kick, scoring a point and sticking the landing is simply incredible.
For those lamenting that the NBA and NHL seasons are over, there are still plenty of other exciting sports going on. You just have to search for them.
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