4-Peat, even the Lakers couldn't do it.

Freshmen year, I walked into open gym volleyball at the John Wooden Center, not knowing a single person and too scared to play on the main court. One day, Chris Tuyay comes up to me to ask if I wanted to play on his Intramural team since their setter (lol Jorge) was injured. Their team name was named after a facebook app called... Fluff Friends.

After winning the Championships that year, we reformed the team the next year for the more competitive Co-ed league and won the championships again. On my third year, the seniors had graduated, but I decided to keep the team going and so I got together some new people and reused the old name. The championship game showcased two teams of people from open gym. And once again Fluff Friends prevailed!

And now we arrive at my fourth year at UCLA. Volleyball has grown much more popular, especially at open gym. At the start of the IM season, there were now 4 teams from open gym, whereas in the past there were only 2 (these two usually met up in the Championships). 

After a markedly more intense season and playoffs, Fluff Friends once again made it to the Championship Game. But this time we were against the Foxy Dolphins, a team made up of a few players from the Fluff Friends team from last year and more open gym people.

The funny thing about this game was how well we all knew eachother, not just within our own team, but within the opposing team as well. We have probably played with/against each other at open gym nearly a hundred times by now. And though we were all friends, for the next 40 or so minutes of this epic match, all friendships ended at the net. 

Coming from a 6 point deficit, Fluff Friends somehow managed to pull off a win in the first game of a best-of-3 match. The next game went to Foxy Dolphins after we took a pummeling from Shawn and Joey's spikes. Our two teams were so evenly matched. During the 3rd and final game, I found that I had become lost in the battle, and as I took a moment to catch my breath, I looked around the gym and there were so many people watching our game. Basketball players, other volleyball teams, IM sports staff, even the gym custodian was there watching what I would deem the hardest fought match of Intramural/Open Gym Volleyball of UCLA history (of course I've only been here for 4 years, but I'm sure the custodian would agree with me and he's been here longer.) Fluff Friends: 8 - Foxy Dolphins: 8... 9-8... 9-9... 10-9... 11-9... 12-9... 12-10... 13-10... 13-11... 13-12... 13-13... 14-13... Our serve, championship point... they pass, Shawn goes up for the spike, aw... 14-14... oh wait!--Megan dug Shawn's hit! Allison sets the ball, Erin goes up for the outside attack... the ball speeds over the net, the whole gym is silent. The ball bounces once inside the side line and rolls all way to the gym walls before the first cheers erupt. We won. WE WON!

I once asked Jorge why they decided to name the team Fluff Friends. His answer was, "Cause how would you feel if you lost to a team called Fluff Friends."