Katherine dutifully stayed in the background, sending the ball to the girls at the net, her brow drawing into anxious puckers, as they fumbled it time after time. She began to comprehend the rules of the game and was “getting the hang of it.” The Mechanicals, with fifteen points to their credit, had just lost the ball by sending it out of bounds. It was time to do something. Katherine had noticed that most of the Washington girls had been trying to volley the ball across the net from the back line, instead of passing it on, as she had been doing, and had been falling short nearly every time. With a commanding gesture, she claimed the attention of her team.
“Get back on the volley line in a row,” she ordered. They obeyed her like sheep. Then she took her place half-way between the volley line and the net, facing the girls. “Now,” she said crisply, “whosoever’s turn it is to volley, shoot the ball to me and not an inch farther. I’ll get it over the net. The first one that shoots it over my head is going to get ducked in the swimming pool!”
In their surprise at this sudden rising up of a leader, they forgot the racket around them, and the triumphantly clamoring team on the other side of the net, and calmed down. The girl with the ball sent it straight toward Katherine, and with a windmill motion of her powerful arms, she hit it a sounding whack and sent it over the net like a meteor. There was no returning such a volley.
“One!” cried the scorekeeper, and the Washington corner of the grandstand gave its first yell of triumph.
“Now, everyone of you do just the same thing, one after another,” commanded Katherine to the volley line. Her utter lack of excitement was bringing them out of their confusion. The next girl made an equally good throw and another loud whack announced that Katherine was volleying. Backing the net, she could not see where it was going, but a squeal told her that the girl who should be returning the ball was fleeing it. Then the machine started to work. As long as one side scored it was privileged to keep the volley.
When in operation the machine sounded like this: “Next!” Whack! Bump! That was all. Katherine’s command to the server; the impact of her palms on the ball; and the thump of the ball on the ground on the Mechanical side of the net. Up went the Washington score.