There it was. Sitting right on the keyboard, at the sports desk in 210 West Hall.

I’d seen the type before. Small piece of orange paper. Lady’s writing on it. And then I read it.

“Sara Sikorski called. She wants more coverage for the volleyball team. From Barb.”

My first complaint as sports editor. The next few moments were a blur, really. I think I either pulled an Erik Cassano, and started pacing back and forth from one computer to the next, or made sure my editor didn’t see the piece of paper.

Either way, within the next five minutes, I made two decisions. First, I called Ms. Sikorski, and left her a message. “Sara, this is Joel from the BG News. …” And I went into my apologetic speech, knowing that not a word of it mattered, because I knew that our coverage had been shoddy, to say the least.

Second, I looked at the schedule. The team played Ohio in Athens Friday night, and after making that insane drive during basketball season, I moved past that one. Saturday, the team was scheduled at Akron. The game was the last of 13 straight played away from Anderson Arena.

So, Dixon and I jumped in the ol’ Ranger, and that’s how I got rid of my volleyball virginity. Call it a sin for the sports editor to have never seen a volleyball match before his junior year, but I had not. What I saw was quite a scene, making me feel more guilty as the points passed on. Clearly, each sport has its own intricacies and strategies. Literally, though, every single point counts in volleyball. The fast-paced nature of rally-point scoring makes each set go by in a blur.

The skills and stamina demonstrated by the players amazed me, as well. Sikorski, the setter, is responsible for getting the ball in the perfect position for her hitters. Those hitters — Susie Norris, Kristen Gamby and Nadia Bedricky, among others — have the unenviable task of timing their jump perfectly, and then getting the ball over or under the defense’s blockers, all while attempting to keep the ball in play.

This is, of course, in addition to the fact that almost every single person on the team can smack a big round ball at a higher velocity than I can throw a frickin’ baseball. Needless to say, I was frightened. Terrified. Trust me.

There’s nothing I would like to do more than go to men’s basketball games, and football games, and volleyball games, but we’re not supposed to be cheerleaders at this paper. No journalists, says the unwritten ethical code, should ever be biased when reporting their news.

In that case, you all need to be the cheerleaders for us. Tonight’s your chance.