Of all the athletic teams across the country, many must be tested to achieve greatness. Adversity must be faced in order to be conquered. And through pain, a team must stay as one to persevere to victory, despite great odds.

Such is the case in the gymnasiums of Middle Tennessee, where a volleyball team from Christ Presbyterian Academy (CPA) has redefined the phrase, “triumph over tragedy” after an improbable run in the Tennessee State Volleyball Tournament late last month.

On Friday, Oct. 10, Vickie Foltz, mother of CPA senior outside hitter, Cameron Foltz, suffered a massive aneurysm at a rest stop in Jasper, Tenn., on route to a choir concert in Macon, Ga. Hours after being airlifted to Baptist Hospital in Nashville and placed on life support, Vicki died.

For the 10-member squad, death’s invasion served as a crossroads for a team learning to play selfless ball as a cohesive unit.

“We lacked the team unity before October…but between Oct. 1 and the day Cameron’s mother died, our team unity increased immensely. The only explanation I can think of is God. He was preparing us for what was to come,” said senior outside hitter Hayley Benton.

After an emotional weekend following Vickie’s death, the team found themselves on the brink of two district tournament games with history on the line. For the team, a chance to go where no other CPA volleyball team had gone before. For Foltz, an opportunity to shine as a witness to thousands of spectators.

After a 25-19, 25-17, 22-25, 25-12 victory over Hume-Fogg the following Tuesday, CPA advanced to play the #1 team in the mid-state, David Lipscomb, two nights later.

That Thursday, in front of a packed-out gymnasium, and only hours after burying her mother, Foltz stepped onto the court, emotionally exhausted and fatigued.

“[The Lipscomb] game was extremely painful - the hardest thing I have ever done in my life…the reality of my mom’s death really sank in when they took her casket away…I walked into that gym Thursday night with nothing left to give. I was emotionally, mentally, and even physically drained,” said Foltz.

But with an ecstatic crowd at her back, Foltz exhibited remarkable poise and spirit on the court, often times looking upward in a position of worship after a CPA point. After dropping the first two games 18-25, 19-25 in the best-of-five match, Foltz and teammates came together to score an inspiring comeback upset, winning the final three contests 25-20, 25-22, 16-14.

“The whole gym and the team especially were feeding off the strength God was giving her, and then to see her family so happy was just as amazing. We all knew that God was inside each one of them and the crowd saw it as well because God literally played for us,” said sophomore right-side hitter Heather Benton.

“When we were down 2-0, we had a subtle confidence and strength that we knew would carry us. It was like a quiet hope or something that we knew was there,” said middle blocker Anna Eberle.

For CPA volleyball coach Pat Perry, the script could not have been written any better.

“I can’t even begin to put into words the resiliency these girls have shown. As individuals they were all hurting and questioning why this happen[ed],” said Perry.

“Watching Cameron play in those matches is something I will never forget as a coach, as a mother or as a woman of Christ. To watch a 17 year-old girl come out and play the game of volleyball after losing her mother…is truly a gift from God.”

After their rousing triumph, CPA went on to claim regional and sectional titles, extending their winning streak to seven games before falling in the state tournament and finishing the season as the seventh best team in Tennessee. Though talent and perseverance may have secured them a surfeit of honors and trophies, players, coaches and fans alike knew the team had won more than just pivotal games - they had won over both the imagination and the hearts of witnesses and entire communities.

“Knowing that my mom, someone I spent nearly every day of life with, is up in heaven seeing God face to face, makes me and my team feel God in a way that has been nearly impossible to feel Him in the past. His presence has been unbelievably evident,” said Foltz.