Walking into the volleyball game on Friday, 10 Nov, tension was in the air. The team was playing Sierra College After the singing of the national anthem, there was an announcement: Three players of American River would be playing their last game that day. One of them was Aki Nakajima. She was most noticeable for wearing a blue jersey during the game while the others wore red.

She was born and raised in Japan, where she learned how to play volleyball.

When she reflected on how she joined the team, she said, "I played in junior high and high school. I came here and took the volleyball class not realizing that we (American River) had a team. I started playing in the fall of 2005."

When she began playing for ARC,

she became a libero, which Coach Jayson Johnson defines as "always being in the back; they are not setters and are defensive players like Aki. That's why she wore a blue jersey and the rest wore red."

She was a libero her two years on the team, Johnson says, due to her quick reaction time to the ball being served and her excellent passing and digging skills. Teammates Jennie Bradford and Megan Polisso compare Nakajima's playing style to poetry in motion.

"She is very focused. She had a killer serve. It seemed like it floated," they agreed.

Coach Johnson describes Nakajima's attitude towards games and practice as being willing to give all that she had and searching for more.

"She averaged about 10 digs a

match. She is an aggressive and determined player," he said. "She would always do extra work involved in her position."

But playing in the two countries isn't the same; Nakajima says volleyball in the U.S. is quite different than in Japan.

"It (American volleyball) was different from Japan. We would have away and home games. In Japan, we don't have that!" she said. "There are different rules for Japan, so I had to get used to it."

Although in the 2006 season the team placed 7 th in the Big 7 conference, she says she took away many memories of making new friends and playing a sport in which she excelled. Hopefully, Nakajima says she will be able to continue with her volleyball career wherever she goes.