Fall or Fly Tonight

Fall or Fly Tonight is an epic volleyball anthem about friendship, trust, and the raw emotion of playing as one. Perfect for highlight reels, team hype videos, or pre-game rituals, this song captures the heart of competitive indoor volleyball. 

It is an intense, mystical anthem about the deep emotional and physical bond formed between close friends through the vulnerability and trust required to play indoor volleyball as one — risking everything to rise, fall, and fight together.

Backstory

It started with a team that wasn’t supposed to make it past the first round. A patchwork squad of scrappy players from different schools, thrown together for an off-season indoor tournament. Some were former rivals, some best friends, and some had only met at tryouts the week before. They weren’t polished, but something about the chaos felt right. The coach called them “storm-stitched.” They called themselves The Phantom Six. No one expected much—until the first game, when they fought like a single body.

The tournament pushed them to the brink. Every match exposed their faults: one player couldn’t take criticism, another played through an injury she kept secret. Miscommunication, dropped balls, arguments, tears. But every time they broke apart, something strange happened—they came back stronger. Not because they fixed everything, but because they began to trust each other enough to break in front of one another. In that vulnerability, something magical formed. They weren't just learning how to win; they were learning how to fall—and to get up without shame.

“Fall or Fly Tonight” was written by Ava, the team’s quietest member, during the week between the semifinals and the final. She had barely played in early matches but had become a voice of calm in huddles. Late one night, she sat alone in the gym, watching the court lights flicker. She started whispering the lines like a chant: Feel the beat under your feet, the floor’s on fire… The song poured out of her—part lullaby, part war cry, part confession. She said later it wasn’t about volleyball exactly, but about “how you can’t play unless you let people in. The game won’t let you fake it. It exposes who you are, and you either fall together, or you don’t rise at all.”

They played the song in the locker room before the final. No speeches, just the pounding rhythm and ghostlike refrains echoing in the tiled room: “In her serve she said / Fall or fly tonight…” They won that match, barely. But what stuck with them wasn’t the score—it was the spell they cast over each other that day, a shared knowing. A promise. That when you step on the court with people who see you, who choose you, you’re not just teammates. You’re something more. And every game after that, win or lose, they sang the song—not for luck, but as a reminder: the choice was never just to play. The choice was always to fall… or fly. Together.

5-Step Warm-Up

1. Dynamic Circle Shuffle (0:00–0:30)
Form a circle with your teammates and side-shuffle clockwise, then counterclockwise. Stay low and loose, keeping your arms engaged like you're ready to receive a serve.

2. Shoulder & Arm Flow (0:30–1:00)
While moving lightly in place, do alternating shoulder rolls, arm swings, and overhead reaches to prep for setting and spiking.

3. Core & Reaction Drill (1:00–1:45)
Partner up. One player drops a ball, and the other dives or lunges to grab it before the second bounce. Switch roles after each drop.

4. Blocking Skips & Spike Jumps (1:45–2:30)
Perform light blocking footwork to the net and jump with arms raised (no ball), then switch to 3-step spike approaches with full arm swings in the air.

5. Team Breath & Clap (2:30–end)
Form a huddle, do synchronized deep breaths (inhale 4 counts, exhale 4), then break the huddle with a loud team clap or chant on the final "Fall or fly tonight."