Neil knew the Fox team was the smallest in the NCAA and Breckenridge one of the largest, but he hadn't expected the difference to feel so vast. The tan-and-black Jackals seemed crowded on their half, making the Foxes look pathetic and small on theirs. Neil tried not to feel intimidated. When that failed, he put everything he had into warm-up drills instead. The twenty minutes flew by faster than he thought they would and they were shepherded off the court by the referees: the Jackals out the north door, the Foxes out the south.

The announcer's voice just barely carried over the crowd's racket, but as it got closer to game time someone thought to turn up his volume. By the time he called the team's rosters his voice was echoing off the court walls. As their names were called, the Foxes lifted their racquets in silent salute. The crowd roared in response to each one, and Orange Notes' drumline pounded away on whatever their sticks could reach.

"For the Breckenridge Jackals," the announcer said, and went through the list of players slotted to play tonight. The Jackals' names were greeted with mixed boos and polite applause from the Foxes' side, but there were large sections of Jackal fans in attendance on the north side of the stadium. Their pep band played the fight song as soon as the last name was called, but Orange Notes promptly drowned them out with Palmetto's song.

The six referees for the game opened the doors on either side of the court and entered. At their beckon, Dan and the opposing captain joined them at half-court for an obligatory handshake and the coin toss. The head referee signaled first serve for the Jackals and home court for the Foxes. Three referees followed each captain off and arranged themselves along the wall near the court lines.

Wymack made shooing motions at his starting line. "Get out there and make them sorry they showed up tonight. I want my subs at the wall cheering them on, but if you trip up a referee I will cut you. Let's go."

Dan led her players to the door and thumped the wall when they were ready. The announcer called off the Foxes' starting line-up from offense to defense. Kevin was the first onto the court, and the entire stadium had a fit at the sight of him. It didn't matter what school the fans were here to support; Kevin was in uniform after an eight-month absence. All predictions said he'd never play again, but he carried a racquet with him to half-court like he'd always known he would return.

Seth followed Kevin on and joined him at the half-court line. Dan was the Foxes' offensive dealer and stood halfway between half-court and first-fourth. Matt and Aaron spaced themselves out on first-fourth, and Andrew was the last one in place in their goal.