From Coach Bonnie Keepes:
Saturday the Varsity squad lost a hard fought battle against Waterloo in a very competitive match. The first set Waterloo went ahead quickly with a little serve receive breakdown and some blocks. We were playing a little tight and nervous. We did tie the set up 15-15, then Waterloo came back with some sneaky tips. They were able to mix it up with hitting and very well placed tips that kept our defense scrambling. We had some long volleys but Waterloo took the set 25-21.
The second set we were able to get a 7-1 lead quick with some strong serving and Waterloo hitting errors. Waterloo answered with more mixing up shots and some aces. Our defense was creeping in and then the got us on the lines going ahead 13-14, we had some good digs, and but Waterloo kept coming up strong extending the lead 17-21 then it went back and forth to 20-23. We were fighting to stay right there, but they came up with some good kills at the end took the set 20-25. Some stats were Lyla Keepes 2 kills, 3 digs, Kyleigh Smith 1 ace, 4 kills, Evie Sellers 1 ace, 1 kills, Riley Hershey 2 aces, 1 kill, 1 block, Kinley Harris 3 aces, 1 assist, Leah Lewis 4 assists, 1 dig.
From Coach The Waterloo team went on to win the championship beating all competitors in 2 sets, with the exact same score they beat us. They are the returning state champs, and have many players playing high level club ball in STL, so they were tough. We definitely learned from that match, and I would love to play them again, but it doesn’t work that way. Did we get a very tough first round blind draw? Yes… But that’s just the way it goes sometimes. Everyone is going to be good when you get to state. I was very proud of how hard the girls fought for the win, and they always kept their energy up, even when Waterloo got a few runs. It was a hard loss because they wanted it so bad, but we had as amazing season, and were so excited to make it to state. We had the best fans without a doubt ! I feel so blessed to have been able to coach these girls this season, so many memories made. The future is bright for MTC Volleyball. My husband Josh coached the girls in softball this year, so we both went to state with this group and had very successful seasons. Combined there is a whole pile of trophies, for us to turn into the school it’s pretty cool to see.
