“Playing at Pinnacle Bank was so incredible,” senior Emeline Myers said. “The bright lights, the huge crowd cheering us on, and the environment we got to play in is something I will remember forever.”
The varsity volleyball team, led by Coach Jaisa Poppleton, made their way to Pinnacle Bank Arena for the NSAA state playoffs last week. At these games, the team fought their way to the semi-final round against Papillion La Vista South.
“Against Papio South, we felt more tensed up and we were all really nervous to be playing against such a big team because they were really good,” junior Nevaeh Jacobson said.
In preparation for these games, there were so many things that these girls did: from watching filmed tapes of other teams, analyzing their tendencies, to practicing with crowd sounds.
“You can only prepare kids that have never been on a state floor or been in that venue so much in your own gym so we did a lot of mental work on it,” Poppleton said. “I couldn’t be more proud; they executed our plan perfectly,” she said.
In the bracket, Millard South held a 33-8 season, making it further than even some of the players thought they could.
“Even though we lost in the semifinals, we got farther than most teams in the state, and that is something to be proud of,” senior Jamie Murcek said. “I think we shocked people with how far we got!”
Coach Poppleton said that the final bracket was both good for us, and also just as unfortunate. Because of the ‘Powerpoint schedules,’ the wildcard system, in semifinals some said that it would be unfair of us to play Papio South. Even then, though, the Patriot volleyball team fought for this game and gave it their all.
“Although I do wish we ended with a state championship, I am still so proud of how far we got,” Myers said. “We broke records in season and at state, and I am forever grateful for this season.”
According to NSAA data, Myers was one to break a lot of records herself, with impressive performance throughout the season. At the last seven games she has played, she racked up 18 or more digs in one game, having as many as 27 at their semifinal game.
“I think overall we went in really strong,” freshman Isabel Erwin said, “and even though we didn’t win, we ended as a team.”
