BY SYDNEY EPKE

The final serve from the Maverick towards Ark City sparked the final rally resulting in the winning point for the Mavs during the varsity volleyball match on Sept. 26.

Varsity girls volleyball beat Ark City 25-22 in a three-set match. The players fought hard against Ark City, with each team winning one set and the Mavs pulling ahead in the third.

The match started with spirits from both teams high. The first set started with great enthusiasm as players had to dig deep. Ark City tied the Mavericks on multiple occasions, which was broken by both teams through certain tests in strengths. The Mavs took the victory of the first set 25-22 from a spike by #3, Makenna Miller, 12.

“For the team, it definitely helps our record, but it gives us a bunch of positive [energy] like ‘Oh we can get this team,’ and we’re going to keep pushing until we get to the end,” Taea Kapels, 11, said.

The volleyball team practiced long hours to prepare for this match, and for future matces, with practices being held every day on weekdays from 2:45-5:30 P.M.

“[During practice, we do] a bunch of varieties of drills from serving-receive to defense and we work on individual skills and working in general, like training,” Laurel Jones, 9, said.

The second set ended with a victory for Ark City, with a score of 25-21, causing high tension in the crowd and through the team.

“[When Ark City won the second match] I thought that our team overall could have played better but, you know we all have those games where we can always do better…,” Kapels said. “We were talking about what we could do better… [I was thinking] in my head [that] we were going to win the next set. It was just a tough time for us.”

The match went to the third set, both teams determined to reach 25 points before the other. The first point went to the Mavericks from a spike by #1, Skylar Goering, 11. They shouted and hollered, determined to make no mistakes and to score the point. The Mavs had the final serve, which was made by Kapels; it sailed across the net and into the ready stances of the opposing team. The game ended with a long volley, the ball barely missing the hands of the Ark City team.

Beating Ark City lead to high spirits of the team and crowd and high determination to continue climbing the ladder to state.

The Mav spirit was high after the victory, with all the girls discussing their plays in their huddle.

“[I was happy when we beat Ark City] because it’s a win we needed,” Teri Larson, coach, said. “We’re trying to have a high seeding for regionals and that was one [game] we really thought we could get, so I’m glad we got it home.”

“[Our goals for the future are] individual, just to keep getting better, like to keep making progress and as a team, to improve our running. I don’t want to say win as much as we can, but our overall team goal is to go to state. We’re going to just play our hearts out,” Jones said.

During the varsity volleyball game against Ark City, Makenna Miller, 12, prepares to bump the ball back over to the opposing team. Photo by S. Epke