The 2023 Volleyball season came to an end on Thursday, Oct 12, 2023, during their sectional match at Pioneer. The girls lost in three sets to the Lady Panthers at their sectional. The Panthers went on to win regionals. The Lady Kings practiced hard the days before the sectional and through the season in hopes of winning their Sectional. Unfortunately, their season was cut short. Although the loss of the sectional stung, the Lady Kings had an incredible season before that. The Lady Kings ended their season with an 11-16 record.
Coach Katie Cowell was interviewed on her thoughts about the season. Her response was, “I think we had a very successful season. We transitioned into a new conference (TRC) and finished very well. We competed in all of our matches and finished in fifth place. It is the highest a team has finished in the conference in the last five years I have coached here. We finished with a record of 11-16 which doubled our wins from last season, and half of the matches we lost were within a ten-point difference. I think the team played very well together; we balanced each other out and continued to improve as the season progressed. Overall I am very pleased with this season.” Next, when asked how the seniors impacted this season’s successes. Her response was, “The senior class is special. They have been a positive influence on our program since day one of their freshman year. Maci has been a steady competitor on varsity all four years, she brings fire, intensity, and a will to win. Haley has been a great all-around player for us. She is talented and able to play multiple positions which helped us figure out the best lineup for success. Abbey has grown into a fantastic middle for us. She doubled her season averages for her senior year and went out with a bang. Nia stepped up to be a great defensive player for us. I feel like she really improved her serve-receive side of the game this season. This senior class is special and will be hard to replace.” When asked about her thoughts on the sectional game. Coach Cowell’s response was, “The sectional match-up was a mental battle for us. Two years in a row we ended our season playing Pioneer. They are a great team and came ready to compete. I think we had to play our best match of the season to pull out a win and we came out a little flat. I think we all wanted to play hard and win, but we played “not to lose” instead of “to win.” The first two matches reflected that attitude. We regrouped and gave it our best effort in the last set, but it was too late. It’s tough to lose at the end of the season like that, but 1 loss shouldn’t take away from the great season we had this year.”
Lastly, senior, Abbey Hileman, was interviewed about her thoughts on this season, and her response was, “I really enjoyed this volleyball season! It was the most fun I have had in a season in my entire high school career. We banded together and kept pushing throughout. I’m glad I participated in this activity and I hope it continues to be a positive environment for all the girls involved.”
Overall, the Lady Kings Volleyball season was successful and showed a lot of improvement from previous seasons. Next season will be a struggle without the seniors but the volleyball program will continue to improve as the years go on.
