The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

It takes notable dedication for students to commit to a sport before school even starts. But that is what every volleyball player at Big Sandy High School did. We started practicing on the 11th of August. School started on the 21st, so we had already had 8 days of practice.

Since Big Sandy High School is a class C school, we don’t cut anyone who tries out for the team. On the first and second days of practice, my coach, Brittany McKenney Richard, holds tryouts for the varsity team. So we have to run a mile and do drills to show our setting, passing, serving, and hitting skills. Then she also determines if you have a good work ethic and leadership skills. After the first two days, we start focusing on getting back into shape and remembering how to play the sport itself.

Our first game was on the 25th of August. We had a home game against North Star. We were able to get a win after playing five sets. The next day, we went to the preseason tournament in Belt. The next weekend, we didn’t have any games on the schedule, so we went to a tournament in Cascade. We played pretty well on the first day because it was just pool play, but the next day we were unprepared, and we lost out of the tournament after three matches.

Then our season really started, and every weekend we were playing conference games. We worked really hard and showcased our abilities to the entire district. We had a great regular season, finishing 12-3, and came into the district tournament as the number two seed.

Our first game in the district tournament was against Box Elder. We were able to win that game in a quick three sets. That night, we played Fort Benton. We won the first set, then we choked and lost the following three sets. The setback of that loss was quickly forgotten because one of our varsity starters quit. Our team was knocked off guard, and we had to figure out how to play without her. The next day, we faced Highwood and won after playing four sets. On the last day of the tournament, we played Centerville, and we lost. We ended up finishing fourth, and we moved on to divisionals.

At divisionals, we started by facing the number one seed from the other district, Belt. We were able to keep up with them during the first set, but we ended up losing that set and then the next two. The next day, we played Simms and lost in four sets.

We had a great season even though it didn’t end the way we hoped. Despite the setback of a starter quitting, we gave our best efforts. I am very proud of our team this year.