Girls’ Varsity volleyball team wins Districts, but loses at Regionals

The girls' Varsity team cheers each other on after a play. Photo by Kiersten Webster

On Nov. 8, the girls’ Varsity volleyball team beat Western in the fourth match and moved on to play in the Regional game, which was held on Saturday, Nov. 12 at Wellington High School. Prior to this game, the team won the District match for the tenth year in a row and hoped to carry on the winning tradition.

“It felt amazing, and I am so grateful that we have made it this far. Hopefully we can win Regionals and go to States again this year” player and junior Kirsten Kuhl said.

The team prevailed in the first match, but had a slip in the second. They lost 24-26. Both teams turned on the heat and hustled to try to receive the 25 points first in the next set. Winning the third match would allow one of the teams to straggle from the series tied at one.

Fans from both teams cheered in support of their teams. The constant volleying during the third set made even first time fans involved in the game. The Lady Eagles pulled together to win the third set 25-16.

“This was my first game and by watching them play this far, they looked pretty great to me,” sophomore Austin Maller said.

Although Western put up a strong fight, they were not able to overcome the Lady Eagles in the fourth and final match. To the Douglas fans that were there, including teachers, students and parents, the girls proved that they congealed as a team and had earned their spot at Regionals.

“The team looked really good and definitely got better as the season went on; they looked really excited to win the game. Western was a really hard competition but [the Lady Eagles] did their thing. I have confidence in them for Regionals,” junior Kadeem Rowe said.

The  the team had an exciting win over Western, though they lost to Wellington in three games at Regionals to end the season. For the seniors, it was a great season that seemed to end a little too early, but the players that will continue on to next year hope to bring the heat in the 2012-2013 season.

“It felt great to make it this far, we really worked hard to get there [Regionals] so it was an accomplishment! For next season, I plan to make every serve and I will try not to give up easy  points. I had a really fun year, and I would like to tell my teammates thanks for making it a great season. I had a lot of fun,” sophomore Paige Lohuis said.