Before heading to the MCSAA Division I State Tournament this year, Head Coach Dakota Ball had one question in mind: How will the team respond to the pressure?
After the Liberty Christian girls volleyball team took home second place and won five out of their six games in just three days, Ball’s answer to his question was clear.
“They handled it amazingly. They pushed really hard and worked really good as a group,” Ball said. “We had talked earlier in the season seeing if we could get them to work together and they did.”
The Eagles advanced to the championship game on Oct. 26, after winning their semifinal game against Providence in three long sets the night before.
In the final, the Eagles played Center Place, a team they had no history with. Liberty Christian lost the first set 26-24 and the second set 25-21.
“They were a good squad. They had a lot of talent across the board,” Ball said. “We just struggled with finishing both sets, but we were neck and neck the whole time.”
Ball noted the Eagles moved up a class this year after having previously been in Division II. They faced teams that were bigger than them and had more depth.
Despite moving up a bigger class, Ball said their key component to seeing success over the three-day tournament was their defensive play. He specified libero Allie Brazier as a player that led the defense.
“She has the ability to quarterback the whole back row and keep the ball off the ground, which helped us push throughout the tournament,” Ball said. “That’s what carried us through the tournament was being able to keep the pressure on the other side of the court and making them make the mistakes.”
Along with Brazier, Ball named Lauren Moss, Nyah Moss and Trina Scheltens as key players that added to their success at state.
“Those four girls pushed and they carried a lot of weight,” Ball said.
Brazier and Nyah Moss were recently named to the MAC first-team all-conference, while Lauren Moss made the second-team.
The Eagles ended their season with a 17-10 record and another accolade to add to their already full case of trophies.
