WAPELLO

The Highland Huskies started their playoffs on the road against the Wapello Arrows. The Huskies would drop the game 3-1 after a valiant comeback effort, falling to 13-16 to close the year.

Heads were held high despite the occasional teary eye once exiting the locker room before starting the long journey back home, the last one as a team this season.

“They played their best volleyball tonight. They didn’t get down on themselves at all,” head coach Shannon Copeman said. “I could not be more proud of them. They stayed up and fought hard.”

That’s all a coach could ask for, a team that plays their best when it matters. Wapello is a good team, and the Huskies knew this, falling to them once before this season 3-0 on Sept. 5.

When asked what makes Wapello a tough opponent, coach Copeman mentioned Wapello’s outside hitter, Emily Hemphill, with a laugh.

Hemphill led the Arrows with 15 kills and some of these kills came from forceful spikes to split the Huskie defense.

After the win, the Arrows push on to 20-13 with the second round of the playoffs ahead of them.

The Huskies had a lot of positives in this finale. Both seniors Sarah Burton and Lorelei Lueck led the team with both energy and kills. Burton had a team-high 10 kills.

“Sarah has always been a leader on and off the court no matter what she does; she’s trying to keep them positive,” Copeman said.

Lueck was right behind Burton with nine kills while seemingly being everywhere at once, constantly making plays.

“As long as [Lorelei] stays out of her head, she plays really well,” Copeman said.

The Huskies started this game down 2-0. The first two sets were 25-13 and 25-14.

Highland needed a big push in order to comeback. They would get this push, winning set three in a big way, 25-23.

“Sometimes we just need to be reminded how much potential we have and how lucky they all are to be able to play the ball that they can play,” Copeman said. “They sometimes forget how good they are, and I think that showed in the third set and then into the fourth.”

The extreme shift in play led to a bigger fourth set by the Huskies who led for most of the set.

Each strand of Huskie red contributed to this hard-fought game.

Libero Madison Beeson and former libero Lily Barre were collecting digs on the back end, handling some of the hardest shots Wapello could serve.

Senior Payton Brun and junior Adeline Krotz stayed up front, attempting to block shots and not taking any time off.

Junior Laney Skelton, alongside Burton and Lueck, got her chances at some big-time spikes in hopes of a kill.

Highland’s first and final kill of the evening came from senior Grace Prybil.

Everyone contributed.

This is the second season in a row the Huskies finished with 13 wins. They still have a window of improvement yet tapped into.

“I think as soon as we realize that we can win and keep our heads up and not get down on ourselves, that’s the culture we’re trying to create and we’re getting there,” Copeman said.