The regional semifinal against Oviedo was tied 2-2, and coach Juanita Hitt walked over to sophomore Eva Woolm and junior Mikayla Miessler and told them the match came down to them.
“The pressure was on,” Miessler said. “As soon as Woolm and I heard that, a switch flipped in us, and from then on out we were locked in.”
Despite a loss playing Oviedo in the district finals on April 23, girls beach volleyball won in the regional semifinals 3-2 on May 1. The three winning lines were Woolm and Miessler, Sophia Wattles and Isabella Ferretti and Sophia Austin and Lila Thomas.
In the second line, Wattles and Ferretti won both sets 21-16 and 21-18. They started the first set off strong with 7-0 but Oviedo started catching up. They took the lead again by the end of the game, with some challenges being overcome.
“I think our serve, serve receive and energy were good, but we could have done better at defense and placing the ball. We always have great communication, which helped us defeat Oviedo,” Wattles said.
Thomas and Austin won both sets 21-19 and 21-5, crushing them in the second set. The second set started with a 10-point lead but Oviedo got a few points. The girls had good communication on the court and pushed through the errors they made playing Oviedo the first time.
“Everyone kept a really good attitude and just shook off the mistakes, and we just did what we knew how to do. Everyone did a really good job with communicating with their partners,” Thomas said.
Woolm and Miessler went three sets, 14-21, 21-12 and 15-13. Their serving was rough this game, but knowing where to place the ball when hitting and defense paid off for it.
“We were going point for point, but ultimately Woolm and I made some great plays at the right moment and that’s what got us the win,” Miessler said.
After beating Oviedo, the season ended on the road, against Fletcher on May 6 in the regional finals. They lost 5-0 and fell just short of the final four. Woolm and Isabelle Peloso went three sets, losing in the third, while Miessler and junior Allyson Leach lost by two points in the second set, the closest games of the day.
“We didn’t win the match, but we won the lesson. Every set is a chance to grow, and today, we grew stronger together,” sophomore Bailey Lott said.
