It is playoff season for fall sports and the volleyball team has qualified. The team finished third overall in the PIL with a record of 6-2, and a 13-8 overall record. They placed 25th in state and traveled to Sunset High School for the first round of the OSAA volleyball playoffs.
The fans traveled to the game with the team via a router bus. Sunset is about a 40-minute drive away from McDaniel, so the rooter bus made getting to the game more accessible for students.
As the team arrived everyone was excited, the team and the student section. The student section never lacks at volleyball games.
“I was super proud of our student section, I felt like a lot of people showed up even though it’s [Sunset High School] a long way away,” junior player Anna Gladwin said.
The first set of the game started with an early lead–with McDaniel going up 4-13–but Sunset battled to get back throughout the set. The score was 20-21 with the Mountain Lions leading, both teams going back and forth trading points until Sunset pulled away at the last minute winning the set 25-21. Both student sections cheered very loudly throughout the entire game, hyping their team to win each set.
In the second set, both teams made runs and traded off points. At about the end of the set, they were tied 19-19 going into a timeout. Sunset took the lead in the last minute, with the score a mirror image of the last, 25-21.
Being down 2-0 in sets, the team would have to win the next set to keep their season alive. The Mountain Lions student section kept making cheers to support their team in the last set, yelling “What way? M-way!”
Going into the third set, Sunset though put their foot on the gas and never let up, making the score 25-5 and giving them the win.
Losing this game was tough for the team. It was after the game that the team really felt the loss.
“Vibes were pretty sad because I feel like everyone thought they could’ve done better,” sophomore Clara Gordon said. “And for the seniors, that was the last time they would be on the court, and for the underclassman, it was also hard knowing that was our last time playing with the seniors.”
This game does not discount the success and talent that the team had this year, though.
“I think the team this year was one of the best teams [the program has] ever seen, so I’m really happy that I got to play on this team this year,” Gladwin said.
Overall the season was a great experience for the players and another record season for the team.
“I think that the season was amazing, and I’m so grateful that I was on varsity and I got to spend my first year on varsity with these amazing people,” Gordon said.
