After 22 games in the regular season, it is easy to understand why a team would be tired going into the post-season. But the Varsity volleyball team will not let that deter them from playing to their highest potential.

The girls played Oak Hills on Oct. 14 as part of their post-season games. The match meant a lot to the team, because the girls lost three in best of five to Oak Hills only a few weeks prior.

“We came into the game really wanting revenge, because we felt we didn’t play as well as we know we can the first time we played Oak Hills,” senior Elizabeth Gibson said.

After waiting for the previous match to end, the girls got pumped up in the locker room and had a team meeting.

Before every game, the girls go around in a circle and talk about what they want to work on in that game, or say anything else they believe will get the team ready and focused.

The girls started the match strong and won the first game. However, the second game was not as pretty, and the team lost by 16 points.

“Even though we had a mental slip in the second game, we overcame it by playing together as a team,” Gibson said.

The seniors rallied the team, telling them that this was not going to be their final game, because for a lot of them, this is their last official volleyball season.

“The parents really stepped up after the second game and helped the energy of the team and got us ready to start strong and not let the match go to five games,” junior Lydia Deppert said.

The team accomplished what it set out to do and beat Oak Hills in the third and fourth game 25-16 and 25-8. This game was only the first step on the team’s road to State.

“We all played as the team we know we are and the outcome showed it,” senior Alex Schlie said.

The next tournament game was Oct. 16 vs. Hamilton Ross. The girls won the match easily, moving on to the next round.

The third round is the round in which the team lost last year to Ursaline, and this year will be the rematch.

“This game is going to be one of the biggest of this year. Not just because it’s a tournament game, but because it’s a chance for us to prove how good we are and how well we can compete with a team that made it to the state finals last year,” Gibson said.

The rematch against Ursaline is on Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Lakota East High school.