As the Lady Mavs approach the halfway mark of their season, the seniors begin to recognize the upcoming ending, of the season, and of their time playing for Milford. The volleyball season begins in June, with STS, which is conditioning and weight training and open gyms twice a week. After tryouts at the beginning of August are over, teams are assigned, the girls get right into daily practices.
So far in the Lakes Valley Conference, the girls have had four three-set victories against Walled Lake Western and Walled Lake Central, Waterford Kettering and Waterford Mott. The girls fought hard against Walled Lake Northern and Lakeland, but just came short of the win, placing them in fourth in the LVC rankings with a 4-2 record.
This year’s seniors include Ellie Ballard, Kara Dividock, Lexi Remtema, Lilly Sharrak, and Zaylee Hincka. Ballard noted how quick the end of the season is approaching, “Volleyball has gone by so fast already; I still can’t believe it’s my last season,” she said. At the team banquet, the seniors are expected to give a speech to the underclassmen. “It feels so weird, I just remember when I was a freshman listening to the seniors speak at the banquet, just wishing that that was me and wondering what I was gonna say in mine,” Sharrak said.
The volleyball seniors share a tight bond, having played together since middle school; therefore, despite the success their feelings are bittersweet.
The seniors do not only have a close relationship with each other but with their teammates as well. Remtema said “They’re some of my favorite people to be around, I spend almost every day with them. It’s hard to imagine that I won’t ever play with these girls again,” said Remtema.“I think our great relationship as a team also plays a big role in some of the success we’ve had this season.” A majority of the seniors commented on the support they’ve experienced. “The team feels like one big family,” Dividock said.
With the countdown ticking down on how many times the seniors step on the court, they reflect on their time playing with each other and how they intend to finish their season. Senior night is on Oct. 24, and Districts will start at the beginning of November. Remtema focuses on, “playing with no regrets. So far I feel like I have done that. I love being able to be an example and leader to the other girls on the team, on and off the court.”
The girls will always have a special place in their hearts for MMVB, between lifelong memories that they have made, team dinners, and celebratory bus rides home there is always, as Sharrak said, “a happy energy.”