by Garrison Wester
The soccer and volleyball teams both had tremendous seasons that will not be soon forgotten. The soccer team had something to prove this year, since last year’s seniors thought they wouldn’t accomplish much this year. Last year’s seniors thought the soccer team would lose most of its talent after they graduated, but that was just not the case. This team fought for everything and proved that it can be done. This team proved them wrong by advancing to the state championship. Unfortunately, the Greenfield Varsity soccer team didn’t win the final, but the Knights deserved to hold their heads high after an unforgettable year. The volleyball team had a solid season last year so expectations were high heading into this season; however, the team took it to a whole new level.
To get a take on what a player on each team had to say, I decided to interview Lee Powell for soccer and Mackenzie Landers for volleyball.
Lee Powell is a junior at Greenfield and plays center back for the soccer team. He was named captain and is a very solid player who the team relies on throughout the game to make plays. When Lee was asked what this season has meant to him, he stated, “This season has shown me that regardless of how much adversity we have faced, we can still try our hardest to prove people wrong.”
Powell believes that they proved the doubters wrong this year, in spite of coming up short of a title.
“I absolutely think our team has proved the haters wrong. Even if we didn’t win the title, we still put up one heck of a fight, especially in the final game.”
This season was Greenfield’s last year in the 1A division. Next year, the school will move up to the 2A level, so it will be a challenge for all of our sports teams.
Lee thinks the soccer team will be just fine. “I’m looking forward to having a lot of the younger kids who were able to get experience on varsity this year [be able to] come out and see improvement for them and the team next year.” Because of this year’s great success in the soccer program, there is no doubt that a bright future lies ahead for this team.
Mackenzie Landers is also a junior and has played a big role in the success that this year’s volleyball team has had. When I have watched volleyball games this year, she is the one keeping the team together during the struggles and is the first one to tell a teammate “You got it” after they had made a mistake.
The team started practicing in late summer to prepare for the season, which indicated that this is a group of girls willing to do what it takes to get the job done, even if it takes up much of their time.
The team’s mojo is what kept them going and Mackenzie stated, “We had lots of cheers and inside jokes that we used to keep the energy up. Throughout the season we added more cheers for kills, aces, and other things.”
The hard work the team put in all year allowed the fans to predict that they were going to make a run.
What made this team unique, however, is how it acted when it faced adversity. Mackenzie said, “In most cases it was Gabbi V. and I who brought the energy to the court when we needed to change something up or adjust a team.” Mackenzie’s words demonstrate the amount of leadership that was on the court this year.
The volleyball team had an excellent season, but they weren’t finished. They made it all the way to the final four games of the playoffs, and that was the first time that has happened in Greenfield history.
They were set to play #1 seed Pungo Christian in the playoffs, so it was expected to be a tough game. Greenfield’s volleyball players fought their hearts out, but they came up just short.
After the game the team went into the locker room, and this is what Mackenzie had to say about that experience. “Our coach was so, so happy for us. We were of course very sad that it was our last game with our seniors, and [the seniors] were very upset to play their last high school volleyball game. But overall, we were so proud of ourselves [that we made] it that far, and we proved ourselves in that gym, almost taking [Pungo] in the third set. Our coach was extremely encouraging and was not upset about the loss. She knew things don’t always work out and we chose to cherish the amazing accomplishments we had during the season.”
Mackenzie’s firsthand account of the team’s struggles, successes, and cohesiveness allow everyone to see that the future for Greenfield women’s volleyball is very bright and full of young talent.
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