Gallery • 15 Photos

By Taylor Sitzmann

While in the air, sophomore Anna Judd serves the ball, at DeSoto High School on Thursday Sept. 20. "We battled and fought our hardest to make it a close game, even though we didn't win, we left it all out on the court," Judd said.

The volleyball team fell to De Soto on Thursday, Sept. 20. The team won the first set 25-17, lost the second set 25-14 and lost the third set 25-22. The Jaguars came back to win the fourth set 26-24 but ended up losing the last set 15-11.

Senior Sydney Pullen felt the team played well, even if they did not win.

“I think we did really well,” Pullen said. “We fought really hard but we just couldn’t pull it out in the end.”

Coach Debbie Fay felt the team needed more experience if they are going to win close games.

“They got tired,” Fay said. “We [need to] keep growing our skill set [to win].”

Pullen also believes that the team has room for improvement.

“I think we could have improved on our individual touches,” Pullen said. “We had … some hits we could have made, but we were just not executing as well as we should have.”

Despite the loss, Pullen felt the team worked great together.

“I think we worked as a cohesive unit, it worked out really well and I think we did really great,” Pullen said.

After a long game, Pullen felt that it was her resolve and effort that got her through.

“Honestly, it was mental,” Pullen said. “You just have to say I’m tired but …. keep going because there is only a certain amount of points left.”

Pullen also believes that the rivalry between Mill Valley and DHS added an extra incentive for the team to play their best.

“We have always had a humongous rivalry with De Soto so we really wanted to win,” Pullen said.

The team plays again on Saturday, Sept. 22 at Washburn Rural.