A Match Much Like Warfare

By Mikaela Arce

What is friendly rivalry if not paired with high stakes?

Mac vs Mavs, the most compelling match ups of the year in the high school sport world.  The tie-breaker of the season determining which team continues on to play offs, and which will go home. Suspense hangs in the air as Sophomore Sydney Morris, outside hitter, neatly casts the first serve of the game, hitting the ball dead center, following through creating the perfect arch, hurling towards Mac.

MacArthur, nearly equal in skill and ingenuity to Madison absorbs maximum priority in terms of competition and worth at the games due to the three way tie between us, Mac and Johnson.

“That’s the game where it decides if we go to playoffs or not so its basically the turning point of the season and everyone gets really pumped at the games,” said Junior Sahbria McCletchie. “They’re one of our most significant rivals and they’re also important because they [the teams] have friends at Mac,” Coach Shannon Wolfe said. “But mostly we try our best to beat them and Johnson.”

Although Mavs suffered a slight loss, coming in 11 to 15 on the final score, it’s nothing the team can’t handle; the game itself was no match for the team’s love of the sport. Despite feeling the pressure, sticking together as a team and a “big awkward family” (McCletchie) helps the players keep on keeping on for the games.  Not only has the game earned it’s own share of intimacy, but it’s also acquired weight for helping the girls get into college, learning the meaning of discipline, and a couple other life lessons.

“I’ve been playing for going on about 9 years now and I’ve gotta say, it’s really taught me some things; leadership, responsibility, social skills, it’s pretty much like a part of my daily life,” Senior Courtney Alexander said.

And as most may know, it’s no walk in the park being an athlete in high school; literally. With 7 classes and practices every day and on Saturdays it’s not the life for everyone. Much blood, sweat, and tears goes into practices before the big match; not to mention putting on their game faces and war paint.

“We basically prepare them with everything we’ve got,” Coach Wolfe said. “We watch films, we do team talks, we review and go through our plays and scores- just everything.”

Lastly but not least, the team has even bigger ambitions planned for the future to come, “We really wanna make finals,” Coach Wolfe. “So we’re trying to get them as prepared as possible and short term we want to get our picture in the case at Blossom that says we went to playoffs. The thing is, they’re all really good volleyball players that just need to take their skills to their full potential on the next level, which is basically what we’re shooting for here.”

Photo by Mikaela Arce

Junior Sahbria McCletchie spikes ball towards MacArthur

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