By Olivia Whitten
With the wildcard earning them a spot in the D2-5 District Final, the Lady Mustangs were set to face Sumner-Eddyville-Miller, the No. 2 seed in Class D2. Despite entering as the No. 15 seed, Silver Lake came out on fire in the opening set, proving exactly why they belonged in the postseason. The first set was a dramatic battle filled with long rallies and multiple lead changes, and the Mustangs ultimately secured a thrilling 29–27 victory thanks to a clutch block by sophomore middle blocker Brooklyn Himmelberg—one of her three blocks on the night.
That opening win set the tone for the rest of the match, which continued as a back-and-forth fight. Silver Lake pushed SEM through each set, but the Mustangs narrowly dropped the next three 23–25, 18–25, and 11–25. SEM leaned heavily on standout hitter Taryn Arbuthnot, who powered her team with an impressive 31 kills, proving to be the difference maker.
Silver Lake’s defensive unit worked relentlessly to slow her down. Senior libero Sophie Schmidt anchored the back row with 31 digs. Fellow senior MaKenna Karr and sophomore Libby Soucek also stepped up defensively, collecting 22 and 16 digs, respectively. Soucek additionally handed out 21 assists, while Karr fueled the offense with 10 kills. Senior Kerra Hofstetter and Himmelberg each added six kills of their own.
Coach Rupprecht expressed her pride in the team’s effort throughout the season: “Although the outcomes were heartbreaking, I could not be more proud of this group, and I appreciate the seniors for leading by example and setting the standard and tone for the season.”
The Lady Mustangs concluded their season with an overall record of 18–11.