By: Samantha Bonifas
When subdistrict assignments were announced, the Lady Mustangs knew they had a challenging game ahead of them: another match against the Shelton Bulldogs. The Mustangs and Bulldogs had had a tough past in the earlier season. Silver Lake had already easily snagged two regular season game wins from Shelton, and gave one game to Shelton, 3-1, in the Twin Valley Conference Tournament. The first match set started out slow for the Lady Mustangs, with the Bulldogs getting an early head start. As the Bulldogs reached set point, Madison Miller of Silver Lake was not ready to let up, and used her serve to rally points. However, the Mustangs fell short and dropped the first set, 25-22. In the second set, it was clear that Silver Lake was going to put up a fight. The Mustangs took away the second set 25-23. In the third and fourth set, both teams went back and forth between carrying momentum. Unfortunately, Silver Lake fell short in both sets, 25-22. While the Mustangs dropped a heartbreaking game, there was still much to be proud of. “I thought we came out to win; we were up in every set, then would lose the momentum, but then would come back and play hard until the very end of each set. Where volleyball is a game of intensity and momentum and who can keep it longer, we just couldn’t keep it long enough to win two more sets. However I think every player; whether on the court or on the bench gave it their all that night, and for that I was extremely proud,” said head coach Jenn tenBensel. The team ended their season 14-12. The three seniors picked “we over me to” lead the team in the season. They displayed it well throughout the year. “Words cannot express how much the three seniors mean to me! How far they’ve all come from their freshmen year to now is amazing.They have all put in so much time and effort into building a winning team. Their freshmen year, I think we won two games; after that year; I noticed how they worked harder in the off-season and really improved fundamentally. They were determined to do better! I want to thank them for absolutely everything they have given to Silver Lake Volleyball. I can’t wait to see where their next chapters in life take them,” said coach tenBensel. “After the Shelton game, my heart broke. I didn’t expect to lose something that I loved so soon. The girls on my team became my family. Knowing I’ll never get to step on a court and slip on my number one jersey again and play for my girls was really bittersweet,” said senior Madison Miller. Miller ended her career with 263 sets played, 748 digs, 94 aces, and 103 kills. Senior Sierra Watts-Hofstetter finished her career with 219 sets played and 274 kills. Her message to the future volleyball program is, “always work hard and be dedicated. You may think that there’s so much time left to play, but it really goes by fast. Never take it for granted, because it really does go by super fast. I want to thank my team for always being there and for the amazing bond I grew between everyone this year. It was an amazing experience getting to play all four years.” Senior Kerigan Karr ended her career with 286 sets played, 970 assists, 475 digs, 237 kills, and 74 aces. She ended her season saying, “Always try your best and hardest in every game because you never know when it’s going to get taken away from you. And always have fun because it’s going to come to an end faster than you think.” The Lady Mustangs look forward to a 2021 season. Coach tenBensel commented, “Our JV has really stepped up this year and pushed the varsity every day. I am very anxious to see what another year added to these girls will bring: another year stronger, better fundamentals, and more court awareness would make any coach extremely excited.”
https://www.facebook.com/SilverLakePublicSchools/posts/2084714561652160