By MATT PIKE
A historic season came to an end for the Mid-Buchanan Dragons volleyball team in the Class 2 Third Place game, falling to Liberty Mountain View in straight sets.
It wasn't quite the ending to the season the Dragons had hoped for, rewriting the program record books through the fall. After losing a five set heartbreaker to eventual Class 2 champion New Covenant Academy on Wednesday, Mid-Buchanan could never seem to keep positive momentum against the Eagles on Thursday night. After Liberty Mountain View narrowly won the first set, 25-23, the Eagles won the next two sets 25-18 and 25-19.
There was still a lot to be proud of for Mid-Buchanan on the season. The trip to the Final Four was the first in the programs history for the Dragons, 38 wins was the most in a single season (per MSHSAA records), and several players hit career milestones and made their mark within the record books. Which is something Head Coach Ron Underwood will always remember about this team.
"They absolutely rewrote the record book, individually and team stats and wins and every category we keep, they rewrote it, but those records will be broken sometime as well," Underwood tells reporters after the match. "I think what I'll remember most about this group, is they stayed together for 40 matches, and they totally put their egos in neutral for 40 matches, so that the team would do well."
The group of Dragons was led by a group of five seniors, Camryn Atha, Bailey Coman, Serina Martin, Maya Dillman, and Reese McDaniel, a group Underwood knew he could trust to set the standard for how this team should operate.
"They were the standard for effort, for results on the court, for how to get along off the court, everything I needed captains and seniors to do, they did," Underwood explains. "And I just told them that they left a huge, huge imprint on our program."
While they graduate five seniors, Mid-Buchanan returns six players from this years varsity roster, along with an incoming freshman class. Junior Tatum Moss leads that group of returners along with sophomore Devyn Admire. Moss finished the match with 10 kills. Dillman led the assists with 27, while Martin led in digs with 10.
Mid-Buchanan finishes the season 38-3. Through the season, the Dragons won 96 sets and lost just 13.
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