Dragons Fall to Branson, Paxton and Sanders Earn 2nd Team Honors

The Dragons volleyball team’s successful season came to an abrupt end, as they lost in three straight sets to the number one seed, the Branson Bulls. The Bulls were ranked appropriately as they took the sets 25-14, 25-12, and 25-13 over the ninth-seeded Dragons.

The Bulls set the tone early and never let off the gas pedal. Senior middle blocker Ella Heitmeyer commented about the Bulls saying “they were an exceptionally well-structured team.” This focus on fundamentals and near-perfect precision help foster the Bull’s success.

This, combined with a devastating ball to the head that forced SVHS libero LeeAnna Tommasi out of the game, killed the Dragons’ resolve. The Dragons did all they could though, as Kaden Sanders had eight kills and Olivia Paxton had four. Three other kills were all the Dragons could manage.

This ends the 2022 season for the SVHS volleyball team. They ended the season with a 17-10 record, 8-4 in league, resulting in a 3rd place finish in VVAL, tied next to the Vintage Crushers. This success was led by two players who earned Second Team All-League titles, senior outside hitter Sanders and sophomore right side Paxton. Paxton average 7.6 kills a game, Sanders with 7.1 per game.

Paxton will hope to lead the team in the future years, as she has two more years left playing at SVHS. Alongside her will be Genevieve Smith, Annabel Sebastiani, and Kayla Amoromino, three juniors this year, who will be important leaders next year.

Many emotions were present after the game, as this was the last time the Dragons played together. Senior Matea Medek titled their emotions as “sad,” as the team could not believe their time together was over.

Volleyball marks the end for many fall sports, except Football, the last fall team left, playing their senior night Friday the 4th. This now turns the school’s attention to winter sports, with basketball, soccer, and wrestling starting up soon, games beginning at the end of November.