by This may date me a little, but this weekend I had the opportunity to watch my first high school girls volleyball game in a quarter-century. I have 3 sons and no daughters so there’s just not a lot of room for girls sports in our household. Not just any of the 40+ games the Iola Lady Bulldogs play each year could break my streak of absences, of course. No, we’re talking about a state championship game here.
After bouncing a previously undefeated, 231 ranked team in the semis, the state title might have seemed like a sure thing. But their opponent in the finals was a difficult one. In fact, Windthorst had one 10 of the last 12 state championships at our level. With all of my heart I’d like to report that David slew Goliath and that Iola defeated the perennial powerhouse to claim its first-ever state title, boys or girls. But that didn’t happen. What did happen might be even more interesting. Windthorst was intimidating during warm-ups and dominant during the first game. They were clearly the better team at that point and the Iola girls were nervous and off their game.
A good portion of the town had made the 2.5 hour drive to watch the match. Halfway through the second game, it seemed as though some were ready to concede. Windthorst had defeated Iola in 3 state games just the year before, after all. That’s when the course of the match changed. The Iola team pulled itself together, began to play like a team, roared back, and forced the 2nd game into extra points before losing 26-24. Failing to capitalize on the opportunity to win game 2 would come back to haunt the Lady Bulldogs. But in the moment it was clear that they knew that they could compete with and defeat their Goliath. Down 2 games to 0, the Iola team worked hard for every point in the 3rd game. Gone were the missed chances, the mistakes, and the collisions between players.
They won the game and proceeded to win game 4 as well. 2 of the girls on the team go to church with me and my family and are the leaders of this team. I am very proud of the way they staved off what had to seem like certain defeat and not only hung on but actually outplayed the defending state champs during games 2, 3, and 4. Momentum, it seemed, had turned in their favor. With well over 100 fans cheering themselves hoarse, victory seemed certain. But it was not to be. Windthorst had one last burst left and jumped out to a quick lead in game 5 that they wouldn’t relinquish, holding on to win the game and the championship once more.
The Lady Bulldogs were disappointed, of course. At least one silver medal is, I suspect, in the trash can right now. But they should be proud of their valiant effort against their more decorated opponents. Over the years most teams finding themselves down 0-2 against Windthorst would certainly have given up, packed it in, and gone home. But that didn’t happen Saturday because of the strength and character of these young ladies. Because of prior commitments, my sons and I ended up driving nearly 500 miles back and forth across Texas in order to be at the state championship game. But I am so glad to have been there and cheered the Iola team on. It was inspiring to see them play so hard and so well. You made our little town proud, girls – way to go!
