Falling to the Nerinx Hall Markers 3-2 in Sectionals on Oct. 31, the girls volleyball team ended their longest playoff run in the school’s history. 

Although the Falcons gained an initial two-set lead, they lost the remaining three to the Markers. The team advanced to this game after defeating Farmington 3-1 on Oct. 31, prior to the match against Nerinx Hall. Coach Aaron Hummert said the team played to the best of their ability, but lost point leads in the final three sets, which led to their loss.

“I think we played about as well as we could have. We gave up a few too many runs of points in the third, fourth, and fifth sets, but at the end of the day, we are not really disappointed with our effort. You can’t be mad playing as hard as we did. We just lost to a really good volleyball team,” Hummert said.

Sophomore Kylie Stehlin said that every member of the team pushed themselves and put in an immense amount of hard work during the playoff run.

“I felt that the team and myself pushed super hard and [unfortunately] some games just aren’t going to come out in our favor. [However], each girl [gave it their all] and that is all that we can ask for from each other,” Stehlin said.

Hummert also said although the season did not end the way they were hoping, the team is still incredibly proud of the progress they made in the playoffs.

“We are very happy not only to win Districts but to host a Sectional and make it to the Sectional finals. We’ve never been here, and we have played so hard,” Hummert said, “A couple of balls just did not bounce our way at the end of the day. It sucks when your season ends, but we are glad it happened the way that it did.”

Stehlin said partaking in the Falcons’ longest Girls Volleyball playoff run was an incredible feeling, and she was grateful for the extra games she got to play with the team.

“It honestly felt amazing to have already made history with my team. An additional bonus of making it that far was [the chance] to keep playing with the girls I love. It was an amazing set of matches,” Stehlin said.

Hummert said the program had worked incredibly hard to get where they had gotten, which was due in part to the hard work, communication, and hustle they had been prioritizing on this season.

“The same things that we preach every day to the girls and practice: hustle, hard work, and communication. We know we are not going to operate 100% on our volleyball skills, but we know that we can always control how much hustle we give, how much effort we give, and the amount of communication that we give each other,” Hummert said.