The Westside Warriors played in the Omaha Metro Volleyball Tournament, facing off against the Millard North Mustangs on Monday, Oct. 19. Westside went on to win in two sets and move on against Papillion-La Vista South later in the evening. In the second round, the Warriors would fall in straight sets, 19-25 and 16-25. Reflecting on the early exit, head coach Korrine Bowers looks to improve the Warriors offense by passing the ball a lot more and a lot more efficiently.

“We will practice this week on areas that we need to work with, Blocking and lining up our hitters, We need to learn how to do this consistently. I always say if you can’t pass you can’t play, that’s my motto. Really working on our hitters timing the ball to our passers, If we want to compete with these levels of teams we’re going to need to be on point every set,” Bowers said.

Westside has looked over their failures and hopes to perfect them in this week’s practices, working on ball control and passing as a team. Bowers feels that the girls are coming together and becoming a group that will succeed in the running. Starting junior and Montana State volleyball commit Madilyn Siebler is very proud that the Warriors split the games at Metros. 

“We lost to Millard North a few days before, but we came in at metros and crushed them. And even though we lost to Papio South, we hung with them and played really well. A lot of rallies just didn’t go our way,” Siebler said. 

The Warriors have clinched the number two seed in their district this Wednesday. They will face off against the number three seed Lincoln High Links who Westside has defeated earlier in two sets. However, Bowers feels that it’s important to not look too far ahead.

“When it comes down to big tournaments or districts and seeding you really wanna take it one set at a time. Some teams look towards their second match, thinking they’ll just run past their first opponent. We can’t think like that, we need to respect every opponent we face,” Bowers said.

If the Warriors get past the first round in districts they could see Papio South once again. A win against the Titans would bring the Warriors one win away from their first state tournament appearance since 2002.

“I think if we have a good serve-receive we could surprise everyone and upset them [Papio South],” Siebler said. 

Scouting for a team they have already lost against can be more challenging than against other teams now the Siebler feels that being able to help the teams offense out is the best way to go up against the Titans.

“We must have a good serve-receive one again, if we don’t, we won’t be able to run our offense. We also have to be ready for the ball to come at all times because they’re super aggressive at the net,” Siebler said. 

This upcoming Tuesday at 6 p.m. the Warriors will look to keep their season hopes alive against the 15-14 Lincoln High Links in their first district matchup. The match will be at Papillion-Lavista South. The winner will play the Titans for the A-2 District Championship for a chance to head down to Lincoln for the state championships.