Korrine Bowers, head coach of the Westside Warrior volleyball team, ended the season with a final record of 15-17. The Warriors fought all year long starting with a young core. They managed to keep it moving and start winning games as a team. Westside would be placed in the A-2 District bracket looking for two wins to make it to state. The players fought back after being down two sets, winning in set five against a dominating Lincoln High team. The players would end up going to the district final against Papillion-La Vista South Titans, arguably one of the best teams in the state. The Warriors would fall short in three sets and that would end their season. Starting sophomore Samantha Laird said she is very happy with how the season went.

“We pulled out some close wins in tough matches and fought hard every game. We peaked at the right time, and we put it all on the court in the District final. We will be set for next season with five starters returning,” Laird said. 

Laird will be an upperclassman next season, meaning she will need to adapt to a bigger leadership role. 

“Our current sophomore class is the biggest on the team, so next year the underclassmen will have lots of people to turn to for help,” Laird said. 

Madilyn Siebler and Samantha Laird are both Class A State leaders in kills, with 20+ kills in districts, powering the Warriors’ offense. Siebler is one of the best offensive players in the state. 

“Going into our postseason run with both of them at their peak, playing the best is huge for our program. What we need for the championship is for our passing game to be on point. We need to establish our middle right away and keep them rolling on the outside. Last year at this time, [Laird] was out with an injury and that really hurt our team. We’re very thankful for them being healthy,” Bowers said.

With Westside only losing four seniors and with such a young core, they are able to look ahead in their future and mature as a team and begin to start making bigger plays and better moves coming into the next season. 

“The seniors, they have been here for the three years that I have been here. They’re the true foundation of our program. Any senior program that leaves what they left this year behind has to be super proud of what they did. They put in hard work every day at practice regardless of their playing time or role. These kids are the heart and soul of this program,” Bowers said. “I told the girls if you don’t like the feeling of what happened on the court tonight it’s up to you to change that. Competing but still losing. You need to be practicing on your own when no one’s watching. There is always someone better. Don’t allow someone to take your spot.”

Captain and starting junior Madilyn Siebler said she is very excited for next season and sees a lot of potential in the squad. 

“Most of our starters will be back and the club season this winter and spring should help develop these girls more,” Siebler said. “Next year we will be a lot more experienced, and I’m so excited.” 

Westside looks to take the offseason very seriously. Studying every mistake they made and, with such a young core, they can do that together. Bowers said she feels this young group of players will take advantage of this offseason.

“Whether it’s club volleyball or to get better for the program, I am excited for them. It’s always great to have such a young team. I just want to keep building on it. It’s really important for these players to get out there and play club volleyball. I do believe in multi-sport athletes, but if they could get those extra reps in the offseason is huge for it during the season. One of my fears this year was COVID and whether or not we were going yo have this season. I really needed this season not only for the kids but for this program to keep building,” Bowers said.

Bowers has built up a lot of teams in the metro to become championship teams and looks to make Westside a top team in the state. She believes the Warriors have what it takes to do that for the program. 

“A lot of people are starting to notice Westside, which is a great thing,” she said. “Once we started getting noticed [that] we were in the top 10 three weeks in a row. People start to notice that, and kids hopefully see that and want to play for Westside.”