The Westside varsity volleyball team will go face-to-face with Lincoln Southwest in the first round of the NSAA Class A State Tournament. The single elimination tournament is played in a bracket style, with teams on opposite ends of the seeding chart playing each other. The Warriors’ season-long goal of making history for Westside’s volleyball program could come to an end with a single loss.

The road to the state tournament wasn’t easy for Westside. They began the season with an all-new team and no solid setter. Despite having talent in spades, the team couldn’t figure out how to win a game against some of the higher ranked teams in the state. One of those teams was Lincoln Southwest.

“The first time we played Lincoln Southwest, we had a totally different lineup,” head coach Korrine Bowers said. “We had our first lineup in and took them to five. However, in that match, a lot of people don’t realize that we won the first two and then lost the next three. Our ‘above the shoulders’ work that we’ve been doing all season has moved us past that point and we can handle pressure a little bit better and not crumble in those situations.”

Even without a setter, the Warriors refused to give up on their goals. With a better mentality and more motivation than ever, Westside began a serious hot streak starting with a first-place finish at the Millard South Invite that hasn’t stopped. 

Over the last three weeks of the season, the Warriors came alive on the court and dominated almost every game, earning them a runners-up finish in the Metro Conference Tournament and the school’s first volleyball district title since 2002.

“Overall, we’ve clicked a lot more and our chemistry on the court has gone up,” senior Madilyn Siebler said. “We’ve learned how we all function on the court and what we need to do to help each other, and we’ve become so much more of a team. That’s helped us finish the past couple of weeks and it’s what’s made us so much better.”

Westside, and especially Siebler, has a lot of history with Lincoln Southwest. The four-year starter hasn’t seen a win against Lincoln Southwest during her high school career, including the three times the teams met earlier this season. Even before the season started, the outside hitter was ready to knock the Silverhawks out of their winning streak.

“They’ve always been that team that’s at the same level as us,” Siebler said. “As programs, we’ve both gotten better each year so it’s always been competitive when we play them. We’ve always been on the cusp of beating them. It’d be a really big deal to know that we can get over that edge and beat them at state to end their season.”

The biggest challenge for the Warriors will be stopping Lincoln Southwest’s outside hitter, Shaylee Myers. The Fresno State commit has 468 kills for the season and is the biggest offensive tool for the Silverhawks. She also plays a big part in Lincoln Southwest’s defense when she’s not at the net.

“We’ll have to mix up our shots because Shaylee can pick up a lot,” Siebler said. “On the defensive side, she’s a threat at the net. As long as we can get a block up and get some touches at the net to slow the ball down, we’ll be good.”

Siebler, whose entire high school career has led up to Westside vying for a state title, is confident that her team has what it takes to come out on top.

“We just have to limit our errors. I don’t think Lincoln Southwest is a team that we need to play error-free and play the best volleyball we’ve ever played to beat them,” Siebler said. “I think we’re a better team and we have just as many big guns as they do. It’ll come down to limiting our errors and controlling our nerves because they’ve been to state and we haven’t. That’s our biggest disadvantage, but we’ve trained for this and we’re prepared.”

Westside will receive a send-off from the school before making the 45-minute drive to Lincoln. This will be the first time most of the Warriors have seen the inside of Pinnacle Bank Arena as contenders for a state championship, but Bowers doesn’t want that to distract them from their goal.

“Honestly, it’s about getting over the shock effect of walking into state,” Bowers said. “It’s the same situation as Baxter Arena, except four teams are playing at a time and four groups of fans. It’s going to be loud in there and there’s going to be a lot of hype. That generates hype not only for the team but for the Westside community.

Bowers talked to the team yesterday and reminded them to maintain their positive habits. 

“Getting sleep, doing mental imagery, staying positive, looking at each other and playing for each other, team first mentality; that’s what got us here so far and we need to rely on that,” Bowers said. “These girls love each other and we need to go put it all out on the court.”

Watch tonight’s quarterfinal match live on the NFHS Network. Pregame starts at 6:45.