Holder has nothing but praise for team
After run to region final, Seven Lakes program on the ascendancy
Seven Lakes pushed the bar higher again.
The Spartans, who missed the playoffs altogether two years ago, made their first regional semifinal last season, then advanced to the Class 6A Region III championship game for the first time last week.
“That was really good to see,” coach Farah Holder said.
“They put in the work, still, from two years ago, (when) the majority of those kids experienced the losses, and not making it to playoffs. Last year was big, breaking that barrier, and setting that record, and then again this year, it was continuing to put it together and relying on that experience.”
The Spartans were good all season, going 2912, but Holder said they were great in the playoffs, particularly after the first round.
“We came together as a team,” she said.
“We went 10-2 in district, and had a great run, but weren’t playing that well together as a team. Even in our first round against Westside, I didn’t look out there and say, ‘Heck yeah, we’re making a run this year.’ “It just felt different. “So we sat down after that Westside match and the girls had the same feeling. They said, ‘This isn’t what we’re about and what we put the work in for.’”
They worked harder against Memorial and came away with a straightsets win.
That victory sparked two more big ones – first against 37-win Cypress Falls, then against Clear Springs in the regional semis.
The Cy Falls win gave the Spartans their first win at the Campbell Center.
“That was big, confidence-wise, that they can play in that arena,” Holder said.
They kept playing with confidence against Fort Bend Austin, a team loaded with 11 seniors and five college-bound players, taking the Bulldogs to five sets before finally bowing out 15-13 in Game 5.
Holder still was disappointed this week, but also aware of her team’s heroic efforts.
“I have nothing but pride when I think about this team,” she said. “They mean so much to me. I’ve said it before, that they’re like my own children in a lot of ways.
“I hate that we couldn’t bring it home, and make it to state, but Austin’s a great team, talent-wise, (and) Coach (Amy) Cataline’s an amazing coach and person, so that takes a little bit of the sting out, losing to such
a great team.”
Seven Lakes is returning most of its squad next season. Camille Conner, District 19-6A’s Most Outstanding Setter, leads the list of returners, which includes outside hitters Beryl Edem and Danielle Baten-horst, and right-side hitter Natalie Pashby.
Only three players graduated – middle blocker Maggie O’Connell, the district’s Most Outstanding Hitter who is pledged to Princeton, and MB Tulani Titley and L Sydney Nimtz, both first-team picks.
“If you look at it in that sense, it’s not a lot, but what they brought to the team was a lot,” Holder said.