CHURCHILL -- Manhattan Christian won the District 12C volleyball tournament last Saturday to remain undefeated on season.
On Tuesday night, they won in the first round of the Western C divisional tournament, sweeping Drummond.
“It’s pretty exciting," said Eagles senior Taylor Devries. "It’s nice to have a two-peat. I’m really excited that we can keep going forward, that we can be No. 1 seed going into divisionals. I’m really excited that we have another week left of volleyball. I’m really proud of my team.”
The Eagles have lost only three sets all year, two of those coming in their first game of the season.
“It’s definitely special," Devries said. "We have a really talented team this year, we do a lot of offseason stuff together. We’re really hard workers, it’s really exciting that we can all come together and put all of our talents together to be one team together and to dominate together. I’m really excited to keep going with each other and to keep playing with each other.”
However, with the playoff format being single-elimination, which is different from years past, the undefeated Eagles won’t be able to lose a game from here on out if they want a state title repeat.
“It’s a little bit of pressure," said Devries. "It’s a little scarier because last year it’s double-elimination, so if you lost you could keep going and have another chance. I think the pressure is a lot more higher with single-elimination, and I think that we definitely can do it and if we just put our minds to it we can keep going undefeated the whole season hopefully.”
This team is largely intact from last year when it won the state championship and has added freshman Katelyn Van Kirk, who is terrorizing opponents alongside her sister Kiersten, who is a junior.
“She’s a great outside and she just adds a lot of power and fun to our team and she’s really good at serving," said senior Eliana Kuperus. "She gets a bunch of aces and she’s super good at defense, too, so that’s awesome.”
What you won’t see from the Eagles is them taking anyone for granted. One of keys to their success has been the ability to stay humble.
“We’re trying to be really humble this year and it’s sometimes hard when we’re winning by a lot, but we try to be humble, and it’s just been fun to play with everybody,” Kuperus said.
The Eagles take on the Charlo Vikings Thursday night in the semifinal round of the Western C tournament.
