At 24-14, the girls’ volleyball team finished the year with a new school record for wins in a season, improving from their 22-19 mark last year.

Falling one game short of moving on to State, it was a bittersweet ending for head coach Matt Parker and the team, affecting the seniors the worst.

"This year’s seniors were great. All five were really positive and encouraging at all times. They really understood the "team" concept and looked beyond themselves," Parker said.

Two of the five seniors earned all conference recognition. Sara Snead was named first team all conference as well as second team all CIML. Jessica McNeece was named second team all conference and Blair Brown and junior Hannah Gaulke received honorable mention.

Snead also broke the school records for all-time kills and kills in a season.

"Being named co-captain was an accomplishment to me," Shannon said, "it made me want to work even harder and be someone the girls look up to."

"I’ll miss having something to do every day and the relationships with all the girls," Snead said.

But for Snead, her volleyball career is still in progress. She plans on either attending Central or Wartburg College to play volleyball at the next level.

"I’m looking forward to new competition and it being more intense," Snead said.

Teammate McNeece is also planning on continuing her volleyball life at the college level.

"Hopefully I can play for Grand View next year; I know I’ll play in college for sure," McNeece said. "It’s going to be hard adjusting to a new team and I’m going to miss playing with the girls that I’ve played with my whole life."

Both Snead and McNeece have been experiencing varsity play since sophomore year and will play together this winter for the Johnston Volleyball Club on a tournament team.

Even with the season over, the team still has good memories to look back on and be proud of. One high point that everyone can agree upon was winning the Johnston tournament.

"Winning the Johnston tournament was the highlight of the season; we beat three ranked teams and defeated Urbandale in the final," Parker said.

Along with this tournament, they also came out on top in the Des Moines Roosevelt invitational.

"I’m going to miss the seniors and their unique quirks and personalities, the solidness of the girls this year was amazing," Parker said. "They could accept constructive criticism and were emotionally strong."