Rising Sun volleyball coach Rich Wilson doesn't despise Senior Night but he is leery of the unique set of challenges it presents. The Tigers were a bit inconsistent but plenty good enough to sweep Harford Tech 25-18, 25-11, 25-15 Tuesday night, October 24. Wilson has come to expect uneven play on an emotional night.
"Basically, that's it," he said. "Senior Night has kind of supplanted the match so there's more importance put into Senior Night than there is in playing the match. I told them beforehand, the seniors are playing but you've got to play with a high level of effort. If not, I'm going to start subbing in. And I think some of the seniors get so emotional, get so wrapped up, the focus isn't there. So the first game was rough. Yeah, it was really rough. But they started to pull it together there at the end of the game. When I put EmJ (Emily Jackson) across the back to set then that allows Mackenzie (Blevins) to hit. That balances everything out. So that was pretty much what helped mostly. It's an emotional night. I have kids that are crying. I understand that… "I like honoring the seniors. But I'd rather we play well." Senior Mackenzie Blevins led Rising Sun with 12 kills and 17 assists. "It means everything [to win on Senior Night]," Blevins said. "Playing with this team for the last four years has been the greatest experience of my life so being able to win on Senior Night is even better." Senior Grace Webb collected 10 kills and two blocks. Rising Sun will try to finish an undefeated regular season Thursday night at C. Milton Wright. "It would mean a lot because we worked really hard to get here and we've all been working together, working out the kinks," said Blevins. "We've been doing really well so it would mean a lot." Said Wilson: "The only way I care about this is what it means to the girls. My goal, ever since I've been here, is I want to be coaching on the last day of the season (in the state final). Not saying we have to win but let's be playing on the last day and then we've been able to accomplish something special. I've never really looked at the regular season other than seeding for regionals. To be able to play [in Rising Sun] all the time instead of having to travel down the Eastern Shore is a big deal, but it's more of a distraction. If you go to an enemy gym it's more of a bunker mentality, us against everybody kind of thing." Comments are closed.
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