Hey y’all! I’m back again to update you on what’s happening as of late. This has certainly been an emotional weekend in many different aspects for me…and I know Rock (Rachelle Rostas) and Siegs (Amanda Siegrist) would agree. We celebrated Senior Night this past Friday (Nov. 2) as we battled Carson-Newman. We were especially pumped for this match. I could really feel the energy from the team and they made it known that they really wanted this to be a special night for the seniors. They exceeded my hopes and expectations far beyond anything I could have possibly imagined, not only on the court, but off the court as well (I’ll get to that with more information later).

We defeated Carson-Newman 3-0, although the match results do not indicate the battle that we experienced. They (C-N) are a tough team and we had to fight for every point in this match, especially the third game that went (to a final score of) 36-34! As many of you know, Siegs has been battling a knee injury for the majority of the season. She was cleared to play on Tuesday…it was especially exciting for all of us that she got to play in her last weekend of home games. Her court play did not indicate that she had been out for almost two months, as she continued her consistent passing and defense we all know and love.

I was unprepared for the aftermath of the match because I have not really allowed myself to think about the fact that (last weekend) was in fact Senior Night and that I would not be playing at home any more. We were recognized individually and with our parents. We were thankful for the opportunity to share the experience with our families. Our teammates surrounded us following the recognition and we opened gifts with many of our fans, families and friends watching.

Words cannot truly express the amount of extreme gratitude I have for each one of my teammates. It seems crazy for me to even try to thank them for all that they have done and did for us that night and throughout the entire season. I want to make sure all of my teammates know that THEY are the ones who deserve all the credit – you all are not only exceptional athletes and teammates, but more importantly, you are incredible people and I love and respect each one of you with all my heart.

OK, enough sappy stuff! Saturday (Nov. 4) was full of homecoming activities for most people around Wingate, but we were focused on our match with Lincoln Memorial that night. We did participate in advertising our match at the football game, as it was Dig for the Cure night to raise money in accordance with the Susan G. Komen Foundation and Breast Cancer Awareness month.

We wore pink jerseys and had a large turnout, which was awesome! We defeated Lincoln Memorial in a war that lasted four games. Again, this was a very hard-fought win that could have easily gone either way had we not closed out that crucial fourth game. We tallied 115 digs for Dig for the Cure, which will hopefully raise a good amount of money from our sponsors! Chelsea (Cancelliere) had an amazing match and recorded 36 of those digs!

The plans for the week are video on Monday (Nov. 5) and tough, focused practices Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for this week’s Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament at Carson-Newman (Friday and Saturday). We have high expectations for ourselves. We are focusing on one game at a time. We will work to improve this week and prepare for our first match of the tournament against Mars Hill. Thank you to all of our fans, families and friends for all of your love and support. It is so appreciated! We would not be as successful without you guys!