Silverado claims Southeast crown
All they wanted to do was be competitive. The Silverado Skyhawks wound up Southeast League champions.
Silverado defeated Green Valley 25-23, 25-15, 9-25, 25-19 Wednesday to finish with a 14-0 league record and claim the Southeast title.
“We started the season just wanting to be exceptionally competitive and bringing our best game every time,” Skyhawks coach Jenn Boeddeker said. “If we’re doing that, then I can be pleased, but right now I think that we still have work to do. Our big thing is just to be competitive and focused.”
Taylor Richard led the Skyhawks with 20 kills against the Gators, who came into the match needing a win to claim the league title. Marilyn Agae added 20 digs for Silverado, and Kaitlyn Keathley contributed eight kills.
“I know as a team we usually overthink things, so it was stressful with senior night, playing (Green Valley), the whole big thing,” Richard said. “We started slow — they’re a great team — but we pulled it out, came back and stopped stressing so much.”
Silverado came out strong, winning five of the first six points, before the Gators rallied with a back-and-forth run of their own. But the Skyhawks claimed nine of the final 10 points in the first game.
“I thought that Green Valley brought a really great game,” Boeddeker said. “They’re always wonderful competition, and I look forward to playing them every time.”
Green Valley rallied to take the third game, thanks in large part to Jena Chavez, who finished with two aces and 26 assists, and Emma Johnson, who had 14 kills, three aces and five digs.
But the Skyhawks refused to be outdone.
“We were not going to lose,” Richard said. “We had that attitude, ‘refuse to lose,’ and as a team, we came together, saying, ‘we’re not going to lose this game. We’re going to win our league, and that’s just how it’s going to be.’ We were pretty set on winning and that nobody could take it away from us.”
Richard had four kills to disrupt Green Valley’s momentum and seal the win.
“It’s been nice to watch Taylor evolve,” Boeddeker said. “She started out as a freshman on the varsity team, and she has really matured over time. It’s nice to see her take such an exceptional leadership role.”