After suffering through three straight losing seasons in 2018, ’19, and ’20, this year, the Metea Valley girls volleyball team is in the midst of one of their greatest seasons in school history. The Mustangs have established themselves as one of the best not just in the DVC, but also in the state.
The Mustangs, led by head coach Dave MacDonald, have won eight conference matches with no losses, which is more victories than the previous three volleyball seasons combined. They are currently 31-2 on a 16-game win streak and in those 33 games, the black and gold has lost just 10 sets. During this historic season, Metea won the Kaneland Invite and the Oswego East/Metea Valley Tournament.
The immense level of talent and experience has contributed to much of the team’s success. The Mustangs returned 10 seniors this season including Emma Bludgen, Regan Holmer, Morgan Rank, and Maura Pilafas. Rank leads the team in digs while Holmer is their assist leader. Junior outside hitter Annabelle Troy broke the single season program record for aces with 65. Then there is 6’1 junior Kira Hutson who joined the team after playing club in the spring, to become a force at the nets in every match. The Florida recruit has lived up to the hype with 364 kills, which is easily a team high.
The girls also broke the program record for wins, including the school’s first ever victory over Benet Academy, and will go into the Oswego Sectional as the number one seed, the highest the team has ever had. In such a dominant year, there is no secret what this team wants to accomplish with the postseason coming up.
Metea hopes for many firsts by season’s end. The first DVC title since 2017 as well as the first regional championship and state appearance. Although, Hutson and her team know they have to focus on the here and now.
For Naperville Sports Weekly, I’m Josiah Schueneman.
