The Knights fell in the first round of playoffs 3-0 to Kell at home on Oct. 18. 

The team struggled on offense during the game and struggled to close out sets. Especially in the third and final set where Midtown led until the end before Kell came back and won.

After a shaky season’s start, Midtown’s volleyball team pushed to go 13-3 in the second half of the season.  

The team ended the regular season 22-10 after a 9-7 start.The Knights ended their regular season with a 3-0 sweep against Decatur. 

“As a team, we performed very well,” senior Margaret Kimbrough said. “We worked very cohesively, which enabled us to win all three sets.

Junior Briaiah Lewis believes the Knights’ confidence from other wins carried over and helped the team towards the end of the season.

“We beat Westminster for the first time in a long time,” Lewis said of a recent contest. “From that, we learned how good we are, and we’re more confident now; so playing a team such as Decatur, we came in with more confidence.”

Head coach Sandi Stein said the improvement at the end of the season came from finding a reliable starting lineup.

“Now that I feel like we have found a good, set lineup, [we are] more successful,” Stein said. “During August, I threw a lot of different lineups out there to see what would work. Now, the same people are out there every game, and that’s really helped us with consistency.”

Lewis said the lineup’s consistency benefitted the team.

“We are really consistent, and that’s what gets us wins,” Lewis said. “The more you play with a team, the more you get to know your teammates, and it makes it easier to win when you know each other better.”

Despite losing multiple seniors from last year’s squad, this year’s seniors have stepped up and led the team. 

“We’ve had new leaders emerge,” Stein said. “[Seniors] have had to step up and learn how to be good leaders.”

Kimbrough believes a continuous dependable lineup and playing with her teammates has benefited them.

“This year, our group dynamic is a lot better, and we’re all a lot better,” Kimbrough said. “We got off to a really slow start. We just became more consistent the more we play together.”

Underclassmen, like sophomore Kate Rebillot, believes in the effect that team bonding and connecting with her team has on their performances. 

“Our main strength is probably our personal relationships,” Rebillot said. “We have a lot of talent but focus on our personal relationships and our bond as a team is really helping us.”

Stein sees the offense as one of the team’s main weaknesses.

“Our offense struggles; so, we’ve really been working hard on trying to fix it,” Stein said. “[We need to start] not running the same plays and to have more of a repertoire of shots and different types of offenses.” 

As a senior, Kimbrough has an important role in taking care of the rest of the team and keeping them confident.

“[I have to] hold people accountable,” Kimbrough said. “But also at the same time, getting them out of their head and not letting them think that they suck making sure they know that they’re good; that they should be playing at the level that they are able to play at.”