As the cheer goes, you’ve got to want it to win it and Noxapater wants it bad!
Noxapater had one goal –defeat Resurrection and win South Half. A simple goal, but they knew it would be much more difficult than that.
And they succeed in their goals. Although coming up short against Pine Grove in the state championship, to walk away number two in the state in a season where they were seen as underdogs means so much more.
For them they drew blood, and now knowing what to do to get there they want another shot. But they’ll have to wait until next season for it. For now, they’ll bask in their amazing year and build off the momentum and set their eyes on a new target- Pine Grove and Ole Miss.
And if it didn’t set notice on anyone – it should. Noxapater wants to be a contender in volleyball. They’re not just an underdog, they want top dog.
“Obviously when everyone starts their season, the goal, no matter what the sport, is to be playing on the last day for that particular sport during that school year- which is a state championship. Reaching that South Half Championship was one of our goals on the way to the ultimate goal,” Mills said. “I would always rather be the underdog, because when you come out on top, it's great. You've been able to accomplish things a lot of people doubted you could do and honestly, hoped you wouldn't. Hopefully, this season will inspire the younger girls to keep working hard.”
Six years ago, Mills said that then principal Chet Wilkes approached her and Jodie Duran about dropping slow pitch softball and pivoting to volleyball. They agreed, but neither had any idea about volleyball. The first couple of years were rocky, but soon Noxapater began to find their footing.
“Neither Coach Duran nor I had ever been to a volleyball match, so we knew absolutely nothing about volleyball, other than the ball had to go over the net!” Mills said.
“We started volleyball in the late spring/early summer of 2018. Our principal then, Chet Wilkes approached Jodie Duran and myself about letting slow pitch softball go and picking up volleyball. We agreed to do it, unsure of how we would do it. We had to go to a local church to practice because it was so hot in our gym, and we didn't have a net. We were very fortunate to have a local pastor's wife, Laura Walton, that stepped in and helped us along with our girls learn the game of volleyball. It was a long tough process getting started, because everyone was so unsure about it. The first couple of years was a little rough, but it began to get better around year three.”
Mills said they reached out to Walton a lot but she didn’t mind helping. And the team became really vested in the program. Once all cylinders began clicking, Noxapater began to gel. And other coaches began taking notice that Noxapater wasn’t laying down. They came to play and not just play – dominate.
“At first, we depended on Laura for help, but eventually, our girls got really interested in it. They began watching videos and joining club volleyball leagues in neighboring towns As they began to learn more, naturally we started improving. They would come back and teach everything they learned,” Mills said. “We just did drill after drill to learn what we needed to know. The girls would laugh and say they knew when either of us had been watching videos getting new drills. Between what our girls learned in club and what we could find, our seasons started turning around.”
The Lady Tigers battled for every point keeping the goal in mind – beat Resurrection. They’d met Resurrection a few times in the playoffs, and every time Resurrection would end the Lady Tigers dreams. But, this year, it was the Lady Tigers who would get the upper hand.
“In year three, we played in the first round of the playoffs. Year four brought a Division Championship and the second round of playoffs before being eliminated by Resurrection, for the second year in a row. Year five was where we saw a huge difference. We won a second Division Championship and made it to the south half championship, where once again we were eliminated by Resurrection. But that loss was a little different. Coach Tucker from Resurrection told us that he could see such a change in our girls from the first time we played,” Mills said. “We assured him then that we would meet again. That brought us to this season, where we found ourselves playing Resurrection in the third round of the playoffs. At the beginning of our practices this past summer, we set a few goals, one of which was to be Resurrection and play for a State Championship. And my girls accomplished both of those goals.”
After beating Resurrection, they were faced with Stringer, another tough battle. And they knew in order to beat Stringer, they’d have to lay it all on the line. And they did.
“Once we put ourselves in the position to be playing in this match, we knew our competition was rough. Stringer recently had moved down from 2A back to 1A but had gone deep in the 2A playoffs in the 2022 season. We knew it was going to be a tough match for us. We just watched film and practiced like usual, focusing on the things we knew we'd have to do in order to win. Seniors, Maddie Parker and Taylor Hamilton both stepped up and led the way for us that night to take the series 3-1,” Mills said. “As stated in another article, we just kept telling our girls how important this was for female athletics at Noxapater. No girls' team had ever played in a South Half Championship and then we reinforced that before the State Championship. This was a huge deal for volleyball program. Once the final point was scored in the South half championship, we were elated- just a little bit shocked. Not that we didn't think our girls could get to the Championship game, things just usually didn't usually work out for us like that. But they worked hard and earned it and deserved every bit of recognition they received.”
The team that began six years ago, that practiced in a church gym, that learned the game by watching YouTube videos and joining local volleyball clubs, the underdogs, were headed to Oxford.
Although, they didn’t get the win, what they learned about themselves as individuals and as a team is far greater.
“The state championship game was such an experience for our girls. Pine Grove is a great team and had a really good day. We played hard until the end, but it just wasn't enough on this day. The venue, the hype that goes along with this type of game and probably a few nerves, seemed to linger over us the entire afternoon,” Mills said. “Nonetheless, I will forever be proud of this group of girls and what they have achieved for the Noxapater Volleyball program. We've come a long way from practicing in the church gym. I hope one day when they look back on the journey, they appreciate it and remember how much fun we had.
But, still a championship is always nice. For Noxapater, it’s not the end. They’ll be back.
“We will keep working with our younger girls to build the type of program that is competitive each year. We are hitting the weight room and track each day. So many of my girls play multiple sports, so a lot of them moved straight on to basketball and I have some that will start powerlifting soon,” Mills asaid. “Five of my eight varsity players went and cheered a football game after the state championship game. They will continue to work to get stronger and pretty soon, we will be back in the gym during their athletic period working on the basics. We will reload and get back after it.”
And after reaching the mountaintop, Noxapater has one goal in mind – to bring a state championship back. And oh how sweet it will be.
