Throughout the 2025 volleyball season, the Mustangs were in excellent form throughout. The Mustangs bested Brentsville 3-0 in the quarterfinals, beat William Monroe 3-1 in the semis, and finished by losing 0-3 to Kettle Run, placing second overall in the region. They advanced on to states, but lost 1-3 against New Kent in the quarterfinals. The girls did incredible throughout the season, advancing deeper into the playoffs than any team since 2021.
Despite the box score, the Mustangs did not get off to a hot start in their first game against Brentsville, finding themselves down 7-11 in the first set. This forced them to call a timeout, where Coach Milena Racic gave the girls an important break to get themselves together.
“We just realized that it was just a game, and that we were thinking too much about it being the quarterfinals. So we went on the mindset that it’s just a regular game in the season that we’re going to win,” junior Wallee Negron explained.
With this newfound determination to win, and their mindsets calmed, the Mustangs fought hard to come back from their lead, eventually tying the game at 17-17. Brentsville was unable to stop the girls’ momentum, which forced them to attempt to freeze the Mustangs by calling a timeout. It was no use, and the Mustangs managed to pull away with a 25-22 set win.
The team was more confident in the second set, which helped them pull away easily and go on many serving streaks. The Mustangs started the second set 7-1. The Tigers were unable to catch up, and were forced to call another timeout.
“We did really well on getting back into the game, cause our first set was kinda off. So, us just locking in throughout the second and third set helped us make it to the semifinals,” Negron commented. Their focus and intensity on the court helped them win the second set efficiently and easily, 25-18.
The third set proved to be even less of a challenge. The girls started off the set with a 5-0 streak. Then, after an intense rally to win back serve, the Mustangs went on a four point streak, frazzling Brentsville. The Mustang domination continued on until Brentsville was forced to call another timeout. The timeout did nothing to faze the girls, and they were able to knock Brentsville out of the regional tournament, winning the game 25-16.
However, the further the Mustangs got in the tournament, the harder it became to win.
“We need to improve our servers and some of our coverage, and we need a little bit more communication,” Negron said, “doing that will help us play our game and make it to the finals, and even to states.”
They moved on to the regional semifinals against William Monroe, where they were able to qualify for the states tournament. Because the team had not gotten this far in a long time, they were determined to win this game.
Meridian High School has not played William Monroe in several years, so the Mustangs came ready to dominate and play their game. Despite William Monroe being a tougher opponent than Brentsville, the girls started the set with fast-moving volleyball, eventually drawing William Monroe’s second timeout of the set, Mustangs up 20-12. But, the girls wrecked William Monroe, easily winning the first set by more than a 10-point lead, the score at 25-14.
The second set proved no further challenge for Meridian, and the girls won the set easily, 25-18.
“[I think the team did well] by all collectively working together, and we really clicked this season. We all connected, and I think that really helped us,” junior Maddie Denny remarked.
However, disaster struck for the Mustangs in the third set. Coming so close to finishing the game and beating William Monroe once and for all, the Mustangs fell behind early on in the set. They were unable to make up the points they lost, even with the timeout called with the Mustangs down only two points, at 21-23. With William Monroe’s newfound determination, Meridian volleyball unfortunately lost the third set, 21-25.
With their win slowly slipping away, the Mustangs were determined to win the fourth set. The Mustangs persevered after their third set loss, winning the set 25-13 and securing their advancement to regional finals and the next state tournament.
“It feels really exciting to be going to the finals and to states. It’s really big and something that I haven’t done before,” sophomore Paige Taylor explained.
Unfortunately, the Mustangs ended their season with consecutive losses in the regional finals and the state quarterfinals. Despite the sour ending, the team still became the first in four years to make a state tournament.
“Even though we lost, I’m super proud of this team and the girls for working so hard during practice, games, and pushing through all the challenges until the very end,” senior Mai Nguyen declared.
layla • Nov 24, 2025 at 11:31 AM
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