Mexico volleyball knew Thursday’s match would be a fight against Marshall.

The Lady Bulldogs lost in five sets at their North Central Missouri Conference rival earlier this season and lost in four sets (25-17, 25-27, 25-27, 24-26) on Senior Night on Gary Filbert Court. Ava Herron, Claire Isgrig, Brooke Smithee and Beth Borcherding each have played volleyball four years for Mexico High School and played their penultimate match on home court.

Head coach Tami Sells said Mexico (2-17, 0-7 NCMC) and Marshall (4-20, 2-6 NCMC) are “very evenly matched” and played even tighter in the last three sets than in the five sets in mid-September. Sells said Mexico had the lead in each of the last three sets when the score reached the 20s, but little mistakes proved costly when every point mattered more.

“The problem was once we lost a point, we got into our heads a little bit,” Sells said. “Then we lost a few more right in a row before we got it back.”

Despite the loss, Sells said Mexico played really good volleyball and has been doing that recently. The Lady Bulldogs were coming off their second win of the season on Oct. 14 at Brookfield (25‑14, 26‑28, 26‑24, 25‑9). Isgrig led with 11 kills and 15 digs and had 16 assists, Herron led with nine service aces and had 10 digs, Julia Goerne led with 17 assists and had 16 digs, and Charley Jackson finished with nine kills.

Against Marshall, Herron led with 26 digs, Goerne led with 11 kills and four service aces and had 21 digs and 14 assists, Isgrig led with 19 assists and had nine kills and three aces, Borcherding had three aces, Smithee had six digs and Charley Jackson had eight kills.

“We had probably more kills than we’ve had in a match all season,” Sells said about Thursday’s loss to Marshall. 

Isgrig and Herron had positive memories on Thursday when they were with their parents during the Senior Night ceremony. They each have each played volleyball beyond the four years in high school and said they started playing volleyball to be with friends and have loved the sport ever since. 

While the program underwent coaching changes in their careers, Isgrig and Herron had each other and other teammates as the constant. They have experienced highs like last year’s 12-win season that fell one win shy of the school record and lows like the losses, but they were both glad they were part of the program.

“Especially when we were underclassmen, that’s how I made a lot of my upperclassmen friends — through this sport,” Herron said. “Even as an upperclassman, that’s how I made a lot of my underclassmen friends.”

“It’s a great way to meet different people that you would never meet,” Isgrig said.

Herron and Isgrig each have undergone changes on the court but became better players in the process. After being an outside hitter due to injury, Herron said she was then a defensive specialist before taking over as the libero this season after Skyler Arnold’s graduation. Isgrig took on more hitting responsibilities because of graduating players after being the team’s top setter a year ago.

“I try to just go with it,” Herron said. “You come into a sport, and you just want to play it. You take the opportunities that you get.”

“We lost a lot of seniors last year so we had to change a lot,” Isgrig said. “I was ready to step up as a hitter, too.”

Sells said Herron has been “an amazing libero” and shows her prior hitting experience by recording kills. She said Herron is one of the “loudest and most excitable players” that motivates the team. 

Isgrig is a great leader who has shown to be versatile, Sells said, and that is because she is “reliable across the board.” Sells said Isgrig has one of the highest serving and hitting percentages on the team and ranks high in assists as well. 

Sells said these seniors along with Smithee and Borcherding were a good group for her to inherit as she began her first varsity head coaching job. 

“Beth has probably been our most improved player from spring until now,” Sells said. “Her coverage has grown a lot and her blocking confidence has grown. I’m going to miss that and her energy.

“Brooke is always steady,” Sells said. “She has one of our highest serving percentages. When she serves, I just feel confident that she is going to get it over the net and make it playable. She is really great in the back row, too.”

Mexico has the No. 6 seed in the Class 3 District 6 tournament in Winfield and will face No. 3 Veritas Christian Academy (10-16-1) at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. 

“I feel it’s night and day,” Sells said. “Our girls are starting to gel and play better together as a team. They’re so encouraging to one another and are becoming more confident in themselves. Not only are they learning new skills toward the end of the season, but they’re putting it together with their teammates.”