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Royals fall to Turtle Lake in D5 state semifinal to end season with 31-2 record
Lily Payne return vs Turtle Lake
Seneca junior Lily Payne (2) pushes the ball back towards the Turtle Lake side of the net. - photo by Derick Kelly

It was a season for the record books.  Going into the state tournament Seneca had a record of 31-1 and was seeded #4 and had to play the top seed Turtle Lake.

Seneca Volleyball was ready for the task and was ready to experience a trip to state for the first time since 2016.  With the school, community and the ridge and valley conference supporting them it was going to be an incredible experience for the team.

Seneca was looking to continue to compete at the highest level while trying to keep their nerves in check.  In game one, Seneca started slow and found themselves down 21-12 before freshman Violet Varo rattled off 8 straight serves to bring the Royals back within one point.  It was back and forth and it was tied at 24 but the Royals were unable to finish the game and lost the first set 24-26.

Seneca came out strong in set two with a very balanced offense and was able to come away with a win with a score of 25-18.

With momentum in Seneca’s favor we were ready for game 3.  Another slow start was hard to overcome.  We needed to get back to what we have done great all year and that was play as a team consistently.  They had some really great servers and struggled to get the pass up to our setter to stay in system and Turtle Lake was able to win set 3 with a score of 20-25. 

Seneca knew they needed to win the fourth set to move to a decisive fifth set but was unable to get the offense going.  Seneca found their season come to an end with a loss in set four 19-25. 

It was a well balanced game for the royals.  Anne Manning led the offense with 15 kills followed by Lily Payne with 9 and Rita Sime with 7.

Addison Davidson recorded 34 assists on the day.  Leading the defense was Emma Manning with 31 digs followed by Payne with 17 and Davidson with 10.

Although the outcome was not what the Royals hoped for as a team, they can take this season as a whole as an amazing experience.  For the Royals seniors to lead this team to the state tournament in nothing short of amazing.  Getting to finish their season at state is a dream come true.  They continued to push themselves all season long in order to be playing their best ball in the postseason.  Gratitudes go out to the school district and the entire community for the support this season, it was a terrific experience for everyone.