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By Chris Parker
Saturday was a long time coming for the Miller volleyball program, and specifically Miller head coach Tamara Landers and her sister and assistant coach Nikole.
Landers played for Miller in high school. She joined the coaching staff as an assistant in 1995 before taking over as head coach in 2004. In her almost 30 years as a part of the program as a player and coach, Landers had never experienced a final four.
That is no longer the case.
Miller swept both Clever and Skyline to earn the program’s first trip to a final four.
“Oh my gosh, after 20-some years and getting close, I’m so happy,” Landers said. “I just got thinking maybe I didn’t have what it takes as a coach to get them to the Final Four, but this group helped me. They got us to the final four.”
Miller started its day with a sweep of Clever by scores of 25-19, 25-8, 26-24. Then came the moment of truth in a quarterfinal matchup with 27-2 Skyline. Miller was in this exact spot in 2017. At home just one match away from a final four. The Cardinals came up short against Winona 2-1 that year.
The Cardinals left no doubt in 2020 scoring the first seven points of the first set against Skyline and never looking back in a 25-10 first set win.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
That fast start was important for Miller with a raucous home crowd urging them along.
“It (a fast start) means a lot, because once these guys get going it’s hard to shut them down. They’re juniors and sophomores and they just go after it and they get excited. Once they get the excitement they don’t have a lot of let down, so they just went after it and they wanted to go (to the Final Four). We’ve been talking about the past for all year long. And they finally got what they wanted. I’m just so proud of them,” Lander said.
Miller won the second set by a 25-16 margin to go up 2-0. In year’s past, that would’ve been enough to punch a ticket to the final four. This year, Missouri switched to a best-of-five set format. Miller walked back to the huddle knowing just one set separated them from a final four.
“We were all saying 25 points, 25 points,” Miller’s Kaylee Helton said. “We were all winded, but we pulled it together.”
“I said, mentally we are here to play. This is our court. Let’s go to the Cape so that’s what they did,” Landers said.
Miller finished off the sweep with a 25-12 win to advance to the Class 2 final four.
Miller’s record now stands at 31-2 on the season. At least a few of those wins can be attributed to the crowd that follows Miller home or away, weekend or weeknight.
“Our crowd is probably the best crowd Missouri. They follow us to a Saturday tournament and spend all day with us. So to have almost everybody in this town here and to cheer us on. That means a lot means a lot to us,” Landers said.
“Our community is incredible. They show so much support, and then once we do something good they get the adrenalin and going. They get us going.”
Miller will face Valle Catholic in the semifinals. While Miller is new to the Final Four, Valle Catholic has won three state titles and made nine final four appearances with the last coming in 2017.
Miller will face Valle Catholic at 7 pm on Friday, Nov. 6 in the Class 2 semifinals.
