By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
For the Diamond High School volleyball team, success on the court comes from what they do off the court.
The Wildcats eat and train like champions.
“They kind of live or die with training,” said Diamond head coach Haley Wheeler. “They count their calories. They bring their food to school. They’re just bought into being the very best they can be for the team.
“They compete in not just volleyball, but basketball and softball. They’re a threat in every sport they play because they’re bought into getting better and getting stronger in the weight room.”
Diamond’s all-around commitment has paid off with a string of district championships.
Diamond rolled to an impressive 3-0 win (25-20, 25-17, 25-6) over Miller in Thursday night’s Class 2 District 11 Tournament match at Miller High School.
After a tight 3-1 win over Sarcoxie in Wednesday’s semifinals, the Wildcats were in championship form 24 hours later.
“This is crazy,” said Diamond senior and setter, Janalyn Kralicek. “Coming in, I was expecting us to be a little more… off the rocker I guess. Especially the way we played (Wednesday) in the semifinals against Sarcoxie. We were slow coming out that night, but we really showed out tonight when it mattered most.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
The victory gives Diamond (33-4-1 overall) its third straight district championship and fourth in five years.
The Wildcats will host a Class 2 sectional match next Thursday, Oct. 26. Diamond will be looking to advance past sectionals for the first time amid this run of district championships.
“I’m really overwhelmed,” Wheeler said. “When I came in, we made goals for ourselves: conference, districts and another (goal) being state. It’s a really overwhelming experience to see not just our girls show up, but the entire community of Diamond.
“Everyone was in our corner and I truly think they helped us be successful tonight.”
Miller and Diamond played just two weeks ago, with the Wildcats pulling out a five-set win at home against their Southwest Conference foe.
Thursday’s rematch was not nearly as close.
The Wildcats pulled away late to take the first set. They carried that strong play into the second set, then put an exclamation point on the match by scoring the first 12 points of the third set to secure the sweep.
“We were definitely on a high,” Kralicek said of Diamond’s third-set surge.
One of Diamond’s many strengths this season has been its attack balance.
Entering Thursday’s match, five Wildcats had tallied 136 or more kills on the season. Senior outside hitter Caitlin Suhrie leads the way with a team-high 276 kills.
“I definitely lucked out on the situation I walked into here,” Wheeler said. “We’re blessed to have a lot of really strong female athletes at Diamond.”
It all starts with preparation and regimen, Kralicek said.
“We all want to stay in good shape,” Kralicek said. “About 90 percent of our volleyball team does weightlifting at school. Everyone tries to eat healthy. At lunch, we’re eating chicken salads. A lot of us try to take healthy protein snacks throughout the day. We just try to take care of our bodies because we do put a lot of work on them.”
Wheeler (Stallings), who was a star player for Fair Grove (2012-15) and College of the Ozarks (2016-19) during her playing career, is in her first season as Diamond’s head coach.
“Coaching is way worse in terms of stress. You have absolutely no control other than the lineup,” Wheeler said. “As a player, I can control the energy and momentum. I wanted the ball to come to me. As a coach, you’re on the sidelines and all you can do is hope and pray that everything being done in practice pays off.”
Miller finishes 20-13-2 overall. The Cardinals were seeking their fifth straight district championship. They had made three straight state final four appearances as well.
Miller should be ready to reload in 2024 – the Cardinals had no seniors on the roster this year.
