The Buena Vista Volleyball team has dealt with adversity this season, and dealt with it well. The eight other schools in the American Rivers Conference average roughly 23 players per team, while BV has just eight. Eight players in a sport that requires six players on the floor at a time. Eight players that have battled through injury. Eight players who have learned completely new schemes with the hiring of a brand new coaching staff. Eight players that have led the BVU volleyball team to be tied for the third best record in the American Rivers Conference. Let that sink in; a team that is in third place has 15 fewer players than their opponents, are injury ridden, and have a new coaching staff. All of these factors earned this squad the title: The Mighty Eight.  

The 2018 volleyball season has been quite a ride. The season got off to hot start that included a seven game winning streak under new Head Coach Aubrey Havlichek. The team has seen struggles since, having dropped five of their last seven matches. The question for the mighty eight now is how they will respond to even more adversity.  

The bright side for the Beavers is that a majority of these losses come outside of conference play, leaving Buena Vista tied for third in an uber competitive American Rivers Conference. The Beavers head into their final stretch of the season sporting an 11-9 record, including a 3-2 conference record. Another promising sign for the Beavers is that of their four remaining games this season, three are at home, and are all conference games. This plays into Buena Vista’s hand. The last time the Beavers lost at home was more than two years ago, coming on Sept. 30, 2016. The Beavers are also the only team in the American Rivers Conference that haven’t lost at home this season. 

Last week’s American Rivers Conference offensive player of the week was Kylie Roe, a Buena Vista senior from Lincoln, Nebraska. Roe shined bright in what could very well be the turning point in her team’s season in a five-set thriller at Dubuque. The senior outside hitter had a career night in the Beavers defeat of a Dubuque team that came into that night undefeated in conference play. Roe posted jaw-dropping stats including a career-high 29 kills, which is tied for the third highest kills in BV history.  

Roe said of the honor she received, “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. All of us were incredibly disciplined and we never let down”. 

Roe expects nothing less than greatness from the mighty eight as the regular season turns its final corner. She said her the Beavers will continue to push towards their goal of winning the American Rivers Conference Tournament, and ultimately going to the National Championship. 

Catch Kylie and the rest of the mighty eight on Senior Weekend, Oct. 19-20, when the Beavers will look to continue their dominance at home as they host Coe and Luther. It is one of the last chances to see the mighty eight in action at the Sieben’s Fieldhouse, and not something to be missed.