Morgan Van Meir and Kat Mansfield are best friends. 

At least that’s what Head Coach Natalie Murray said on Friday when she was talking about the two senior girls on her volleyball roster. 

The girls, who are always seemingly together, have led a young Memorial volleyball the team all-season long through hard work and determination. Which, in a vacuum, might be easier when you don’t have a target on your back. 

The seniors were a part of the 2016 6A State Championship team last year when Memorial claimed it all behind a host of memorable seniors. When the 2016-2017 class graduated, though, Mansfield and Van Meir were left to pick up the pieces. 

“You know, I’m sure coming into the year everyone would have thought we’d come in and beat everyone,” Van Meir said on Friday after she was asked if she expected this year to be easy. “But we knew coming in that it was going to be a building year.”

And what a building year it was. The Lady Bulldogs struggled to put signature wins together early in the season while the team was still learning their roles. But, as the season went on, Memorial started to string together impressive wins behind their strong senior leadership. 

“I guess 2-0 is just kind of our thing?” Mansfield laughed when she was describing some of their recent wins, like a reverse-sweep against Edlam rival, and 6A No. 1, Santa Fe on Sept 18. “It’s kind of like a pressure thing. When you’re down 2-0 you just have to win.”

Memorial has looked their best when the team has flipped the “win-now” switch. But, unfortunately for Mansfield and Van Meir, some of Edmond might have missed their quality play due to a unique circumstance. 

Edmond Memorial is currently under-going a gym restoration. The restoration has forced Memorial to play their “home” matches in middle schools across the area. Even then, they’ve never played in the same middle school twice, making every game seem like an away contest. 

Despite Mansfield and Van Meir never getting a true homecoming after they won the state championship, Murray said the team has finally started to get used to the unique schedule. 

“Coming into the year I was kind of nervous about it,” Murray explained. “When you don’t have a real home base that makes every game feel like an away game. But we’ve become used to it and it’s actually been kind of nice lately.”

That experience of playing in new environments could come in handy for the team, and seniors, come October, but the seniors’ impact will far outstretch their time on the team, Murray said. 

“They’re going to leave a good footprint,” the head coach said. “They’re hardworking; they’re dedicated. And our freshman team is obsessed with these seniors. Their favorite thing to do is cheer them on.”

And that’s the best way to describe Mansfield and Van Meir. Despite the long list of circumstances working against them, the two best friends have led their team to sound improvement all throughout the year. Memorial, who fell as low as No. 13 in the rankings this year, now sit at 7. The ranking places the Lady Bulldogs in prime position to ruin somebody’s day come October, and that’s all because of Mansfield and Van Meir’s hard work throughout the season.
