The time is now

WINFIELD - When Winfield-Mt. Union's Class of 2021 entered high school, they immediately made a difference in girls' athletics. Now, three years later, one of the most promising W-MU groups in recent memory is ready to take the next step.

The W-MU volleyball team comes an 18-13 season in 2019. The Wolves finished third in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division with a 6-2 conference mark, and found itself ranked at different times throughout the year.

The Wolves had just one senior in 2019 and two in 2018. When senior night rolls around in 2020, the Wolves will celebrate seven players who represent a class that has been the backbone of the volleyball team, among other W-MU sports, for the last three years.

'We've been playing sports since when were little kids,” said senior libero Kyndal Townsley. 'We've always been playing together and we've grown together. We're always so competitive and want to win.”

Townsley is one of four seniors who were on the varsity team as freshmen. Other fourth-year returners include defensive specialist-turned-hitter Jami Wilkerson, hitter Jenna Buffington and setter Kayla Edwards.

'We've definitely been together for along time, throughout rec league and club” said Edwards. 'Between that, we've all gotten a strong bond.”

During their first year in high school, the freshman class also put eight players on the varsity basketball team. The aforementioned four were on that team as were volleyball teammates Madie Anderson and Molly Miller. The class was immediately prominent in softball as well, with Townsley, Wlikerson, Edwards, Buffington and Anderson all playing varsity as eighth-graders.

As the 2021 class grew, the teams grew better. The volleyball team and softball team hit the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Top-15 rankings last season, and the basketball team improved its record by seven games.

'We've all grown together,” said Anderson, a middle hitter. 'That is something that we have as an advantage for us, is that we've been playing with each other for so long, and we all get along.”

Although the group has seen a steady uptick in results as they've gotten older, the 2021 class has seen its share of hurdles. A major one came early in the 2019 volleyball season when Buffington, one of the top players in all of Southeast Iowa, went down with a knee injury.

'Obviously that was hard for us,” said Anderson. 'She is one of our best hitters, so that was big shoes to fill.”

Despite the loss of Buffington, who still wound up leading the team with 156 kills, the Wolves still won a handful of games, but eventually dropped out of the IGHSAU rankings, and were knocked out in the first round of regionals by Notre Dame. Buffington was also one of the team's leading returners in basketball, putting the team in a hole before the hoops season even got started.

'It has definitely been a whirlwind of emotions, that's for sure,” said Buffington. 'But this summer, I got back in the gym and got to play some basketball and volleyball. It felt pretty good, so I feel 100 percent.”

Buffington says she's more ready than ever to get going after her long layoff, especially considering the potential of this year's squad.

'This is probably the most excited I've been for a season,” Buffington said. 'I'm really excited to see what we can do this season, and since I missed the past season, I'm more eager to get out here and get back to it.”

While W-MU brings back the vast majority of their team, their north division rivals will be less experienced. First-place Mediapolis lost six players to graduation, and second-place Louisa-Muscatine lost four, opening a big door for the Wolves.

'A lot of people look at our class and know that we're really involved and pretty athletic, so people are waiting for this season because it's our last time to be conference champs,” said Wilkerson. 'The school hasn't won that in a while, but I think if there is a class that could do it, it's our class.”

Like any other team, W-MU had to play the waiting game this summer to see if there would even be a season with rising concern over the Coronavirus pandemic. After a year of playing short-handed, the Wolves found themselves with uncertainty on whether or not they'd be able to even see the court in 2019.

'I was nervous that we weren't going to have a senior season,” said junior hitter Emma Haines. 'I just wanted a senior season so we could go out there one more time.”

The W-MU coaches told the Wolves to just keep working and not think about the possibility of the season being canceled. For some, however, that task is impossible, even after practices have started.

'Pretty much every night, I worry about it,” said Buffington. 'I know I'm not supposed to, but I always think, ‘oh gosh, what if we don't have a senior year?'”

Although the COVID-19 pandemic didn't cancel softball, it did push the season back, which made it run into preseason volleyball. Hitter Molly Miller, who considers softball her main sport, says it was a challenge. She and Anderson were the only two in the senior class who went straight from softball season to volleyball.

'We normally don't get a very big break, but this year was even shorter,” Miller said. 'But I liked it. I was glad we got to have both our seasons.”

Miller says although she was disappointed with the 2019 spring season getting canceled and summer ball being shortened, she appreciated the time off, saying it was nice to hit the reset button.

'Honestly, the time off has helped us,” Miller said. 'A lot of us haven't had time off from sports in years, so it was kind of nice to have that time to get stronger and recuperate.”

The Wolves are just one day from beginning their 2020 season. W-MU will travel to Keokuk on Thursday night for a nonconference game against the Chiefs at 7:15 p.m. Hopefully for W-MU fans, that game will kick off the beginning of a big year in W-MU girls sports.

'I think we'll have a good year this year,” said Townsley. 'I think we'll be really competitive and we know we want to be there to win.”