Mueller looks forward to strong senior season
HCHS’s multi-sport athlete Macy Mueller is only steps away from her senior season getting underway.
“Being a senior is your last of firsts,” Mueller said. “It’s a different perspective, but I’m super excited to step out and be a leader this season.”
Mueller will start her season with volleyball in the fall where during their 2023-2024 school year, she led the team with 538 assists, along with having 55 kills, 213 digs, and a serve efficiency rate of 90.4%.
The team finished with an overall record of 9-24, losing their final eight games. However, despite losing four seniors in Erica Rust, Ava Monson, Samantha Ineson, and Kami Stork, Mueller is confident the team will be strong.
“They were big players for us last year,” she said. “But I feel like this season, the mindset has changed a lot. We’re a lot more scrappy than we were last year and we just have a lot more fun I think, and that’s a good aspect as well.”
Mueller is coached by Elle Crees, with whom she maintains a strong relationship both on-and-off the court.
“I’ve been playing varsity for a little while now, so we definitely have a close relationship,” Mueller said. “Being able to tell each other what we want to see on the court whether that’s me being a leader or just as a player. We’ve grown really close these past three years.”
Following the conclusion of volleyball, Mueller will play golf in the spring. During her junior season, she was one of five to represent the Cyclones on the golf course. She had the third best performance on a 9-hole course with 48 strokes, just two behind the leaders, Ella Freund and Kara Kenkel with 46.
On an 18-hole course, Mueller was tied with Kenkel with 94 strokes for the lowest amount of strokes on the team.
“Last year at conference, I played really well,” she said. “I feel like my goal this year is to win conference, playing third and only losing by two strokes. It hurts, but I feel like it definitely gives me a bigger goal and drives me more to win conference next year, and really helps make a bigger name for girls golf.”
Mueller is coached by Todd Bladt, whom has helped Mueller whenever she’s out on the course having a frustrating day or struggling with a shot on any given hole.
“I definitely get really frustrated at my mistakes,” she said. “He [Bladt] is always there to help me and say, ‘it’s okay, you have the next one. This is such a small little thing in the whole tournament.’ It never fails to bring a smile on your face whether it’s telling a joke or a story or anything like that.”
Like most student athletes in Harlan Community, Mueller is surrounded by a loving family who supports her, and encourages her to strive for greatness every step of the way.
“My family is really, really important to me,” she added. “I played club volleyball for about six years, so that was a lot of traveling every weekend, and they’re super supportive of everything I do and all the decisions I make, but they also never fail to push me and tell me ways that I can improve myself. They always want me to be the best version of myself that I can possibly be.”
Following the conclusion of her high school days, Mueller hopes to leave behind a positive impact for any of the youth that may be looking up to her.
“The leadership and the team bond is really something I try to bring to any sport that I play,” Mueller said. “Having fun, that’s what all sports are about. Winning is important too, but you want to have fun while you’re out there playing.”
