Mount Saint Mary's volleyball senior Ally Fees relishes challenge of move up to Class 6A
OKLAHOMA CITY - The Mount Saint Mary’s volleyball team entered the 2023 campaign still riding the momentum of the 5A state championship run from the year before.
With almost their entire team back, they were seen as the likely favorites to win their third straight and fifth overall.
But right before their season began, the Rockets found out they would be moved up to Class 6A this year due to OSSAA Rule 14. While it caught the team off guard, it didn’t dull their confidence.
“We've kind of adapted the mantra from the movie 300,” MSM coach James Ward said. “The mantra we're going with is the 300.
"Our school has 300 kids and we're going against schools with 4,000, 5,000 or 6,000 when we play these teams. So, we're really embracing it and hoping we can go battle with the big girls.”
No player may represent that mantra more than senior Ally Fees. The 6-foot outside hitter has been a four-year starter for the Rockets and has watched the program grow during her time at MSM.
“She's been a four-year starter on the outside for us, and that's hard to do from freshmen all the way through senior year,” Ward said. “But she's been fantastic. She just goes and scores the ball.
"Her defense and passing have gotten so much better throughout her career. Now, she's doing a really good job back row as well as front row.”
As Fees nears the end of an impressive prep career, she is enjoying each moment of it.
“It’s been super fun,” Fees said of the season. “I love it. I love all the players that I'm playing with and I can't wait to finish it out and see how it goes.”
Despite already having a title under her belt, Fees came into 2023 looking to add even more to her resume.
“I definitely want to see another state championship, that's for sure the biggest goal,” Fees said. “But I really just wanted to see us all improve as a team coming off from last year and most of us are still staying together. I wanted to see that team bond grow.”
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While the Rockets returned almost their entire team from last year, they did have to replace some key players. Fees said making that transition has been important for the team.
“I think we've definitely grown in our cohesiveness because we lost one of our DS (defensive specialists), and so we have new people playing back row and that's hard to adjust to,” Fees said. “I think that we've done really well at growing together and being really cohesive on the back row.”
Fees says her own game has grown as well.
“I think that I've definitely gotten a lot mentally stronger,” Fees said. “I wouldn't say that my physical attributes have grown that much, but I think that mentally, I have grown a lot more than I was last year.
"I wanted to focus on not getting stressed out when the game is tough, and I think that I've done really well at that this year.”
Mount Saint Mary's senior outside hitter Ally Fees (10)
As one of only two seniors on the Rockets' squad, Fees has been integral in keeping the team on course as they strive to pick up another championship. According to Ward, when Fees is not in the game, it can be felt.
“She rolled her ankle a few weeks back and we missed her for about two weeks, and you could definitely tell the difference,” Ward said. “So now she's getting back into form and starting to score points and really, it's good to have her back and good to have her in 100 percent form.”
Mount Saint Mary’s (25-3) has just four regular season matches and their conference tournament before their first foray into the 6A postseason arrives. Regardless of the new classification, Fees knows what she wants to see from her team.
“I think we definitely need to not get complacent,” said Fees. “We like to do that, especially whenever we're up on a team. We like to settle down and get too relaxed, and I think that we need to work on grinding until the end for sure.”
Once Fees hangs up her Rockets' uniform, she will be heading to Harding University in Arkansas. She chose the Bisons because they have a good speech pathology program.
“I am super excited to continue my college career with them,” Fees said.
