BROWNSTOWN — Sophie Wischmeier had an outstanding season for the Brownstown Central volleyball team this fall.

She received the passing award, topped the team in hitting percentage at 0.191 and ranked among the leaders in kills with 246, digs with 270, serving percentage at 96.5 and aces with 27.

She was named to the all-Mid-Southern Conference team, and she was named the Braves’ most valuable player during an awards program held last Thursday night in the auditorium.

Braves coach Jennifer Shade said members of the team voted on MVP.

“They’re going to look at not only physically at the MVP, but who do we need on that court,” Shade said.

Kalee Borden, Kinzee Dean, Finley Wheeler, Jaydynn Yeadon and Kera Wischmeier also received special varsity awards.

Borden received the mental attitude and leading hitter awards and was named all-MSC honorable mention.

Shade said with Borden being the only senior on the team, she was counted on for leadership, and she did a good job of doing that.

“The girls called her ‘mom.’ We (coaches) watched practice and watched Kalee and she really was like being a mom. The things she had to do to bring them along was so important,” Shade said.

“The mental attitude award you can think of in so many ways. You can think of it as your leader. You can think of it as someone who plays well or practices well,” Shade said. “This year, the girls chose Kalee Borden. We were honored to have Kalee wear No. 7.”

Borden has been invited to the senior all-star tryouts.

Dean had a serving percentage of 92.3 on 377 serves and had 45 aces.

Wheeler had 457 assists, and Kera Wischmeier had 32 solo blocks. Yeadon received the defensive award for having 426 digs.

The Braves were 18-16 this season and won a sectional title. Freshmen Sophie Wischmeier, Wheeler and Brailey Teipen received varsity letters.

Shade said the team made great strides from the beginning of its summer schedule to the sectional championship. She said it was a case of being young and not knowing and learning every single part of the game.

“We faced some challenges of learning new roles. I remember a match early in the season when we went to the locker room, I think we had won a couple games and lost a couple,” she said.

The girls had a look of awe, and she said to them “You’ve got to be patient.”

“These girls did not pout. They did not give up. They didn’t cry after every game,” Shade said. “They came back the next day asking questions and said they were going to work harder. They weren’t afraid to face those challenges. They wanted to face those challenges, and they did it with such grace.”

Shade said after they won the sectional, “My first question was, ‘Did I not tell you when you played this schedule and you took those losses and you learned from them that the sectional would be easy, that you would win easy?’” and they all agreed.

“Among the 2A schools, we played one of the toughest schedules in the state. At the end of the season, they understood what we meant. These girls were really good at asking questions,” Shade said.

The junior varsity was 12-9, and the freshmen went 9-7-1.

Whitney Branaman was named the most improved JV player.

Kera Wischmeier, Dean, Yeadon and Presley Hampton received their letter jackets.

Assistant coaches Cassidy Wurtzburger, Abbi Young, Paige Wheeler and Kelly Deck assisted in presenting the awards.

“The future looks bright for Brownstown volleyball,” Shade said.