When the Neosho Wildcats took the court on Thursday night, they had much more than volleyball on their minds.
The Wildcats held a “Rally for Rylee Night” inside the NHS Gymnasium as a way to raise money for the family of Rylee Schroeder, a NHS student who is currently battling cancer.
“Rylee is a senior here at NHS and she is a doll,” Neosho coach Ann Landrum said. “She has pre-leukemia and is in the hospital. My kids did this on their own. I’d love to take credit for it, but I can’t. The kids thought about somebody besides themselves. They wanted to do something for Rylee. It’s also Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.”
A large sign behind the team’s bench read, ‘We Play for Rylee.’
The team placed donation buckets at the concession stand and the school agreed to donate all gate fees to Schroeder’s family.
The event raised more than $500 for Schroeder’s family.
“We talked to Rylee’s folks and they were thrilled and our kids were thrilled to do this,” Landrum said. “Our kids were behind this all day long. It was just so good to see.”
NEOSHO OFF TO 4-0 START
The Wildcats remained undefeated in 2020 with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-14) non-conference win over Monett on Thursday night.
The Wildcats are now 4-0.
Neosho’s starting lineup features seniors Savannah Merriman, Brylee King, Melia Robertson, Andi Johnson, Kaylee Butler and Abby Jarvis. Senior Shelby Roberts is another key performer.
“We’ve got a ways to go, but it’s nice to see some success,” Landrum said. “I think these girls have earned it. This is the strongest team we’ve put on the floor here. We’re serving better and our serve-receive is better. It’s the most focused team I’ve had here, not that the kids that came before them didn’t pay their dues because they definitely did. But these girls just want to make everyone proud.”
Juniors on the Neosho roster are Kylee Schmidt, Lexi Laney, Rylee Amato and Lana Yang. Sophomores on the varsity roster are Maddie Ebbinghaus, Capri Williams and Meredith Baldwin.
Landrum noted the Wildcats are receiving solid contributions from a large number of players.
“We’ve got some depth,” Landrum said. “We’ve got depth with our younger kids, too. We’ve got good team chemistry. That’s really darn nice. They have a good work ethic. They want to win. We’re going to play teams that are going to get us, but these girls will keep trying. Our girls won’t be afraid of anybody, they’ll go play them. That’s what we should do.”
In addition to Thursday’s win over the Cubs, Neosho has also earned wins over Seneca, East Newton and Nevada thus far.
The Wildcats have home dates next week with McDonald County on Monday, Republic on Tuesday and Willard on Thursday.
