Many in Colorado don’t know where Meeker High School is, or that their girl’s volleyball team hasn’t lost a league game since 2017. Many don’t know that senior Emma Luce led all classifications in kills last season and is on pace to do it again this year. Many will never witness the unique energy in a small-town gym in a town of 2,500. Luce wants to change all of that.
The four-year varsity letter winner has played nearly 300 sets in her career, only losing nine matches in that span. She puts up over 20 kills a match more often than she doesn’t, and yet has only played more than three sets in a match four times this season.
“You get so much adrenaline going up,” Luce said when she winds up for a kill. “You know if it’s going to go straight down or not, it’s a great feeling when you land and see your whole team and the crown going insane.”
Luce was made to be a part of a team. She never found individual sports appealing when growing up and knew she had found her passion on the volleyball court when following in the footsteps of her older sisters, twins Kassie and Kristin, who play their college ball at South Dakota Mines.
“I love the sportsmanship, I love being around a team,” is why Luce loves the sport she plays. “There is a really good culture around it, meeting new people and playing with different teammates is a lot of fun.”
What Luce says makes Meeker special is the tight-knit bond she doesn’t think you can find at any school across the state. Luce argues that her team works harder than any other team, regardless of classification, across the state and that they know they will always fight for each other both on and off the court.
“During practice, we have one set goal and that is to get it done and work hard,” Luce said. “We all hang out outside of the sports world and that’s something not a lot of people can say, I don’t think anyone can come between that.”
There is no question that Meeker’s players are on the same page. The commitment to one goal is why they’ve consistently found success during the regular season and in the state tournament. The team has appeared in the 2A semifinals in three of the last five years and is ready to break through into a championship match.
“We’re all dead set on winning a state championship,” Luce said when asked about the team’s goal this season. “It’s not going to be easy, but we all know that. We want it to be a challenge, we don’t want a cakewalk.”
In order to win an elusive state championship, Luce knows that her team will be relying on her. After leading the state with 670 kills last season, Luce has her eyes set on beating that number this year.
“I love being the person that they can rely on,” Luce said when her team is in high-pressure situations. “I can handle it, in a high-stress situation I might be able to put it down a little quicker and get the initial point without giving up a few. Without my team I wouldn’t be as good, I can’t do anything without a pass or a set.”
When the state tournament returns to the Denver Coliseum in just over a month, all eyes should be set on Luce, who is a player unlike many we’ve seen before. Luce wants the state to know that, “Being a student-athlete is difficult and you have to work really hard and persevere to get what you want. You can’t do that in a team sport without a team, there is no ‘I’ in team.”