“I felt real down, I felt really guilty, because my team, they’re everything.”

Those were the words of Olivia Greenman (12) after the Kansas State High School Activities Association vacated all the wins of the Southeast volleyball team on Oct. 1 of this year.

Greenman is a senior volleyball player who transferred to Southeast from homeschool.

“I think three weeks ago, some stuff happened, I got an email, wasn’t able to play, it was a really really hard night. It was kind of some stuff between ineligibility and just some miscommunication that had happened. It was a really frustrating time, our records were taken away,” Greenman said.

It had already been three quarters into the season when KSHSAA decided to take away their wins.

Expressing her frustration about the timeliness of the decision, “They should have given her a warning or told her next time because it was her senior season, we had like four games left,” team captain Penelope Johnson (12) said.

“We were so mad. We were trying to place high for sub-state and all that. And getting everything taken away it just crushed our souls honestly it was so sad,” defensive specialist Brianna Bellew (12) said.

It put the team through some heartbreak.

Head coach Valerie Most was upset about losing wins but even more upset about losing a player. “I was pretty angry, I’m not gonna lie. I was pretty hot because not only that but we also lost a teammate. You know when you lose someone who gels with the team and the team depends on them…”

The issue at hand however was if she was ineligible in the first place and that is what frustrated the team the most.

Greenman transferred to Southeast to play her senior season of volleyball as it was her last chance to play. She had played at Trinity Academy before going to homeschool for her junior year. Greenman had lived in the Southeast district all her life but had not attended the school until her senior year. The transfer rule in place states that in order for a player to transfer to play sports, they must make a physical move of their home location regardless of whether or not they already live in the district.

“So they weren’t allowing me to play because I was ineligible,” Greenman said.

The team filed a hardship exemption for Greenman so she could play at Southeast without needing to move.

KSHSAA accepted their appeal and the team received their wins back, but most importantly, they had their player back.

“I feel really good, I love having Olivia back. She’s an inspiration to the team and we just love her so much,” Bellew said.

“I was very impressed and proud of Olivia cause she found a way to still smile although they took away her season,” Johnson said.

Although KSHSAA made a controversial decision, they decided to reverse their original verdict.

Greenman showed her gratitude toward KSHSAA opening a door to get this fixed, “I’m really thankful for their appeal and willing to listen to our case, it’s the right thing and I’m really glad, really thankful for it.”