Doniphan VB coach to follow new path, but not without emotions

Second-year Doniphan High School volleyball coach Savannah Moe speaks with her team during a timeout this past season in a match against Dexter in the Bearcat Event Center.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

The months of October and November for high school sports are a confluence of emotions.

For the fall sport athletes, they’ll see their seasons end, which results in tears from many while the winter sport athletes are brimming with excitement and expectations for the upcoming seasons.

Coaches can get emotional, just as their athletes do when a season culminates, but in the case of second-year Doniphan High School volleyball coach Savannah Moe, she was just a tad more sorrowful when this season ended than most.

“I’m sad for the seniors,” Moe said when her team fell to Dexter in the MSHSAA Class 3 District 1 Tournament last month. “I have six seniors on the floor, but I’m leaving, as well.”

Moe was emotional at the thought of leaving her alma mater, but she holds a “business degree” and she is going to follow a different career path at this point in her young life.

“I’m changing careers,” Moe said. “I have a business degree and I’m finally going to start using it, but I don’t have a set plan yet.”

Moe came on as an assistant with the program in 2021 before being elevated as the head coach last year. She said she has grown as a coach along with her developing players.

“I’m kind of leaving with my seniors,” Moe said. “They were my first sophomore group and I just kind of worked my way up with them.

“It’s emotional, for sure.”

Doniphan's Moe named OFC VB Coach of the Year

Tyler Dixon ~ Daily American Republic

First-year volleyball coach Savanah Moe was named the Ozark Foothills Conference of the Year recently as many area athletes earned recognition for their efforts on the volleyball court this season. The Poplar Bluff Lady Mules had three on the All-District Second Team to lead area teams while the Donettes had three players earn All-OFC honors...

The Donettes won 11 games this fall, which was the most since 2019 (15 wins) and was a marked improvement over the previous three seasons (never more than seven victories).

“I love volleyball,” Moe said. “I like watching them learn.”

And Moe enjoyed learning, as well.

“I definitely didn’t think that I would be able to step down into teaching the fundamentals,” Moe said. “I thought I could do the hard work (part). But after learning, I learned more about (fundamentals) in coaching than I ever did playing.”

Moe has always enjoyed the competitive part of athletics, but she really liked the relationships that emerged from her time in the program.

“I liked the joy and adrenaline of getting back out there,” Moe said. “You have that competitive nature, and you always want to be around (the game). The players took to me very well.

“They were a great team to have. We never had any issues and they worked hard. We had a great relationship. It is hard to leave something like this, but life is going to go on.”