'All that purple': Minden volleyball is a source of community pride as chase begins for another title

MINDEN, Neb. — Like the color purple?

You'd love Minden.

The high school's predominant team color is evident wherever you go in this city of about 3,000 located just south of Kearney. In the town square, businesses ranging from the Hissy Fit Boutique to Hardware Hank proudly display their purple pride.

Once again this volleyball season, there's much to be proud about. The Whippets — more on that nickname later — are 33-1 in quest of a second straight Class C-1 championship.

Listen to Hardware Hank employee Scott Pinkham, who has sent five kids through the K-12 Minden school system.

"In smaller towns, the sports teams are unifying factors in the community," he said. "And it's always great to see the kids involved."

Leading the volleyball team is Julie Ratka, in her sixth season as coach. She was a longtime Whippets assistant for Ed Rowse, who retired with 557 wins.

Ratka guided Minden to its second state title in 2023 and first since 1980. The Whippets won the championship the hard way, with five-set wins over Gothenburg in the semifinals and Kearney Catholic in the final.

"Winning that title was just indescribable," Ratka said before a recent practice. "To see that team's competitive spirit and never-give-up attitude was really something."

Most everyone returned from that 36-1 squad, making this seasons' expectations even higher.

"We know the community wants us to do it again," Ratka said. "We just have to keep working towards that."

The team has lived up to that preseason promise. Minden had dropped only two sets all season before losing to Gothenburg on Oct. 25 in the Southwest Conference tournament.

"We had been a little flat and it finally caught up to us," Ratka said. "I think the girls might have felt the pressure of trying to stay perfect."

The Whippets' attack is led by senior Mattie Kamery, who has 359 kills this season. She finished with 501 last year, which was seventh in the state.

"She's a hard worker who is super athletic," Ratka said. "She's a great leader and does a really nice job of encouraging all of our girls."

Kamery said the team has tried to guard against a letdown during the long season that began Aug. 29.

"There have been some games where we haven't played to the best of our abilities," she said. "The big thing for us is to keep correcting our mistakes in practice and show improvement in the next match."

Kamery, a three-sport athlete who has committed to play volleyball at Wayne State, said it was a different feeling going into this season as the defending champion.

"It obviously put some more pressure on us," she said. "We know that we're going to get every team's best shot, so that's something we've had to prepare for."

She added the strong support from the community has helped.

"We love seeing the stands packed for every match," she said. "Everyone knows everyone, and we definitely feel the love from everyone in town."

Junior Myla Emery, a three-year starter who has 515 assists and 222 kills, agreed.

"Whether we're at home or on the road, it's always great to look up in the stands and see all that purple," she said. "I especially like seeing the little girls and knowing how much happiness we bring them."

Emery said the team learned from a tight match a few weeks ago against Class C-2 No. 1 Lincoln Lutheran. Minden won in five but lost its first two sets of the season.

"That was a wakeup call for us," she said. "Knowing that we could be beaten in a few sets made us work that much harder."

Now back to that nickname of the Whippets, a smaller version of a greyhound that is known for its streamlined grace. You won't find any other school in Nebraska with that nickname, and only a few nationwide.

Athletic director Jason Strong said the original nickname came from an automobile in production in the 1920s. Over the years, it became more associated with the canine set.

"There's a guy here in town who owns one of those Whippet cars," he said. "He drives it in the homecoming parade every year."

The school also has fun with the nickname, playing the Devo song "Whip It" after victorious volleyball matches.

Strong said last year's state volleyball title, the school's first in 43 years, was a historic achievement. That's saying something, considering one piece of hardware in the trophy case dates to 1916.

"It was just a great thing for our community," he said. "We know there are a lot of people out there who care, so it was something everyone could rally around and celebrate."

At Hardware Hank, Scott Pinkham definitely cares.

"There's a lot of pride with our teams, win or lose," he said. "And it's great to see our volleyball team having another great season."

Alex Trent, a 2015 Minden grad who works at the Hissy Fit Boutique, said she's proud of her alma mater.

"Everyone in town loves to see them doing so well," she said.

Minden bills itself as "The Christmas City" in part because of its impressive yuletide display around the courthouse dome and town square. The 12,000-plus light extravaganza that began in 1915 can be seen for miles and is a source of community pride.

So is the volleyball team.

Ratka said the Whippets, which swept two matches in subdistricts before their district final Saturday against Ashland-Greenwood, will continue to work hard in hopes of repeating as state champion.

That late-season loss to Gothenburg could make Minden even tougher the rest of the way.

"We know we can't be perfect now," Ratka said. "But we can still be great."

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