Watch the postgame interview with Steele at The Clermont Sun’s YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vVyK63iV9Kk
GOSHEN — During one of the first kills recorded by Goshen in its American Division match against New Richmond, a small group of fans on the Warriors’ side of the stands began shouting the number 31. This continued throughout the night until Macee Steele achieved her milestone.
The Warrior junior recorded her 1,000th career assist, helping pave the way for a 25-21, 25-20, 19-25, 25-22 victory in front of a home crowd Aug. 28. The countdown started at 32, the number of assists Steele needed to reach 1,000. Each assist she collected following a kill by a teammate, her friends and family would shout how many assists she had left to 1,000.
“It feels so great, and I can’t give it to anyone but my team, honestly,” Steele said. “I give them everything I can, and they’re helping me.
“It’s a great milestone that I wanted to reach, but I didn’t think about it until about two games in, when people were telling me, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re so close. Let’s start looking into this.’”
The milestone was recorded in the fourth set when the Warriors trailed early. Steele only needed five assists to reach 1,000. Steele needed just 14 assists after Goshen raced out to a 2-0 set lead. The Warriors struggled in the third set, and Steele felt the team was pressing to get her 1,000 assists in front of a home crowd. If she didn’t get 1,000 that night, Steele would have had to wait until Aug. 30 in a road match at West Clermont.
“As soon as that third set was over, we were all dialed in. ‘We’ve got this next set, so let’s dig, dig, dig,’” Steele said.
The 1,000th assist came on a pass to Lindsey Cameron, who put the hammer down for the kill. Steele quickly stopped, looked up and yelled in excitement as her teammates came to congratulate her. After the match, Steele took photos with teammates, coaches and fans holding a banner marking her accomplishment.
“It means the world to me to know that I have the town behind my back and having all these fans — my friends and family, teammates and coaches — here rooting for me, it’s such a great feeling,” Steele said.
