Meaghan Holmes is hugged by coach Nancy Hopkins. Holmes, a senior at Free State High, signed a national letter of intent to play volleyball at Evansville on Thursday at FSHS.

Surrounded by purple and orange balloons, Free State High senior volleyball player Meaghan Holmes officially signed a letter of intent to play with the University of Evansville of the Missouri Valley Conference on Thursday afternoon at FSHS.

Before signing the letter, Holmes had already traded in her Firebird-green for a T-shirt adorned with a purple Evansville logo.

“Purple is my favorite color, to be honest,” a smiling Holmes said. “I’m not a big fan of orange, but I’ll deal with it.”

Her sister, sophomore outside hitter Shelby Holmes — also a budding talent — wore an orange Purple Aces shirt, and her parents, Ann and Todd, cut slices out of an EU-themed cake for friends and supporters.

After a great start to her senior season, Holmes tore her left ACL and meniscus during a dual against Lawrence High, bringing her year to an abrupt end — and dynamically changing the look of the Firebird lineup.

Still, the 6-foot-3 Holmes remained a big part of the Firebirds, cheering them on from the sidelines.

“It’s hard to watch,” Holmes said. “But then again, it’s not really about me, it’s about the team. I had fun supporting them and helping them.”

FSHS coach Nancy Hopkins and KC Extreme (club team) coach Katie Dowden both spoke glowingly about Holmes, not only about her talent, but for her enthusiasm and intangibles.

Hopkins, who coached Holmes for the two years since she came to Free State from Veritas Christian, said it’s always an uncertainty when a new player comes into the program.

“We lucked out on this one,” Hopkins said, calling Holmes a “punky little junior” when she first showed up.

Holmes blossomed into a dominant middle blocker for the Firebirds, and was even named to this year’s All-Sunflower League first team despite missing nearly half of the season.

Two weeks removed from her surgery, Holmes will get the last few stitches out of her knee today, and will finally be able to take off the massive brace on her leg and wear something other than shorts or sweatpants.

“I’m at the point where I just want to throw this thing in the garbage and burn it,” she said of the brace.

Holmes is anxious to get back on the court and play, and is ready to put in the work rehabbing to improve her game.

Aside from playing volleyball at Evansville, Holmes will begin her major in — get this — physical therapy.

“This is definitely going to help me relate to patients that I’ll have in the future,” Holmes said.