Aahana Swrup
Directed by Sean McNamara, ‘The Miracle Season’ is based on the real-life story of Iowa City West High School’s 2011 victory in the State Women’s Volleyball Championship. The story revolves around the West Trojans, a high school volleyball team that enters the sports season as defending champions of the state title. However, early in the season, the team suffers a great loss when their captain and setter, Caroline “Line” Found, dies in a devastating accident. As a result, the spirits and the synergy of the Trojans crumble, setting the players up for a dark future ahead. Nonetheless, Coach Kathy Bresnahan is able to revive the team’s motivations by helping them understand that their late captain would have wanted them to move forward and keep playing. Consequently, Line’s best friend, Kelley Fliehler, leads her fellow teammates to blaze a spirited path ahead, competing in honor of Line’s memory and legacy. In real life, the off-screen Kelley Fliehler charted a similar path, which helped her and her team secure the State Champions title for the second time in 2011.
Kelley Fliehler Remained Friends With Her Fellow Women of Troy Even After High School
Kelley Fliehler played a significant role in the 2011 State Championship victory of the Iowa City West High School’s female volleyball team. In August of the same year, the teenager experienced a great loss when Caroline Found, her best friend since the age of three, passed away as a result of a moped accident. In the aftermath, when the time came for another player to replace Found’s position as the setter on the team, Coach Kathy Bresnahan chose Fliehler for the job. Even though the responsibility was a daunting one, Fliehler’s teammate supported her through the process and encouraged her to take the spot.
In the end, Fliehler became a key player in providing leadership to the team, both inside and outside the court. She and her teammates played in honor of Found’s memory, surrounded by the support of the latter’s father, Ernie Found, and the rest of their community. In the end, their hard work paid off when they won the championship, earning the Women of Trojans the title of two-time consecutive winners. The 2011-2012 season was Fliehler’s senior year, which means she graduated from Iowa West High School the same year.
However, even in the aftermath, Fliehler remained in close contact with some of her fellow teammates. In a 2018 conversation with People Magazine, the former volleyball player spoke about the same. She said, “There were six of us that were inseparable from the day of the (Caroline Found’s) accident. We went to each other’s houses every night and slept over. We carried each other through, and those six are still my best friends to this day. The only reason any of us survived was just having each other to get through it. In real life, we are all six as important to the success of the team, and even in life now, really.”
Kelley Fliehler is a Physician Assistant at a Cancer Center
After her high school career, Kelley Fliehler went on to attend Iowa State University in 2012. Over the course of the next four years, she worked to secure a Bachelor of Science Degree in microbiology. Afterward, she pursued a Master’s degree at Butler University from 2016 to 2018. In the latter year, she also began to work at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, wherein she fulfilled the position of PA Hospitalist for the Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation. After serving the position for over a year, Fliehler joined the MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she continues to work today as a Physician Assistant. Furthermore, it seems she’s still based in Iowa City, Iowa. Nonetheless, the Physician Assistant has faded out of public life since her varsity high school days. Now, she seems to prefer to lead a more private life, as evidenced by her private presence across social media.
Read More: Is Kathy “Brez” Bresnahan Based on a Real Volleyball Coach? Where is She Now?
