Dakota Mitchell, a rising senior at Mid-Prairie High School, will have a dazzling Vegas story to tell if, on the first day of class in August, a teacher asks for the essay: How I spent my summer vacation.

Mitchell played in the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship right there on the Vegas Strip in early July.

There were plenty of stars: Lady Gaga was right there performing at the Mandalay Bay Resort on the Strip.

Plenty of heat: Temperatures hit 120 degrees.

Plenty of Golden Hawks: While Mitchell won a USAV title with Iowa Adrenaline Volleyball in the U17 National division, Mid-Prairie high school teammates Jovi Evans, Harper Pacha and Jeorgia Evans also played in the massive tournament in other age divisions at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

Mitchell, who is one of the top defensive players in Iowa at her libero position and already has secured a volleyball scholarship at the University of North Texas, emerged from the bright lights of Vegas with a national championship. And that’s a big deal in a tournament that involved thousands of junior players in an Olympics year.

“It definitely was like a dream come true,” Mitchell said. “I always have wanted to win Nationals, of course. I felt with this team, it was really possible. We all put in the hard work that we needed to during season, before season.”

And let’s be clear, this was no Vegas Vacation.

Cousin Eddie was nowhere to be found.

No fancy parties.

No stepping up to the Blackjack table.

It was volleyball. Period.

Mitchell still remembers the “get serious” words of coach Ben Bahr after a practice session: “Hey, guys, this is a business trip. We are going to go to the convention center, and we do film every night and we’re eating and we’re going to bed.”

Vegas? This may as well have been another intense Mid-Prairie volleyball trip to Wilton or West Liberty. No stops. No frills. Just volleyball.

And that is precisely the way Mitchell and her teammates wanted it.

“We all knew going into it, we had a goal,” she said. “We all finally came together and played. It was really fun just experiencing it with that team because some of us aren’t coming back next year. It was really fun being able to play with girls that I’ve played with since I was like 10 years old.”

For some, it was their second trip to the top of the podium. Jovi Evans had won a national title with some of the Adrenaline players two years ago in the U14 division. For others, it may have been their final club tournament with college seasons just on the horizon. Mitchell, who balanced a national volleyball tournament with playing softball back home for the Golden Hawks this summer, was thrilled to have won a national title with a longtime club volleyball teammate, Kate Passmore, who is a rising senior at Linn-Mar High School.

“It was super fun,” Mitchell said. “One girl (Passmore) I had played with since I was super little.”

Sitting in the seats watching Mitchell in that championship game was Sherry Evans, the head volleyball coach at Mid-Prairie who is the mom of Jovi and Jeorgia and helped coach the Adrenaline U16 team.

“I am so proud of Dakota and her accomplishments in her club season,” Sherry Evans said. “It is so exciting that she and her team were so successful. I was able to be at that match and it was a nail biter. I think that match was the best I have ever seen Dakota play in her volleyball career. She was laser focused. Her serve was on point and she didn’t let many balls drop on defense.”

And that’s saying something. Mitchell’s 639 digs last year at Mid-Prairie ranked number one in Class 3A and number three overall in all five Iowa classes. Her 55 serve aces ranked third in the River Valley Conference.

The numbers were so good that North Texas scooped her up for a verbal commit months before she can actually sign an NCAA letter-of-intent.

“I am excited to get her on the court for her senior season at Mid-Prairie,” Sherry Evans said. “She made so much growth in the offseason so she will be fun to coach and fun for the crowd to watch.”

Among those joining Mitchell for that high school season in August are Jovi Evans, whose 64 aces last year led the River Valley and ranked fourth in Iowa 3A; Callie Huber, a rising junior who ranked third in the River Valley in aces and first in kill efficiency; and Pacha, who ranked fourth in aces. Both Jovi Evans and Pacha played on the Adrenaline U16 team. Huber played in the Junior Volleyball Association’s national tournament in Florida.

Rising up for the Golden Hawks in the fall will be Jovi’s younger sister, freshman Jeorgia, who played in the U14 division at the USA Volleyball Championship.

Mitchell will be the one with the national championship medal around her neck. You’ll see her diving for balls all over the court. It’s the Dakota way.

“I’m excited for high school season,” Mitchell said. “It’s going to be a good one, for sure.”

News columnist Paul Bowker can be reached at bowkerpaul1@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @bowkerpaul