The McDonald County Mustangs ended the 2020 season one win short of a district championship.
The host and top-seeded Branson Pirates defeated the third-seeded Mustangs 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-17) in the championship match of the Class 4 District 10 volleyball tournament on Wednesday night.
The Mustangs finished the season with a record of 20-15.
“Such a fun ride this season,” Mustangs coach Logan Grab tweeted. “This group has done tremendous things for the MCHS Volleyball Program, and the future is bright.”
McDonald County defeated second-seeded Neosho 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-23) in the semifinals.
Against the Wildcats, Sydnie Sanny had 12 kills, Erin Cooper had 27 assists, Kaycee Factor recorded 43 digs and Katelyn Ferdig had three aces.
Branson (19-11-1) advanced to Saturday’s sectional in Carl Junction, where they’ll meet either Harrisonville or Belton.
The McDonald County Mustangs pose with the district runner-up plaque. Courtesy photo.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Staci Saunders experienced a wide range of emotions after emerging from the locker room on Wednesday night inside Carthage High School.
The veteran Joplin High School volleyball coach was feeling proud that her Eagles were able to pull off a semifinal upset and reach a district championship game.
At the same, Saunders couldn’t help but feel some sadness, as the night’s loss ended not only the 2020 season, but also her time as the program’s head coach.
Third-seeded Joplin suffered a season-ending 3-0 (25-10, 25-9, 25-16) loss to top-seeded Lee’s Summit West in the championship match of the Class 5 District 12 tournament.
The setback came after the Eagles upset second-seeded Carthage 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-22) in the semifinals.
After the finale, Saunders announced that she will not return as coach next season. She informed her team of her decision to step down moments after the loss.
“I’m feeling great because we played in a district championship game, but I’m feeling sad because I just announced to the girls that I will not be coming back,” Saunders said. “I’m very happy we ended the way we did. This is a really good group to end on. It’s just time to have new people bring a fresh breath of air to Joplin volleyball. We’re a tight group and it was a hard decision. There’s a lot of tears right now. It is time. I’ll have three kids in college next year, and I want to see them.”
Saunders spent the last 10 seasons as Joplin’s head coach after previously being an assistant at her alma mater for 12 years.
Joplin coach Staci Saunders is pictured during Wednesday’s match with Lee’s Summit West. It was Saunders’ last outing as Joplin’s head coach. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
MORE ON COACH SAUNDERS
A 1992 graduate of JHS, Saunders played volleyball for the Eagles. She assisted Sandy Shelley for 12 seasons before taking over as head coach in 2011.
Coach Saunders’ daughter, Addison, concluded her prep career on Wednesday night.
Addison was just eight years old when her mother was named head coach of the Eagles. Older sister Mari Katheryn graduated last year. Like Addison, son Jake is a senior at JHS this year.
Saunders won her final match inside Kaminsky Gymnasium, as the Eagles defeated Neosho last Tuesday.
“I know this is what’s best for me and my family,” Saunders said. “It’s bittersweet. I wanted to go out with Addi. I’ve coached Addi and Aubrey Ritter since they were little.”
“I’ve been an Eagle my whole life,” Saunders added. “I was raised and played in Kaminsky. I started my first coaching job at Joplin High. Being an Eagle means something to me and I’m really proud to be an Eagle. I bleed red and navy. I’ll be rooting for the Eagles the rest of my life. I hope one day I’m cheering on my grandkids there.”
Coach Saunders noted that longtime assistant coach Amber Travis will also be relinquishing her coaching position.
Staci Saunders shared a moment with daughter Addison (12) during Wednesday’s district tournament in Carthage. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
JOPLIN 3, CARTHAGE 0
Carthage had defeated Joplin 3-0 during the regular season, but the Eagles pulled off the upset with an inspired performance.
“Oh my gosh, I couldn’t be prouder of those kids,” Saunders said. “We have no stars on our team. We need all six kids working together. We always say, ‘keep grinding.’ I felt like this was our best team volleyball. Everybody contributed. We hit well, we passed well, we dug well…we did everything well. We took them out of their game. They were having to play out of system.”
The first set was tied at 22 when Joplin scored three straight on Emma Floyd’s block and kills from Addison Saunders and Allie Lawrence.
The second set was tied at 16 when the Eagles scored three straight. Late kills from Floyd and Saunders, along with a Carthage attack error, gave Joplin the set.
The Eagles led 8-1 and 16-8 in the third set. Joplin never relinquished the lead, although Carthage pulled within four with Chloe Black serving.
The Eagles finished strong, as Lawrence and Angelina Schramm had late kills.
“I felt like we played gutsy,” Saunders said. “We played with confidence. We came in knowing we could win if we played our best volleyball and we did play our best volleyball.”
Ritter had 10 kills, while Lawrence and Addison Saunders had seven kills apiece and Schramm added six kills. Saunders handed out 15 assists, while Baileigh Riley had 14 assists.
Ritter also had a team-high 15 digs and four aces. Kaylie Anderson had 13 digs, Lawrence added 10 digs and Riley had seven digs. Angeline Peralta had five blocks, while Floyd had three blocks.
For Carthage, junior Sydnee Dudolski had 19 digs and 11 kills to lead the Tigers, while Black handed out 17 assists and junior Olivia Bourgault recorded 22 digs.
The Eagles celebrate their win over Carthage. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
SEASON ENDS FOR TIGERS
Bradyn Webb’s first season at the helm of the Carthage Tigers concluded with Wednesday’s loss to Joplin.
“It’s really hard to lose, especially like that,” Webb said. “I don’t think we played our best. I know this was their first season with me, so it’s been a big change for them. It’s nice to see when I go in there they’re upset. They’re not OK with losing, and that makes a statement for next year. I have a lot of returners who are hungry to win.”
Webb also gave Joplin credit.
“I think that was a great game they just played,” Webb said. “We made a lot of unforced errors and they made hardly any. That’s the best I’ve seen them play. Staci has done a great job with them.”
Carthage’s seniors are Black, Rylee Anderson and Grace Schriever, who missed the match after having to quarantine. The Tigers (14-14-1) will return a solid core next fall.
“My first season has been great,” Webb said. “We’ve made strides since our first game. We played our best against Ozark and Nixa. Moving forward, I told those kids to remember this feeling because that can push you and make you better for next year.”
Chloe Black (1) was one of Carthage’s seniors. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
LEE’S SUMMIT WEST 3, JOPLIN 0
The Eagles were unable to pull off a second upset, as Lee’s Summit West showed why they were the district’s top seed.
“I feel like we played very hesitant and we weren’t playing with confidence,” Saunders said. “The COC is a tough conference, so we’re used to playing tough opponents. Lee’s Summit West is good, but we see teams like that all the time…Ozark, Nixa. We played safe and scared instead of playing confidently. Credit Lee’s Summit. They played very steady and put it to us.”
With plenty of firepower at the net, the Titans led 11-2 in the first set and never looked back.
Lee’s Summit West took a commanding 13-3 advantage in the second set en route to victory.
Joplin led 6-3 in the third set after a kill from Lawrence, but the set was soon tied at seven. Ritter’s kill tied the score at 10, but the Titans gained the momentum for good and pulled away. Lee’s Summit West finished the final set on a 15-6 run.
Four players recorded two kills apiece against the Titans— Lawrence, Ritter, Schramm and Peralta. Addison Saunders had four assists, while Ritter and Anderson had five digs apiece for the Eagles (15-15-1).
Playing for the final time in a Joplin uniform were Addison Saunders, Ritter, Riley, Anderson, Shahla Kellhofer and Mya Johnson.
“This is one of the most fun groups I’ve ever coached,” Saunders said. “It’s not a me mentality, it’s we before me. Coaching Addison Saunders is probably my greatest joy in life. And Aubrey Ritter. They’ve been three-year starters. Those two will be on my Mount Rushmore of players I’ve loved to coach. Our juniors are stellar. Our seniors did their job. They’re really great humans and it makes it fun to coach kids who are great humans.”
Joplin hadn’t appeared in a district title match in more than a decade.
Lee’s Summit West topped fourth-seeded Raymore-Peculiar 3-1 (25-20, 25-10, 24-26, 25-15) in the semifinals.
As the district champion, the Titans (18-6) advanced to Saturday’s sectional in Nixa.
The Joplin Eagles pose with the district runner-up plaque on Wednesday night at Carthage High School. The season ended with a loss to Lee’s Summit West. Photo by Shawn Fowler.Junior outside hitter Sydnee Dudolski led Carthage all season long. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
Senior Aubrey Ritter did a little bit of everything for the Eagles this season. Photo by Shawn Fowler.Allie Lawrence hits at the net against Lee’s Summit West. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
Joplin’s Allie Lawrence and Angeline Peralta block at the net against Lee’s Summit West. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
The Eagles celebrate a point against Carthage. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
The Carthage Tigers huddle around Coach Bradyn Webb on Wednesday night. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Every time area-rivals Carl Junction and Webb City meet up on the volleyball court, you get the best out of both teams.
In a rematch of last season’s district title clash, Wednesday night’s Class 4 District 11 championship match inside the Cardinal Dome was no different, as two of the best teams in the state of Missouri battled in a tightly-contested matchup that saw the Bulldogs walk away with a 25-19, 25-19, 25-23 sweep of the Cardinals to earn the right of playing in the sectional round of the state tournament.
“It’s a little surreal right now,” Carl Junction coach Cheryl Sharples said. “You try to take it all in, but I am just so proud of my kids. They played so well tonight. I thought the most important thing was for us to stay grounded and play our game, forcing them to beat us. I felt like if we could do that, good things would happen, and they did.”
“I am very proud of my girls,” Webb City coach Rhonda Lawrence said. “We played very well, and we had worked on some strategic things that we used, and they worked, to help us get those close scores. (Carl Junction) is a very good team and I felt like we gave them as good of a run as anyone else.”
Aside from the district championship, it was also a record-setting evening for the Bulldogs, as sophomore setter Logan Jones set a new single-season record for assists. Jones finished with 38 assists in the win over the Cardinals, giving her 859 total assists in 87 sets played for the season for a new school record. Jones surpassed Bradyn Wall’s mark of 851 assists in 91 sets during the 2013-14 season.
Carl Junction sophomore Logan Jones passes the ball during the Bulldogs’ district championship win over Webb City on Wednesday. Photo by Israel Perez.
“That is great,” Sharples said of Jones’ record. “She is just a sophomore, so she has a lot left to accomplish. I thought she did a really great job of getting the ball to our hitters and putting them in a position to be successful. She does that game in and game out for us.”
Webb City’s season ends with a 24-8-1 record, with the Cardinals graduating five seniors—Maddy Peeples, Sage Crane, Abigail Stork, Anna Hettinger and Ella Cates.
“I have been extremely proud of my girls all year long,” Lawrence said. “We’ve had to deal with a lot of different lineup shifts — and not necessarily COVID-related, just something weird here and there — and they have been so resilient. That, to me, teaches them about so much more than just volleyball. … I couldn’t be more proud to be the coach of Webb City volleyball.”
“This is going to be rough,” Lawrence continued about losing her seniors. “Maddy has been a huge part of our offense for the last two years. Sage has been a staple for us for the last three years. Her and Abby have been joined at the hip. Anna has been our setter the last two years, and I thought she really stepped up tonight. And Ella did a great job playing the right side any time I called on her. Those are huge holes to fill.”
A five-point service run by Jill Kennedy early in the first set staked Carl Junction to an 8-3 lead. Salma Lewis had two kills, with Jones adding one.
Webb City scored five on the next six points to trim the lead to 9-8, with Peeples coming away with three kills in that span, with an ace from Crane.
Webb City’s Maddy Peeples earns a kill in the Cardinals’ loss to Carl Junction on Wednesday in the district championship. Photo by Israel Perez.
Carl Junction held a 22-19 lead when Kennedy earned a block at the net, which was followed up by two errors from Webb City to close the first set in favor of the Bulldogs. Lewis had eight kills in the opening game.
“I thought it was really important to come out and take that first set,” Sharples said. “That was really key for us because they have taken the first set from us twice (this season). You just keep putting doubt in their heads when you can take a set away from them, and I felt like that gave us a mental edge.”
“Salma was really dominant,” Sharples said of Lewis’ first set. “She was seeing the block really well and hitting around it, taking what they were giving her and just executing.”
Olivia Vediz had a four-point service run early in the second set, which included three aces and a kill by Jessa Hylton, to give Carl Junction an 8-6 advantage. The Cardinals answered with two kills from Brenda Lawrence to go along with a kill and block from Mackenzie Storm to climb back in front for an 11-9 margin.
Webb City led 18-17 late when Hylton earned a kill for CJ to force a sideout, with Vediz coming up big again in service to give the Bulldogs all of the momentum. Carl Junction scored four straight points on two errors, an ace and a kill by Hylton to stretch the lead to 22-18.
A kill from Webb City’s Kate Brownfield and Hylton led to each team trading sideouts before Hylton finished the set with back-to-back kills to put the Bulldogs on top two games to none. Carl Junction scored eight of the final nine points, with Hylton accounting for five kills.
“We talked about that in the timeout,” Sharples said of her team’s play to close the second set. “I said, ‘Guys, do you realize what we were down here before we came back and took control?’ Our serving got them out of system quite a bit, which made them go to one option for a hitter, and that makes it so much easier on our defense and blocking.”
“Jessa is an amazing hitter,” Lewis said. “Our energy is so important for this team. I think since we are all so close, being able to build each other up really helps us gain momentum.”
Carl Junction’s Salma Lewis earns a tip kill during the Bulldogs win over Webb City on Wednesday. Photo by Israel Perez.
Vediz’s six-point service run after a sideout early in the third set gave Carl Junction a 14-6 advantage. Maggie Brown and Kennedy had two kills each, with Hylton coming away with a kill and block.
Webb City didn’t go away without a fight. After three consecutive sideouts, a three-point service run from Kyah Sanborn brought the Cardinals within striking distance at 15-11. Webb City trimmed the deficit to one, 23-22, late in the match after a kill and a block from Storm followed by a Bulldog attack error.
“Mackenzie has been a big presence for us all year, and I think tonight capped it off in showing how good she is at this point,” Lawrence said. “I can’t wait to see what she does next year because she is going to be a beast.”
“I knew they weren’t going to go away,” Sharples said of Webb City’s fight in the third set. “That lead that we got on them was important, but I think we started to get a little tight because we started thinking about winning. We talked about re-grounding ourselves … and going to work one point at a time.”
Carl Junction and Webb City traded sideouts to close the third set, with Lewis earning kills on the 24th and 25th points to seal the win.
“That felt amazing,” Lewis said. “I am so happy we were able to pull this win off. It feels great.”
STATS
Lewis led the way for the Bulldogs with a team-high 23 kills, while Hylton was next in line with 16. Vediz had three aces and a team-high 23 digs, while Kennedy led the team with four blocks.
Hettinger finished with three aces and a team-high 18 assists, while Peeples had a team-high 10 kills. Crane had 19 digs, while Storm finished with six blocks.
UP NEXT
Carl Junction (24-6) hosts Willard (27-3-1) in the sectional round of the state tournament on Saturday.
“Here’s the thing, I think that when we are playing well, we are as good as any team out there,” Sharples said. “I think if we can stay grounded and play our game, we have as good a shot as anybody.”
Webb City’s Sage Crane passes the ball during the Cardinals’ loss to Carl Junction on Wednesday. Photo by Israel Perez.
