NEOSHO, Mo. — Though Neosho put up a fight in the final two sets, including a chance to force a fourth game after building a big lead late, Webb City rallied and was able to close out the match in three sets, 25-8, 25-15 and 27-25, on Tuesday.
“I think we came in strong and confident,” Webb City coach Rhonda Lawrence said. “We had a rough last couple of weeks when we hit that hard part of the COC (schedule). Now, we know we’ve got to finish strong while we find out the little things we need to change. That’s what we tried to do tonight. We’ll use this match to make us a whole lot better.”
“We have been so down in the mouth recently, and it was to the point where it didn’t matter who we put in, that slump just continued,” Neosho coach Ann Landrum said. “Tonight, our goal was to just go out there and have fun because it was the last night for the seniors being on the home floor. There were a lot of learning moments tonight with understanding how to make big plays in big moments, staying engaged and focused all the time.
“But I am going to tell you, these seniors and the group behind them have come an awful long way. If we can get our groove back going into districts and just play the best we can, just get us back to normal, I am not going to complain.”
The Cardinals used strong service in the first set, opening with a five-point run from Abby Stork for a 5-0 lead. Stork had an ace in the run, while Maddy Peeples added a kill. After a pair of sideouts, Peeples had back-to-back kills to push the advantage to 8-1. The margin moved to 11-2 after another Peeples kill and consecutive aces from Anna Hettinger, and eventually to 18-6 after three straight aces by Kate Brownfield. Webb City closed the first set with a six-point service run by Kyah Sanborn, with Kearston Galardo and Makenzie Storm picking up two kills each in the run.
“The first set, I just feel like we came in very strong and stuck to our game plan,” Lawrence said. “I think they were a little hesitant with our aggressive serves. … If you’re not really ready for that, it’s hard to deal with, and we haven’t seen them all year. So, they were kind of coming in cold turkey.”
“All it is is focusing on serve-receive,” Landrum said of her team’s adjustments from the first two sets. “You have to mentally be in it and pay attention to what you are doing. That was our main focus this year, just trying to be mentally tough. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. When we pass well, we do decent. When we don’t, it’s just, who knows? As each game went on, they passed a little better and handled serves a little better.”
The second set was tightly contested early until the Cardinals used a four-point service run from Sanborn to build a 14-8 cushion. Sanborn had an ace and Storm had a kill. Neosho was unable to get closer than five points to the lead, with Webb City closing out the second game, 25-15, with the final four points. Galardo and Storm had kills, with Brownfield serving an ace to seal the win. Brownfield finished the match with a team-high four aces.
“That kind of set really helps us work together better and build that trust with each other,” Lawrence said. “As we move our lineup around, they are starting to build trust in each position with people knowing where they are going and what to expect from each other. That consistency is really going to help us as we finish off the season.”
Neosho trailed 12-10 midway through the third set when a kill by Shelby Roberts forced a sideout and a three-point service run by Rylee Amato gave the Wildcats a 14-12 lead. Moments later, Neosho, playing with a high level of confidence, went on a seven-point service run by Roberts, looking to be in complete control with a 23-14 lead. Savannah Merriman had four kills in the run, including three straight at one point.
“Savannah is one of those athletes who plays at a whole different level for us,” Landrum said. “She has good court awareness and is a competitor. … We pass her, serve her, set her, hit her and block her. She is an athlete who doesn’t quit even when things get rough.”
Neosho put the score at game point, 24-16, on a kill by Abby Jarvis, but Webb City had no plan of surrendering the third set. After forcing a sideout, the Cardinals rallied all the way back to take a 25-24 lead on an eight-point scoring run by Sanborn. Storm had a kill and a block, with Sanborn picking up an ace. The Wildcats also had four errors in the run.
“We had a nice little lead, and we have to choose to finish it when we had the chance,” Landrum said. “We just didn’t. But I tell you what, you learn from it because you never forget that stuff because it stinks.”
An attack error by Webb City tied the third set at 25-25, but a serving error on Neosho followed by an attack error closed out the win in favor of the Cardinals, who rallied all the way back for a 27-25 match-clinching win.
“That eight-point run doesn’t happen very often in volleyball,” Lawrence said of her girls’ ability to fight back in the final set.. “We have been resilient pretty much throughout the entire season. When we have to see tough competition game in and game out, with their backs against the wall, they had to decide whether they wanted to let them have a set or not. … They beared down and got more aggressive.”
STATS
Storm finished with 11 kills, a dig and a block to lead the Cardinals, while Galardo had eight kills. Peeples had seven kills and 10 digs. Hettinger had three aces and a team-high 18 assists, while Sage Crane added a team-high 23 digs.
Roberts led Neosho with seven kills and two blocks. Andi Johnson had six kills and two digs, while Merriman, who had seven assists, and Jarvis had four kills each. Lexi Laney had a team-high 16 assists to go along with four kills, with Melia Robertson finishing with a team-high five digs.
UP NEXT
Webb City travels to Republic on Thursday.
Neosho travels to Nixa on Thursday.
