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VOLLEYBALL: Neosho sweeps rival McDonald County

NEOSHO, Mo. — The Neosho Wildcats improved to 5-2 on the season with their 3-0 victory (25-17, 30-28, 25-19) Monday against non-conference rival McDonald County.

Neosho’s Whitney Kivett passes a ball during the Wildcats’ sweep of McDonald County on Monday.

The visiting Mustangs jumped out to an early lead in each set, only to see the Wildcats come back and win the set in the end.

“Coming out with the win is what we had planned for and discussed as a team,” Neosho coach Jessica Walton said. “We did not plan for McDonald County to be that close, but our serve receive gave us some issues. Overall, compared to last year, we aren’t a team that gives up and have learned to handle pressure a lot better than the previous year.

“I don’t feel like we tapped into our true team Monday night. I saw bits and pieces, but I am glad we pulled out the win. This is a special team, and I don’t want anyone to judge them based off that match.”

Neosho erased a slim 14-12 first-set deficit with a decisive 10-0 run and then exchanged a series of side-outs to close out the set 25-17.

Neosho fought off two set points to earn a 24-all score in the second, then fought off three more set points before putting together three straight points to claim the second 30-28.

Neosho went ahead 11-10 in the third set and never looked back en route to a sweep.

Neosho returns to action Tuesday with the Central Ozark Conference opener against Nixa (8-3).

“I think we have made great progress,” Walton said. “We are already on track to beat our record last year, and our JV has done an exceptional job and already broke their record. I feel we still have a lot of growing to do as far as conference play and starting out with Nixa is tough. They are a great team and a great program. We are taking some of our matches as a way of preparation for districts, so getting the experience playing against them and collecting more footage, we can hopefully start working on ways to compete better with them.”

SOFTBALL: McDonald County earns walk-off win over Nixa

 

ANDERSON, Mo. — McDonald County improved to 12-4 on the season with a 3-2 win over Nixa on Monday in non-conference softball action.

The Mustangs won in walk-off fashion.

Nixa led 2-1 as the bottom of the seventh inning began, but the Mustangs took advantage of several miscues in the field.

In the final frame, Mac County’s Analisa Ramirez singled up the middle before Reagan Myrick and Maggie Pratt both reached on errors.

Next, Nevaeh Dodson hit a grounder to second base, and the throw home got past the catcher, with the tying and winning runs scoring on the play. 

McDonald County had five hits, two by Ramirez.

Dodson drove in two runs on one hit, while Jacie Frenken homered. 

Dodson was the winning pitcher. She allowed two earned runs on five hits and struck out seven.

Paige Garetson took the loss after allowing one earned run on five hits while striking out four. 

Sara Sweaney had two hits for Nixa (10-5). 

McDonald County hosts Nevada (14-7) on Thursday. 

VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: CHC Sweeps Liberal; Seneca falls to Aurora

CHC SWEEPS LIBERAL

College Heights earned a sweep of Liberal 25-23, 25-23 and 25-13 on Monday.

The Cougars improved to 14-3-1 on the season. 

Lauren Ukena had 10 kills and seven digs, while Addie Lawrence had nine kills, seven aces and total points in service. Maddy Colin had 25 assists, while Ava Masena had 18 digs. Libby Fannying had seven kills.

College Heights hosts Exeter on Tuesday.

 

SENECA FALLS TO AURORA

AURORA, Mo. — Seneca volleyball suffered its second loss of the season after falling 17-25, 25-20, 25-23 and 25-18 to Aurora on Tuesday.

The Indians’ record sits at 6-2.

Parker Long had 14 kills, 15 digs, five aces and four block kills, while Jera Jameson had 12 kills and seven blocks. Ella Graham had 12 digs, while Brylee Sage added 31 assists.

Seneca hosts McDonald County on Thursday.

GIRLS TENNIS: Cavaliers remain unbeaten with win over Tigers

CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Thomas Jefferson Cavaliers hiked their record to 7-0 with an 8-1 win over Carthage on Monday in a non-conference girls tennis dual at the CHS courts. 

In singles action, Thomas Jefferson’s Allison Ding defeated Kianna Yates 8-1, Jeanna Jeyaraj lost to Daniela Marquez 9-8 (7-2), Kyla Yang beat Katie Barton 8-1, Warda Morsy topped Abigail Samuel 8-2, Jessica Joseph defeated Mireya Mendez-Lopez 8-2 and Mayson Solum beat Sarah Lee 8-0.

In doubles, Ding and Jeyaraj defeated Yates-Marquez 8-3, while Yang-Solum topped Barton-Samuel 8-0 and Morsy-Joseph beat Mendez-Lopez-Lee 8-0.

Thomas Jefferson will take on Greenwood on Tuesday at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield. 

Carthage is at Carl Junction on Tuesday.

SOFTBALL: Carl Junction takes early lead in win over Monett

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Carl Junction scored a pair of runs in each of the first two innings before a four-run fourth frame set the Bulldogs up for an 8-3 win over Monett on Monday.

Kiley Spencer earned the complete-game win for Carl Junction (6-8) after allowing three unearned runs on six hits, three walks and three strikeouts in seven innings.

Kilee Wilson took the loss for Monett (6-11) after allowing eight runs, six earned, on 11 hits, three alks and six strikeouts.

CJ’s Madi Olds singled to left in the first inning to plate the Bulldogs’ first run before a second run came around to score on a passed ball later in the inning with two outs for 2-0 lead.

Hannah Cole singled up the middle with one out and a runner on for an RBI in the second frame, with Ryleigh Palmer adding a two-out RBI single to center later in the inning.

Carl Junction hit a bases-loaded triple to right field to push the lead to 7-0 before Izzie Southern added an RBI single up the middle in the next at-bat to wrap the Bulldogs’ scoring.

Kailyn Cendroski had an RBI single in the sixth inning to highlight Monett’s three-run inning.

Olds had three hits, four RBI and a run scored, while Cole had two hits, an RBI and scored a run. Palmer had a hit, scored twice and drove in once, while Southern had a hit and an RBI. Sammie Sims had two hits in the win.

Carl Junction hosts Joplin on Tuesday.

FOOTBALL: Latest state rankings released

The Missouri Media football rankings have been released following Week 4 of the 2022 season.

The statewide high school football rankings, as compiled by a 10-member panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

MISSOURI MEDIA RANKINGS

First-place votes in parenthesis.

CLASS 6
Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW
1. Liberty North (7), 4-0, 97, 1
2. CBC (2), 3-1, 90, 2
3. Lee’s Summit North, 3-1, 76, 3
4. Nixa (1), 4-0, 73, 4
5. DeSmet, 2-2, 62, T5
6. Joplin, 4-0, 48, 8
7. Troy, 3-1, 44, 9
8. Blue Springs South, 3-1, 27, NR
9. Raymore-Peculiar, 3-1, 20, T5
10. Marquette, 3-1, 13, 7
Dropped out: No. 10 Rockhurst

CLASS 5
Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW
1. Carthage (9), 3-1, 99, 1
2. Francis Howell (1), 4-0, 90, 3
3. MICDS, 4-0, 75, 4
4. Lebanon, 4-0, 68, 5
5. Webb City, 2-2, 56, 2
6. Holt, 3-1, 48, 8
7. Camdenton, 4-0, 46, 9
8. Timberland, 4-0, 26, 10
9. Jefferson City Helias, 3-1, 21, 6
10. Eureka, 4-0, 15, NR
Dropped out: No. 7 Fort Osage
Also receiving votes: Oak Park (4-0), 4; Glendale (3-1), 2

CLASS 4
Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW
1. St. Mary’s (10), 3-1, 100, 1
2. Kearney, 4-0, 90, 2
3. Smithville, 3-1, 78, 4
4. Union, 4-0, 62, 6
5. Center, 4-0, 56, T7
6. Hillsboro, 4-0, 52, T7
7. West Plains, 4-0, 35, 9
8. Nevada, 3-1, 29, 3
9. Hannibal, 2-2, 25, 10
10. McDonald County, 3-1, 10, NR
Dropped out: No. 5 Vashon
Also receiving votes: Rockwood Summit (3-1), 8; Vashon (1-2), 5

CLASS 3
Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW
1. Cardinal Ritter (8), 4-0, 96, 2
2. St. Pius X, 4-0, 87, 3
3. Lutheran St. Charles (2), 3-1, 85, 1
4. Pleasant Hill, 4-0, 67, 4
5. Valle Catholic, 4-0, 61, 5
6. Kennett, 4-0, 44, 7
7. Lutheran North, 2-2, 32, 8
8. Maryville, 2-2, 28, 6
9. Park Hills Central, 4-0, 21, T9
10. Reeds Spring, 3-1, 20, T9
Also receiving votes: Savannah (4-0), 9

CLASS 2
Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW
1. Blair Oaks (10), 4-0, 100, 2
T2. Lafayette County, 4-0, 80, 3
T2. Seneca, 4-0, 80, 5
4. Lamar, 3-1, 69, 1
5. Richmond, 4-0, 67, 4
6. Centralia, 4-0, 48, 6
7. Bowling Green, 4-0, 37, 7
8. Macon, 4-0, 25, 8
9. MV-Liberty, 4-0, 23, 10
10. Mountain Grove, 3-1, 11, 9
Also receiving votes: Lift for Life (3-1), 7; Trenton (4-0), 3

CLASS 1
Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW
1. Monroe City (6), 4-0, 96, 1
2. East Buchanan (4), 3-1, 93, 2
3. Mid Buchanan, 4-0, 78, 3
4. Marionville, 4-0, 66, 4
5. Adrian, 4-0, 61, 5
6. Gallatin, 4-0, 54, 6
7. St. Vincent, 4-0, 42, T7
T8. Cole Camp, 4-0, 17, NR
T8. Scott City, 3-1, 17, NR
10. Portageville, 3-1, 9, 9
Dropped out: No. T7 Butler, No. 10 South Shelby
Also receiving votes: South Shelby (3-1), 6; Butler (3-1), 5; Lincoln (3-1), 5; Sarcoxie (4-0), 1