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Day: September 30, 2022

GIRLS TENNIS: Cavaliers advance to sectional round of state tourney

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

Thomas Jefferson Independent School hosted the Class 1 District 10 individual girls tennis tournament on Friday, and the Cavaliers had two singles players and a doubles team advance.

The top two finishers in singles and doubles advanced to the sectional round of the state tournament.  

Allison Ding

Thomas Jefferson’s duo of Allison Ding and Jeanna Jeyaraj were the sectional qualifiers in singles.

Ding defeated Jeyaraj 6-2, 6-0 in the championship match. 

After a first-round bye, Ding defeated College Heights Christian’s Natalie Brueggemann 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. She topped Aurora’s Olivia Ray 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals.

Jeyaraj beat CHC’s Emery Yantis 6-1, 6-1 in the opening round, and she defeated Mount Vernon’s Vicki Moore 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Jeyaraj beat Monett’s Elizabeth Smith 6-2, 6-3.

Smith defeated Ray 8-4 for third place. 

In doubles, Mount Vernon’s Isabella Mosley and Allison Schubert and Thomas Jefferson’s Kyla Yang and Mayson Solum advanced as the top two finishers.

In the title match, Mosley-Schubert edged Yang-Solum 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

The top-seeded Mountaineers defeated Monett’s Deleny Rueda and Serenity Laning 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and knocked off TJ’s Warda Morsy-Jessica Joseph 6-1, 6-0 in the semifinals. 

Third-seeded Yang-Solum beat Mount Vernon’s Adelynn Hall-Audrey Bittle 6-3, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and then knocked off second-seeded Kloey Boyd-Emily Gearhart of Aurora 6-3, 4-6, 11-9 in the semifinals.

Morsy-Joseph defeated Boyd-Gearhart 9-8 (7-3) in the third-place match. 

In other doubles action, College Heights Christian’s Avery Baker-Elena Dumm defeated Monett’s Jocelyn Hernandez-Emma Parrigon 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals before falling to Aurora 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals.

CHC’s Ella Bishop-Jeanna Smathers lost 6-2, 6-0 to TJ’s Morsy-Joseph in the quarterfinals. 

Thomas Jefferson will host the sectional tourney on Saturday, Oct. 8, with the action slated to begin at 1 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER: Joplin upends Pittsburg 4-1

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

Joplin scored three goals in the first half on the way to a 4-1 over Pittsburg on Thursday.

The Eagles took the initial lead when Azziel Palma found the back of the net in the eighth minute off the assist by Adam Montanez. 

Joplin added a goal from Luciano Reyes in the 12th minute off the assist by Luis Alvarado and ballooned the lead to 3-0 with an Adam Montanez goal in the 15th minute, with Palma credited with the assist. 

Pittsburg cut the lead to 3-1 by halftime, but Joplin’s goal from Luis Alvarado off the assist from Duncan Fogarty in the 65th minute was the only goal of the second half.

Joplin’s Andrew Jordan finished with two saves.

 

VOLLEYBALL: Ozark beats Joplin in three sets for conference win

Posted on by Lucas Davis

Ozark made it a point to jump out in front and play with the lead in a 25-19, 25-13 and 25-18 win over Joplin in Central Ozark Conference action on Thursday inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.

After a back-and-forth opening set that went in favor of the Tigers, Ozark jumped out to early leads and played with cushion in the final two sets to compelte the conference road sweep.

“Ozark does a lot of really good things,” Joplin coach Desiree Felker said. “We have to clean up a few things at the net, blocking wise. We were in the right spot a lot of times, so we just have to figure out how to stay in there, press over the net and keep the ball on their side. I don’t know how many blocking errors we had, but a lot of the times we were right there and the ball was just going off our hands and out of bounds. Credit it to their hitters, though, because they were using us like they were supposed to. Defensively, we made some big plays. We just didn’t make them every time we needed to. Ozark is a good program and we just kind of ended up on the wrong side of it.”

Joplin falls to 12-9-1, 1-3 COC on the season, while Ozark improves to 16-5, 3-1 COC.

GAME ACTION

Ozark jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the opening game thanks to three quick kills and a block from Skylar Hilton as well as a kill from Reagan Baade. 

Joplin rallied back to tie the game at 11-11 after a kill and a block from Bailey Owens, but a six-point service run from Ozark’s Alexis Andela, which included a block from Sophie Morris and a kill from Tara Venable, sent the Tigers to a 20-14 advantage and eventual win in the opening set.

“When we get rattled, sometimes our serve receive doesn’t go where we need it to go,” Felker said. “They were putting a lot of pressure on us at the net and from the service line. It just didn’t go the way we wanted it to tonight.”

The Tigers played in for much of the second set, building an early 11-5 lead off a kill from Venable and a kill from Morris. Back to back kills from Owens later in the set cut Joplin’s deficit to 14-12, but Ozark answered with the next three points that included a kill from Venable and a block from Hilton pushed the lead back to five, 17-12. Following a Joplin sideout, Venable forced one of her own with a kill before Anna Howe ripped off the last seven points in service to end the second set. Venable had two kills in the run, which also included an ace by Howe and a block from Morris.

“They did a really good job of working the ball around our defense,” Felker said. “They also did a good job of reading our hitters on the other side of the net, which makes it tricky when you are trying to go on a run.”

Ozark pushed out to a 10-4 lead in the third set before a three-point service run from Abby Edwards cut Joplin’s deficit to 12-9. The Tigers pushed the lad to 17-11 on consecutive kills from Baade. Joplin cut the lead to 18-16 late but that would be as close as the Eagles would get as the Tigers answered with a sideout before back to back kills from Venable jump started a four-point service run by Macy Humble that ended with a Venable kill to put Ozark in front 23-16. A block from Morris and an ace by Reece Cook closed out the set and match.

STATS 

Owens had 11 kills, three blocks and two digs to lead Joplin. Paisley Parker, Abby Hembree, Serafina Auberry and Raelin Calderon each had two kills. Hembree added 11 assists and Parker had 10 digs. Jayla Hunter had a team-high 14 digs.

UP NEXT

Joplin travels to Carl Junction on Tuesday before visiting Willard on Thursday.

VOLLEYBALL: College Heights wins rivalry match with TJ in four sets

Posted on by Jason Peake

The College Heights Christian Cougars scored 14 of the match’s final 15 points to avoid a third consecutive night of five-set volleyball and earn a 3-1 victory (25-14, 25-21, 25-27, 25-16) Thursday evening over their Ozark 7 Conference, district and Newman Road rival Thomas Jefferson inside the TJ Fieldhouse.

College Heights also outscored Thomas Jefferson 18-5 to close out the first set 25-14 and fought off the Cavaliers late in the second set 25-21, while Thomas Jefferson succeeded on a fourth set point to take the third set 27-25.

College Heights improved to 16-5-1 overall and 2-1 Ozark 7.

“I’m not a big fan of excuses,” College Heights coach Mary Colin said. “We showed up tonight a little bit spread out. We took team pictures after school in our new facility, which is so fun and exciting, and which pushed us back all over and running late. We literally ran in the gym late, and by the time we got into the locker room and got out, they had called captains, which is absolutely our fault just for the timing of the day.

College Heights Christian took on Thomas Jefferson in volleyball action on Thursday night. All photos by Shawn Fowler.

“We were not warm, and we did not move well (early). They slowly just started trying to logically fix that part of their game and it was just a matter of taking the smart part of their game and their energy and their momentum, because it’s hard to speed up if you don’t warm up well. They did (speed up), and I’m super proud of them.

“We had every intention of not going five. They truly did leave our last time out and pushed as hard as they could to get to a point where they will not play a five-set match tonight. We’re super proud of them for that.”

The Cougars won for the first time without their outstanding senior Addie Lawrence.

“Addie is a powerhouse,” Colin said. “She’s scored a lot of points for us, so it’s finding the points in other places. They are all heart and soul. They are great kids. They’re not trying to make mistakes, obviously. Addie’s here on the bench cheering them on, which is awesome.”

Lauren Ukena finished the match Thursday with 18 kills and 10 digs, while Lindsay Griesemer had 15 service points and nine kills. Katie Moss contributed 13 service points and 13 digs, Ava Masena had 13 service points and 23 digs, Libby Fanning recorded 13 kills, and Maddy Colin compiled 39 assists and 17 digs.

College Heights returns to action Monday on the road against McDonald County and the Cougars return home Tuesday with an Ozark 7 match against Verona.

Thomas Jefferson fell to 8-11 overall and 1-3 Ozark 7.

“I wanted them to compete,” Thomas Jefferson coach Dave Soetaert said. “That’s what I said at the beginning of the season, I just want to come in and compete and I want the other team to walk out the door knowing they competed, and points will fall where they fall. We did.

“They had some great plays. They’re a good team, perennial powerhouse around here, and big rival down the street. We haven’t beat them in a gazillion years. In my four years, I think that’s the first time we’ve gotten a set off them. Man, it could have been more, could have been less.

“We’re proud of the girls. They fought hard. I thought it should have been a good match to watch if you’re paying money to watch volleyball. Just a couple things here and there, it could have been different.”

Mary Nguyen had 13 digs and six kills for the Cavaliers, while Nico Carlson had eight digs, four kills, six assists and three blocks. Leah Studer contributed seven digs and four assists with a pair of aces, Lannah Grigg had 13 digs and seven kills, and Gabbi Hiebert put together 10 digs, six kills, four assists, and two blocks.

Thomas Jefferson returns to action Saturday in the Southwest Volleyfest Tournament with matches already slated against Purdy, Spokane, Wheaton, and Pierce City.

 

 

 

 

VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: Lo Jones recognized for career milestone in CJ win; Seneca and McAuley earn sweeps; Mustangs victorious

Posted on by Lucas Davis

JONES HONORED FOR 3,000 CAREER ASSISTS IN BULLDOG WIN

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — On a night where senior Lo Jones was honored with surpassing 3,000 career assists, Carl Junction (13-7-1, 2-2 COC) made the night even more memorable with a 25-20, 20-25, 25-21 and 25-16 Central Ozark Conference win over Republic on Thursday.

Jones, an Arkansas volleyball commit, surpassed 3,000 career assists during the Dr. Jeffrey Knutzen CJ Classic on Saturday. 

“What a great accomplishment for Lo,” Carl Junction coach Cheryl Sharples said. “She does a great job running an offense and creating successful opportunities for her hitters. 

“The best part was that she didn’t even know she had reached 3,000.”

Jones added 34 assists in the win over the Tigers, while Destiny Buerge finished with 14 digs. Karissa Chase had 11 kills, five aces and three blocks. Jocelyn Brown finished with 20 digs.

Carl Junction hosts Joplin on Tuesday.

 

SENECA SWEEPS NEVADA

Seneca earned its 11th win of the season after defeating Nevada 25-17, 25-21 and 25-20 in Big 8 Conference action on Thursday.

The Indians improve to 11-5-1 and are 3-0 in conference play.

Brylee Sage had 26 assists and four aces, while Parker Long finished with 15 kills, four aces and a block. Jera Jameson had six kills, while Braxton Raulston finished with eight kills and four digs.

Seneca takes part in the Neosho Tournament on Saturday.

 

MCAULEY SWEEPS VERONA

McAuley Catholic volleyball improved to 18-10-2, 4-0 in the Ozark 7, after sweeping Verona 25-11, 25-20 and 26-24 on Thursday.

“We worked with a different lineup this evening and I think that’s what allowed Verona to score more than we wanted,” McAuley coach Sarah Nangle said. “But, overall, I am still proud that we were able to win in three games.”

Kloee Williamson and Lily Black each had five kills to lead the Warriors, while Kaitlyn Bates had four aces. JoJo Wheeler finished with 10 digs.

McAuley hosts Golden City on Tuesday.

 

MCDONALD COUNTY TOPS MONETT

MONETT, Mo. — McDonald County defeated Monett 25-17, 25-19, 25-16 in a Big 8 matchup. 

Savannah Leib had nine kills and five aces to lead the Mustangs, while Megan Elwood and Carlie Martin added five kills apiece.

Jayden Forcum handed out 22 assists and Elwood had a team-high 24 digs. Hay Nay Way added 18 digs. 

The Mustangs will compete at Mount Vernon’s tournament on Saturday.

 

CARTHAGE EARNS COC WIN

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage defeated Willard 25-15, 24-26, 25-18, 25-18 on Thursday in a COC contest.

The Tigers (7-15-2, 1-3 COC) are at Bentonville (Ark.) on Monday.

SOFTBALL ROUNDUP: Webb City, Carthage, Neosho all earn COC wins; Joplin falls to Nixa

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

WEBB CITY 4, BRANSON 3

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Webb City got back to .500 overall and improved to 5-3 in the Central Ozark Conference with a 4-3 win over the Branson Pirates on Thursday. 

The Cardinals (13-13) pushed across two runs in the first inning. The first run came home after two Branson errors before Madeline Barchak delivered an RBI single into left.

In the top of the fourth, Brooklyn Davis smacked an RBI double into right-center to cut Webb City’s lead in half. 

The Cardinals added two runs in the bottom of the fourth. A wild pitch and an error on the same play allowed both Addison Brown and Rylynn McFarland to score, giving the hosts a 4-1 lead.

The Pirates plated two runs in the fifth, trimming the Cardinals’ advantage to one. 

However, the Cardinals kept the visitors off the scoreboard in the sixth and seventh innings to secure a win. 

Alex Maturino went 2-for-3 for the Cardinals. Dawsyn Decker, Sydney Strickland, McFarland and Barchak had one hit apiece.

Webb City’s Laney Taylor was the winning pitcher. She went six innings and allowed three earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. Karsyn Cahoon closed it out by pitching a scoreless seventh. 

The Cardinals did not commit an error in the field. 

Branson’s Sierra Dailey took the loss. She allowed one earned run on six hits and two walks. 

Savi Engel had two hits for the Pirates (9-12, 0-8 COC). 

The Cardinals will compete at this weekend’s Springfield Tournament. 

Webb City has two home games next week, as the Cardinals host McDonald County on Monday and Joplin on Tuesday.

 

CARTHAGE 12, REPUBLIC 8

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage rode a 10-run third inning to a conference victory.

The hosts trailed 7-0 when they erupted for 10 runs in the third. Carthage added single tallies in the fourth and sixth innings. 

Ashlyn Brust and Landry Cochran recorded two hits apiece for Carthage, while Shelby Hegwer drove in three runs. 

Cochran and Addison Wallace each had two RBI, while Lexa Youngblood and Alexis Smith had one RBI apiece. Brust, Ashlynn Jackson, Aven Willis and Abby Rogers scored two runs apiece.

Wallace was the winning pitcher. She allowed one run on three hits in 4 1/3 innings, striking out four.

Jackson pitched 2 2/3 innings, giving up one run on three hits while striking out three.

Republic’s Piper Dishman took the loss after allowing nine earned runs on nine hits in six innings. 

Republic’s Emi Essary hit two home runs. 

Carthage (15-12, 4-4 COC) hosts Monett on Monday before traveling to Neosho on Tuesday.

 

NEOSHO 6, WILLARD 2

NEOSHO, Mo. — Carleigh Kinnaird earned the pitching victory and also hit a home run in Neosho’s 6-2 win over the Tigers on Wednesday.

In the circle, Kinnaird allowed just two runs on six hits while striking out four in the complete-game effort.

Autumn Kinnaird went 4-for-4 at the plate, with two doubles and two triples. 

Maelynn Garrett and Grace Johnson drove in one run apiece for the Wildcats, while Olivia Emery had one hit.

Willard’s A. McMillin took the loss after allowing six earned runs on six hits.

The game was tied at two when the Wildcats erupted for three runs in the bottom of the fifth.The frame was highlighted by Carleigh Kinnaird’s two-run home run to center.

Neosho added an insurance run in the sixth on Autumn Kinnaird’s RBI double.

Neosho (19-4, 6-2 COC) hosts Grove, Oklahoma, on Monday.

 

NIXA 5, JOPLIN 0

Nixa broke open a scoreless tie with three runs crossing home in the sixth inning before scoring two more in the seventh on the way to a Central Ozark Conference win to hand Joplin its fourth straight loss on Thursday. 

Nixa didn’t record a hit through the first five innings before Chloe Krans led off the top of the sixth inning with a double to left-center field to get into scoring position. Later in the inning with two outs and two runners on base, Harper-Jane Simpson singled home a pair of runs for a 2-0 Nixa lead. Maddy Meierer followed with a shallow single to right field to bring home a run for a 3-0 lead.

Nixa added two more runs with two outs in the seventh inning when Krans and Sara Sweaney hit back to back solo home runs to left-center field for a 5-0 advantage.

Meierer earned the complete-game shutout win after scattering three hits and striking out eight over seven scoreless innings.

Jill McDaniel took the loss for Joplin (20-9, 4-4 COC) after allowing five runs on six hits, three walks and seven strikeouts in seven innings of work.

Abby Lowery, Jadyn Pankow and Riley Kelly all had hits for Joplin, which left four runners on base.

Krans had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run, while Sweaney had a hit, scored a run and drove in one. Simpson finished with a hit, drove in two and scored a run.

Joplin hosts Glendale on Monday in the final home game of the regular season.

 

OZARK 12, CARL JUNCTION 0

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Ozark scored nine runs in the first three innings and limited Carl Junction to one hit in a six-inning Central Ozark Conference win over the Bulldogs on Thursday.

The Tigers plated two runs in the first before a six-run second inning and added a third run in the third frame to go up 9-0. Ozark added three insurance runs in the sixth inning.

Jordyn Foley earned the win after allowing one hit over four scoreless innings, striking out 10.

Hannah Cole took the loss after allowing 12 runs, five earned, on 17 hits in six innings.

Morgan had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and three RBI to lead Ozark. Foley added two hits and an RBI.

Hannah Cantrell had the lone hit for Carl Junction.

Carl Junction takes part in the Springfield Invitational with games against Lee’s Summit North and Camdenton on Friday.

VOLLEYBALL: Webb City drops COC showdown to Nixa

Posted on by Jason Peake

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Webb City was unable to hold on to the momentum after an opening-set victory, as Nixa rallied for a 3-1 win over the Cardinals in a key Central Ozark Conference volleyball showdown on Thursday night inside the Cardinal Dome.

The Eagles defeated the Cardinals 23-25, 25-14, 25-16, 25-23.

Webb City coach Rhonda Lawrence noted the intense matchup against the talented Eagles will only benefit her team going forward.

“We hadn’t seen anybody with Nixa’s talent level this season, but we still competed hard,” Lawrence said. “I have no problem with our effort. We just weren’t used to Nixa’s high level. But we were right there with them. I thought we did a lot of great things tonight. This was obviously a big game, and when you lose to a great team, you’re only going to learn from it. It was a good learning experience. Tonight is going to make us better.” 

Nixa improved to 14-3 overall and 4-0 in conference action, while Webb City fell to 20-3-1 overall and 3-1 in the COC. 

Webb City senior setter Kyah Sanborn passes to a teammate during Thursday’s match against Nixa. Photo by Israel Perez.

The opening set featured eight ties, with the final deadlocked score coming at 17-17. Playing in front of a raucous student section, Webb City gained the momentum late in the first set.

A setter dump by Kyah Sanborn gave the Cardinals a 20-18 lead. Moments later, kills from Kate Brownfield and Aubree Lassiter gave Webb City a 24-21 advantage.

Nixa’s Norah Clark slammed a kill at the net before the Cardinals committed an attack error, making it 24-23 in favor of the hosts. On the next play, the Eagles committed a hitting error, giving the Cardinals the first set.

“I was super happy with the first set,” Lawrence said. “We played aggressively. And I thought we played hard and I thought we played smart.”

The second set was tied at 11 when Nixa gained all of the momentum. The Eagles rattled off nine straight points and never looked back.

“In the second set, we let them be more of the aggressor and we started making unforced errors,” Lawrence said. “We didn’t stay aggressive. I thought we got hesitant in the second set and just didn’t play as smart as we could have.”

Nixa kept the momentum in the third set, as the Eagles led 10-4 and 20-12 en route to taking a 2-1 lead.

The Cardinals responded well in the fourth set, as the hosts definitely made the Eagles earn the match victory.

The fourth set was deadlocked at 16 after a kill from Sanborn, but the Eagles took the lead for good by going on a 4-1 run.

A kill from Brenda Lawrence, an ace from Sanborn and a block at the net by Lassiter kept the Cardinals within striking distance. But Nixa’s Hillary Estes and Jewell Bray both recorded kills to give the Eagles a 23-21 cushion.

Webb City’s Jaeli Rutledge and Nixa’s Chloe Judd traded kills at the net before an Eagle service error allowed the hosts to pull within one at 24-23 before Nixa’s Clark hammered home a match-ending kill.

“We started doing a lot of good things in the fourth set,” Coach Lawrence noted. “We have the talent to do that. It just has to be an all the time thing.”

A junior outside hitter/middle blocker, Lassiter led the Cardinals with 10 kills. A pair of senior outside hitters, Lawrence and Brownfield contributed nine kills apiece. Brownfield also had 10 digs.

A 6-foot freshman, Rutledge added eight kills. 

A senior setter, Sanborn handed out 30 assists to go along with nine digs, while junior libero Sophia Crane had a team-high 21 digs.

Webb City hosts Neosho on Tuesday.

 

 

Webb City’s Brenda Lawrence hits a kill at the net against Nixa on Thursday night. Photo by Israel Perez.

 

Sophia Crane is pictured during Thursday’s match against Nixa inside the Cardinal Dome.

 

Kate Brownfield hits at the net during Thursday’s match against Nixa inside the Cardinal Dome. Photos by Israel Perez.

 

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