NEOSHO, Mo. — The visiting Carthage Tigers and the host Neosho Wildcats both entered their Tuesday night match looking to end a losing streak and head into district play on a winning note.
Carthage finished the regular season 9-20-2 overall and 3-6 Central Ozark Conference with a 3-1 win (25-17, 20-25, 25-16, 25-18) over Neosho stopping the Tigers’ slide at four straight.
“It’s great,” Carthage coach Chloe Allmoslecher said. “That’s exactly what you want. I think there were things we capitalized on tonight that were things we’re trying to improve on like finishing and having the lead and keeping it and closing the gap, all the things that we did tonight. It obviously feels good stepping into district competition Thursday getting a win.”
Neosho finished 9-17-4 overall and 0-9 COC with four straight losses entering postseason. The Wildcats last won a match in their home tournament Oct. 1 against Seneca, and they have been 0-9-2 since that victory with a pair of ties in tournament competition.
“It was just controllable errors,” Neosho coach Jessica Walton said. “We kept giving them points. We were playing a little too timid and I would rather make errors being aggressive. We were trying to play too safe, and I also think it’s hard when you beat a team in the summer and then you come back and play them at the end of the season.
“We’ve had a tough end of the season, especially looking at districts as well. It’s hard sometimes for high school girls to change that mindset, but they still have some fight in them.
“We’ve seen a lot of growth. I was hoping that our varsity could get a couple COC wins this season, and we have increased our record. I will say that we are excited about our JV team. They have a lot of fight and they’re scrappy as all get-out, so I think Neosho has a good future ahead of them.”
Carthage used a 5-0 run in the first set Tuesday to gain the lead for good in the set and the Tigers closed it out 25-17 with the last five points.
Neosho answered back in the second set and the Wildcats claimed it 25-20 by scoring eight of the last 11 points with back-to-back kills from senior Capri Williams giving the home team momentum headed into the third set.
Carthage took control of the third, however, and scored 10 of the last 14 points in the set, including five straight to win it 25-16.
Carthage jumped out strong in the fourth with a 8-0 run giving the Tigers a 12-6 lead and they did not look back with a 25-18 final set.
“It was a solid win tonight,” Allmoslecher said. “They took a set from us, but it was still a competitive set. They’ve taken a set from a lot of good teams this year, and that’s what I told the team going into it. They’re a scrappy bunch and we need to stay focused. We were expecting that, but I’m glad the other three sets we could capitalize and finish strong.”
Carthage plays the third-seeded St. Teresa’s Academy (13-11-1) in the Class 5 District 7 quarterfinals Thursday at Lee’s Summit.
“We seen them at a tournament,” Allmoslecher said. “They are definitely a good opponent. We are excited to match up with them again. We’re playing some of our best volleyball right now, and I couldn’t really say that the last time we played them. Every team’s probably improving at this point, but we’re ready to see them on Thursday.”
St. Teresa’s defeated Carthage 2-0 (25-17, 25-15) back on Sept. 17 in a tournament hosted by Lee’s Summit West.
Before the match Tuesday, Neosho honored seniors Williams, Karlee Ellick, Delaynie Kelly, Meredith Baldwin, and Ukrainian foreign exchange student Mariia Yakubova.
“It’s the best senior group I’ve ever coached,” Walton said. “Their maturity, the way they’ve handled adversity, the way they’ve treated the underclassmen. They’ve never used their seniority, they’ve been equal, and they have been so positive with all these girls. I know they have left a huge legacy, and they will be greatly missed.”
The Wildcats have the seventh seed in the Class 5 District 6 tournament hosted by Republic, and they draw No. 2 Kickapoo (26-8) in the quarterfinals Saturday.
