The All-Ozark 7 Conference Volleyball Team has been announced.
College Heights Christian senior Addie Lawrence has been named the conference’s player of the year, while McAuley Catholic’s Sarah Nangle has been named the Ozark 7’s coach of the year.
OZARK 7 CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL TEAM
Player of the Year: Addie Lawrence, College Heights
Coach of the Year: Sarah Nangle, McAuley Catholic
FIRST TEAM
Lauren Ukena, College Heights; Kyndall Scott, Golden City; Teagan Warner, Golden City; Lily Black, McAuley Catholic; Nico Carlson, Thomas Jefferson; Lily Ray, Wheaton.
SECOND TEAM
Maddy Colin, College Heights; Kylee Scott, Golden City; Aubrey Baker, Verona; Jianna Cha, Wheaton; JoJo Wheeler, McAuley Catholic; Lannah Grigg, Thomas Jefferson.
HONORABLE MENTION TEAM
Ava Masena, College Heights; Lindsay Griesemer, College Heights; Emma Sorensen, Exeter; Maggie Reed, Golden City; Reese Moore, Golden City; Kloee Williamson, McAuley Catholic; Gabbi Hiebert, Thomas Jefferson; Zoe Saylor, Verona; America Castillo, Verona; Allison Whitman, Wheaton.
Luciano Reyes and Ely Montanez scored two goals apiece as the Joplin High School boys soccer team defeated Branson 4-0 on Tuesday in the regular season finale.
Adam Montanez had a pair of assists for the Eagles, who finished the regular season with a record of 16-6.
Joplin is the No. 6 seed for the Class 4 District 6 tournament. The Eagles take on third-seeded Lee’s Summit West at 4 on Saturday in a district quarterfinal at Bud Herzog Stadium in Lee’s Summit.
MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — Seneca volleyball has been in the hunt for its first district title in program history for quite some time.
On Tuesday, the second-seeded Indians accomplished that goal after earning a 18-25, 25-23, 25-20 and 25-16 win over fourth-seeded Mount Vernon (17-14-2) in the Class 3 District 12 title match to earn the right to be called district champions.
“It means a lot to this program,” Seneca coach Rachel Ayo said. “These girls have worked their butts off all season. They knew they were capable of doing great things this year. To see them come out and actually accomplish those things—honestly, it’s every coach’s dream. You want your program to do well and to succeed, and I can’t imagine a better group of girls to lead this program to its first district title for Seneca.”
WHAT’S NEXT
With the district title under their belts, the Indians (17-9-1) now play in the sectional round of the Class 3 state tournament. To make it an even more memorable experience, Seneca is hosting its first ever game in the state tournament. The Indians welcome Mountain Grove (27-7) for a 6:30 p.m. matchup on Thursday at Seneca High School.
“It is just crazy to think about,” Ayo said with a big smile. “I just don’t know. It’s just crazy. It’s crazy.”
GAME ACTION
Seneca jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the opening set after a five-point service run from senior Braxton Raultson—which included an ace, two kills from senior Parker Long and a kill each from Raulston and senior Amber Garrison—but the Mountaineers answered right back with a seven-point run in service from freshman Averee Swillum that was highlighted by an ace and two kills from freshman Hali Stokes to give MVHS a 13-9 advantage. Mount Vernon stayed in front and pushed the lead to 21-14 on a kill from sophomore Cheyenne Bieber, who added two more kills as each team traded sideouts until the Mountaineers closed out the first set.
Despite the opening-set loss, Coach Ayo had full confidence her team would respond because of the experience the Indians have had playing extended matches this season. Four of Seneca’s first five wins came in five sets to start the season, with several four and five-set matches sprinkled in along the way.
“Knowing that our team has the stamina and determination to finish out those long matches—and I may not want to go into those long matches—but I at least know if it comes to that point, we can step up, finish and get the job done instead of rolling over and not finishing the match.”
The second set saw Seneca jump out to a 12-5 lead after a Garrison block, Raulston kill and Long ace but Mount Vernon used several errors on the Indians coupled with kills from senior Jordan Duncan and Stokes and an ace from Swillum to tie the game at 17s. Raulston added three kills and junior Jera Jameson had two more down the stretch to send SHS to the win.
Seneca and Mount Vernon started the third set much like they ended the final set, a back-and-forth contest that saw the Indians holding a 14-12 lead before scoring the next eight out of 11 points to go up 22-15. Jameson had a kill, while senior Brylee Sage added a kill and a block. Jameson finished off the third-set win with a block to give Seneca a 2-1 advantage.
The Indians started fast in the fourth set, building a 6-1 initial lead on a five-point service run from Raulston—with an ace, two kills from Long and a kill from Jameson included—before going up 9-2.
Mount Vernon used a 7-2 run to trim the lead to 11-9, but Seneca didn’t waver—scoring seven of the next nine points to push its lead back up, 17-10. Long had two aces and a kill, while junior Louzella Graham also added an ace to highlight that stretch of play. Jameson and Long added back-to-back kills for a 20-14 lead before two more kills by Long pushed the advantage to 22-16. Seneca clinched the final set on consecutive blocks from Jameson and Garrison.
“It was nice to have a lead because volleyball is such a mental game,” Ayo said about jumping out in front. “If you can start out leading and can hold onto that lead, that is a huge mental advantage to your team. I think that was huge.”
STATS
Sage finished the night with 41 assists and two blocks, while Long closed with 17 kills, 16 digs and three aces. Jameson added 16 kills and two blocks, while Raulston had 20 digs and three aces.
“These girls mean a lot,” Ayo said. “This is my third year here and I have had them since they were sophomores or younger. I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls to coach. It is going to be sad to see them go whenever the season ends, but I am ready to go out with a bang, though. I think we have a good chance to do some great things.”
The Jasper Eagles never trailed during a dominant 3-0 win (25-17, 25-19, 25-14) Tuesday evening over the College Heights Christian Cougars for the Class 1 District 11 title at the Thomas Jefferson Fieldhouse.
Jasper went on a 5-0 run early in the first set to go ahead 12-6 and then a 4-0 run later on after the Cougars trimmed it to 18-15.
Jasper and College Heights traded more punches and runs in the second set, as the Cougars overcame a 6-2 deficit early on to earn a 20-17 score after their 4-0 run.
Jasper sophomore middle hitter Crystal Smith ended the Cougars’ run with a kill and the Eagles’ three straight points gave them a six-point cushion late in the set with only two points to go for 25.
College Heights Christian’s Addie Lawrence is pictured during Tuesday’s district title match against Jasper. Photo by Derek Livingston.
College Heights earned three tie scores early in the third set before Jasper built a commanding 21-8 lead with a 13-0 scoring run.
“Jasper played great,” College Heights coach Mary Colin said. “They played great, and we knew they would. They’re a good team. They’re fun to watch. They’re fun to play. We prepared for them and we had the tools in our tool belt. We just came out on the wrong side.”
College Heights’ Lauren Ukena and Addie Lawrence finished with 11 and 10 kills respectively. Maddy Colin led the Cougars with 24 assists, Ava Masena made nine digs and five different Cougars served one ace.
College Heights finished the season 23-10-2 overall.
“I just told the girls they had a great season,” Coach Colin said. “Lots of great stats. They’re a fun group of kids. They’re in there encouraging each other. They love this game, but even as much as they love this game, they love each other so it’s not just the game that ended today, it’s their volleyball family that ended. We already miss each other. We want to see each other tomorrow and seasons come to an end and that’s part of the journey. This was a great journey with some great kids.”
College Heights seniors Ukena, Masena, Lawrence, Lindsay Griesemer, Marley Woodford and Sophia Wilkins played their final high school games on Tuesday.
“I’m standing here with Hannah Graham, who was their junior high coach,” Coach Colin said. “One of the seniors hugged her and said we’ve had you since we were in seventh grade, which is true. That’s going to happen at a small school. We get to watch them for six years, not just four years. They have come along and when they were young in high school, they took their turn watching the older girls and when it was their turn, they stepped in and they played some great volleyball.”
Jasper improved to 25-8-3 overall with a 3-1 record against College Heights this season and the Eagles will play host Drexel (28-5) in a Class 1 sectional match on Thursday.
College Heights Christian’s Elizabeth Fanning hits a kill at the net against Jasper on Tuesday night. Photo by Derek Livingston.
Ava Masena serves for the College Heights Christian volleyball team on Tuesday against Jasper on Tuesday at Thomas Jefferson. Photo by Derek Livingston.
CHC’s Lindsay Griesemer passes to a teammate on Tuesday. All photos by Derek Livingston.
Elizabeth Fanning attempts to block Livia Dumm’s kill attempt.
WILLARD, Mo. — For the second straight season, and for the third time in four years, the Webb City Cardinals have captured a district championship.
In a clash between familiar foes, top-seeded Webb City defeated second-seeded Carl Junction 3-0 on Tuesday night in the championship match of the MSHSAA Class 4 District 6 volleyball tournament at Willard High School.
The Cardinals beat the Bulldogs 25-19, 25-17, 25-12.
“I’m feeling great and I’m just super proud of the kids,” Cardinals coach Rhonda Lawrence said. “They’ve been very intentional all season and it showed again tonight. Carl Junction is always a tough team and we knew they were going to bring it. Tonight was another great hard-fought fight. The rivalry continues, and I’m just happy we’re on top for two years in a row.”
Webb City (31-4-2) will host Helias Catholic (29-6-3) at 1 p.m. on Saturday in a quarterfinal contest of the state tournament.
“I’m super excited,” Lawrence said. “We’ve never got to host before. We’ll be packing the Dome for sure. We just need to stick to what we do best. We do a lot of things really well and we can’t be too worried about what’s coming at us.”
The Webb City Cardinals celebrate Tuesday’s win.
Coach Lawrence confirmed to SoMo Sports that this is the first time in school history that a Webb City volleyball team has surpassed 30 wins in a season.
“I can’t say enough about how much these girls have grown and improved since last year,” Lawrence said. “They’ve bought in and that’s why we’re where we’re at tonight. I’m pretty proud of them. We’ve made a lot of history this year.”
It was the fourth straight season the Cardinals and Bulldogs have met for a district championship. Webb City won last year’s meeting and the matchup in 2019, while Carl Junction won the clash in ’20. The Bulldogs also knocked off the Cardinals in the district semifinals in ’18.
Webb City won both of the matchups with the Bulldogs in the regular season — the conference clash and the championship match of the CJ Classic.
Of course, it’s never easy beating the same team three times in one season. Lawrence noted that scenario provided extra motivation for Tuesday’s win-or-go-home matchup.
“We were fired up for that,” Lawrence said. “It’s hard to beat someone three times, but we knew we’d already beat them twice and we should rely on that for confidence. We knew they didn’t have Lo (Jones) in our first match with them and then she had just gotten back the second time we played them. But it does help to play against a team that you see a lot. You know what’s coming at you. And these kids have played against each other since they were little.”
Carl Junction was playing for a district title for the seventh straight season, but the Cardinals simply had too much firepower.
Always a key to victory, Webb City was the first team to 15 and to 20 in all three sets.
“That’s always a big thing,” Lawrence said. “Getting to 15 first and getting to 20 first makes a huge difference. Volleyball is a mental game and I feel like we attacked tonight. We are multifaceted from where we can attack from…that’s what I love about this team. It makes us hard to defend and hard to shut down.”
In the opening set, the Cardinals took a 10-6 lead after kills from senior outside hitter Brenda Lawrence and junior outside hitter Aubree Lassiter, along with a solo block from Lassiter.
The Bulldogs stayed close with kills from junior Kylie Scott and sophomore Karissa Chase, but the Cardinals finished the first set on a 6-2 run.
The Cardinals led 9-7 in the second set when they gained all of the momentum and used an 11-3 run to take a 2-0 lead.
During a key stretch, Webb City sophomore Kirra Long recorded a block at the net, Lassiter slammed a kill and the Bulldogs committed three straight attack errors.
Webb City took control of the third set early with an 8-1 lead, but the Bulldogs didn’t go down without a fight, as CJ pulled within two at 10-8 on Scott’s kill.
But the Cardinals wouldn’t be denied. Freshman middle hitter Jaeli Rutledge hammered home a kill and junior libero Sophia Crane served an ace before late kills from Lassiter and senior outside hitter Kate Brownfield secured the set and match victory.
Lassiter and Brenda Lawrence recorded 10 kills apiece for the Cardinals, while Rutledge had seven kills and Brownfield added six kills to go along with seven digs.
Crane had a team-high 11 digs, while senior setter Kyah Sanborn handed out 30 assists and added six digs. Jenna Noel, another senior, had five digs.
Scott led the Bulldogs with nine kills, while senior outside hitter Destiny Buerge recorded 10 digs and eight kills.
Senior setter Logan Jones handed out 25 assists for the Bulldogs, while junior defensive specialist Sara Buchele added seven digs, junior Aubreigh Fowler had three blocks and Chase chipped in six kills.
Carl Junction ends the season at 22-11-2.
“When you win 22 matches, you’ve had a good season,” Bulldogs coach Cheryl Sharples said. “And we finished in the top 16 in Class 4. I’m proud of my kids and the work they put in this year.”
The Bulldogs said goodbye to seniors Jones, Buerge, Adia Kennedy and Jocelyn Brown.
“Our seniors have been a big part of our program since their freshmen year,” Sharples noted. “They have contributed to over 100 wins in their careers.”
An all-state performer who will continue her volleyball career at Arkansas, Jones concluded her stellar prep career as the program’s all-time leader in assists.
Notes: Helias Catholic defeated Jefferson City 3-2 for the District 5 title.
Saturday’s quarterfinal winner will advance to the state Final Four in Cape Girardeau on Nov. 3-4.
The Webb City Cardinals pose with the district championship plaque and bracket on Tuesday night at Willard High School. Photo by Jason Peake.
