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Day: September 15, 2023

VOLLEYBALL: Carthage falls at Springfield Catholic

Posted on by Jason Peake

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The visiting Tigers took the first set, but Springfield Catholic regrouped and defeated Carthage 27-29, 25-23, 25-17, 25-18 on Thursday night.

“Hard fought battle against a good team last night,” Tigers coach Chloe Allmoslecher said. “We played some really great volleyball at times, but unfortunately, just had too many service errors and off moments to pull out a win.”

Sadie Comer contributed 22 assists, 14 digs and eight kills for the Tigers, while Jaidyn Brunnert had 17 assists, six kills and six digs.

Also for Carthage, Riann Schwartz recorded 18 digs, Peyton Ray had five kills and four digs, Millie Templeman contributed six kills and six digs, Ava Bourgault compiled 12 kills and 21 digs, Ella Schwartz had four digs, Maddy Manzer chipped in three digs and two aces and Bella Coy had two kills and two digs. 

Carthage (8-5) will compete at the Springfield Classic this weekend.

 

GIRLS TENNIS: Joplin drops COC matches to Willard, Carl Junction

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

WILLARD 8, JOPLIN 1

Willard defeated Joplin 8-1 in a Central Ozark Conference tennis matchup on Thursday.

Joplin’s win came at No. 5 singles, as Julia Reyes defeated Allyson Essary 8-6.

In the other singles matches, Willard’s Alyssa Flynn defeated Mya Ndedi-Ntepe 8-1, Evelyn Sly beat Izzy Zamanzadeh 8-1, Jacey Wilson topped Alex Carson 8-3, Katelyn Long beat Zayda Derganc 8-0 and Briana Mauschbaugh defeated Gwenna Street 8-4.

In doubles, Flynn-Sly defeated Ndedi-Ntepe-Carson 8-4, while Wilson-Polites edged Zamanzadeh-Derganc 9-8 (7-5) and Essary-Mauschbaugh defeated Reyes-Lily Compton 8-1.

 

CARL JUNCTION 9, JOPLIN 0

The Bulldogs swept all six singles matches and all three doubles matches against the Eagles on Tuesday. 

In singles action, Carl Junction’s Naiyah Wurdeman defeated Ndedi-Ntepe 8-1, Jenna Besperat beat Zamanzadeh 8-0, Isabel Read topped Carson 8-1, Emily Rice defeated Reyes 8-4, Brooklin Leggett topped Compton 8-1 and Sofia Neal defeated Street 8-3.

In doubles, Wurdeman-Besperat defeated Ndedi-Ntepe 8-0, Read-Leggett beat Zamanzadeh-Derganc 8-2 and Rice-Neal topped Reyes-Compton 8-3.

BOYS SWIMMING: Joplin takes 2nd at Springfield invite

Posted on by Jason Peake

The Joplin High School boys swim team finished second at the Springfield Invitational on Thursday.

Kickapoo won the invite with 286 points and Joplin was the runner-up with 223.

“The team swam well, with multiple best times and improved state consideration cuts,” Joplin coach Aaron Stump said. 

Also competing were Camdenton (179), Nixa (155), Marshfield (90) and Parkview (9).

Joplin’s Nathan Wardlow won two events.

Wardlow took first in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:07, with teammate Parker Hinman taking second in 2:17.

Wardlow won the 100 backstroke in 57.28 seconds, with Hinman also second in the event (1:01). 

Owen Mordica took second in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:20.

Joplin’s 400 freestyle relay team of Ian Vermillion, Wardlow, Hinman and Isaiah Thom finished second with a time of 3:49.

The Eagles finished third in the 200 medley relay in 1:51, with Wardlow, Jackson Mordica, Hinman and Vermillion competing.

Joplin was also third in the 200 freestyle relay, as Jordan Goins, Thom, Jackson Mordica and Owen Mordica recorded a time of 1:46.

Vermillion finished third in the 100 butterfly, with teammate Gideon Speer fifth. 

Jackson Mordica took fourth in the 100 breaststroke.

Vermillion and Isaiah Thom finished fifth and sixth in the 50 freestyle.

VOLLEYBALL: Carl Junction sweeps Willard to win conference opener

Posted on by Lucas Davis

Carl Junction started fast and never looked back to defeat Willard 25-4, 25-21 and 25-14 in Central Ozark Conference action on Thursday night.  

With the win, the Bulldogs move to 9-2 and 1-0 in conference play.

Senior Abigail Wilson started off an explosive first set with back-to-back aces to put the Bulldogs up early. Carl Junction would never look back, as the Bulldogs cruised to a 21-point victory. 

The Tigers would not go quietly in the second set, however, as they went back and forth with Carl Junction, keeping the Bulldogs on the ropes.

“Complacency definitely got the best of us in that second set, we just had to regroup and go back to what has been working for us this season’’ said Carl Junction head coach Cheryl Sharples. 

The Bulldogs came back in set three with intensity and poise, which led to a victory and sweep of the Tigers. 

Senior standout Kylie Scott ended the evening with 15 kills, adding to her district-high of 95 for the season. Scott averages 3.8 kills per set and is a pivotal figure to the 9-2 record that Carl Junction boasts thus far in 2023. 

Karissa Chase, another senior on the CJ roster, ended the evening with 11 kills. 

Miya Carnes had 31 assists.

Juniors Deshaye Buerge and Jocelyn Wengert finished the contest with four blocks and six digs respectively. 

Carl Junction travels to Webb City for a conference and district match on Tuesday. 

 

VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: Thomas Jefferson improves to 9-2; Jasper tops Seneca, CHC falls short

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

THOMAS JEFFERSON 3, WHEATON 0

Thomas Jefferson defeated Wheaton 25-20, 25-14 and 25-14 in Ozark 7 Conference action.

The Cavaliers are 9-2, 2-0 in conference play this season.

Gabbi Hiebert led the Cavaliers with six kills, three blocks and two digs, while Maggie Sutton served 10 aces and had seven digs.

Mary Nguyen had eight assists and five kills, while Nayab Rehman contributed eight digs. 

Leah Studer chipped in six assists and three aces, Lannah Grigg had four kills and three blocks, Macie Shifferd contributed six digs and Marley Flanagan added three kills. 

The Cavaliers will host the Thomas Jefferson Invitational on Saturday. 

 

JASPER 3, SENECA 0

Jasper earned a 25-14, 25-15 and 25-14 win over Seneca on Thursday.

The Indians fall to 1-6 on the season and take part in the Lamar tournament on Saturday.

Jera Jamesson finished with eight kills, one ace and a block, while Anna Adkins finished with 15 assists and a block. Ella Graham had 15 digs. Danessa Macy had three kills.

 

MARIONVILLE 3, COLLEGE HEIGHTS 1

College Heights dropped a close opening set and fell into a 0-2 hole before ultimately falling 28-26, 25-21, 20-25 and 25-22 to Marionville on Thursday.

The Cougars fall to 4-5-1 on the season.

Maddy Colin finished with 30 assists and four blocks, while Bailey Peeples had 15 kills. Lilly Plassman had 36 digs, while Toryn Fink had eight kills and Allie Sout had 13 digs. Katie Moss finished with 11 digs and four aces, while Karly Dorris had three blocks.
College Heights is hosting a tournament on Saturday. 

VOLLEYBALL: Webb City rallies past Joplin in COC opener

Posted on by Jason Peake

With a spirited surge, Webb City came from behind in the first two sets before rolling in the third en route to a 3-0 victory over Joplin on Thursday night in a Central Ozark Conference volleyball matchup inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.

The Cardinals defeated the Eagles 25-20, 25-12, 25-8.

“We weren’t quite ready to go from the beginning tonight,” Cardinals coach Rhonda Lawrence said. “And it’s a hard place to play in here. It’s a different setting than what we’re used to. It just took some time to get our feet under us. Then we got going. We needed to play at a faster pace from the start. The nice thing about this team is they are getting better and better. It’s a great win. Any win in the COC is a great win.” 

The Eagles were the first team to 15 and 20 in the first set, but the hosts were unable to finish strong. 

“That first set showed what we’re capable of,” Eagles coach Staci Saunders said. “We’re capable of playing like that all the time. But once Webb City got the momentum, we just couldn’t stop it. It kind of snowballed on us. You have to give Webb City credit. They’re a good team and they can attack from everywhere. You can’t take any plays off against a team like Webb City. We just had too many letdowns.”

Joplin’s Bailey Owens hits at the net against Webb City on Thursday night inside Kaminsky Gymnasium. Photo by Israel Perez.

Led by the play of senior outside hitter Bailey Owens, the Eagles came out fired up in the first set, and the hosts took leads of 4-0 and 8-4. 

The Eagles held the lead for most of the first set, but the hosts weren’t able to hold off the hard-charging Cardinals. 

Down 20-18, the Cardinals grabbed the momentum and reeled off seven unanswered points to take the opening set.

Sophomore middle/outside hitter Jaeli Rutledge and junior outside hitter Mia Lenker had two kills apiece late in the first set before a Joplin serve-receive error and a kill from Webb City senior outside hitter Makayla Mayes gave the Cardinals the come-from-behind win.

“They realize getting down two or three or four points isn’t a big deal,” Lawrence said of her team. “We don’t have to have a panic attack. It was nice to see that drive to come back and to have the confidence to be able to come from behind. That set the tone and that helped us out a lot.” 

The Eagles led 9-5 in the second set after a kill from senior outside hitter Raelin Calderon and a Webb City attack error, but once again, the Cardinals regrouped and the score was deadlocked at 10-10.

From there, the Cardinals pulled away with a match-changing 11-0 run, as kills from senior outside hitter Aubree Lassiter and Rutledge gave Webb City a comfortable 21-10 advantage.

Overall, Webb City closed the second set on a 15-2 burst.

The Cardinals never let go of the momentum at that point.

Webb City never trailed in the third set, as the visitors led 5-0 after an ace from Rutledge.

Joplin pulled within five before Webb City rattled off nine straight points for a 19-5 cushion. The Eagles didn’t quit, but the Cardinals ended the match in three sets.

“The girls on both teams know each other pretty well,” Lawrence noted. “Once we got into the groove a little bit, we started taking advantage of some situations.”

Webb City improved to 9-1 overall and 1-0 in conference action.

The 6-foot-1 Rutledge led the Cardinals with 15 kills, while the 6-foot Lassiter added eight kills and 11 digs. 

Webb City’s Kirra Long

Lenker chipped in five kills and nine digs, while junior Kirra Long contributed seven digs, three aces and three kills.

Sophomore setter Savannah Crane handed out 27 assists, while senior libero Sophia Crane had a team-high 15 digs. 

Joplin fell to 3-8 overall and 0-1 in the COC.

Owens led the Eagles with eight kills and five digs, while Calderon added six kills.

Junior setter Adalynn Noirfalise recorded 16 assists and two aces, while junior libero Phia Vogel had six digs. 

“The first set was definitely a positive for us,” Saunders said. “We still have things to work on. We have to get better at serve-receive. But this team has a lot of potential. I think we have a higher ceiling than what they are believing right now. I want them to reach their potential.” 

 

WHAT’S NEXT?

Webb City hosts Carl Junction on Tuesday night inside the Cardinal Dome. 

Joplin is at Carthage on Tuesday night in another COC clash.

 

Joplin junior libero Phia Vogel is pictured during Thursday’s match against Webb City inside Kaminsky Gymnasium. All photos by Israel Perez.

 

Webb City senior libero Sophia Crane digs up a Joplin kill attempt on Thursday night inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.

 

Webb City sophomore setter Savannah Crane sets up a teammate during Thursday’s match with Joplin.

 

Joplin’s Janiah Vaughn is pictured during Thursday’s match with Webb City.

 

Webb City senior outside hitter Aubree Lassiter records a kill against Joplin on Thursday night.

 

Joplin junior Lucy Erisman is pictured during Thursday’s match against Webb City.

 

Webb City’s Jadyn Catterson is pictured during Thursday’s match with Joplin.

 

Webb City’s Mia Lenker hits at the net against Joplin on Thursday. Webb City defeated Joplin 3-0 in the COC opener. All photos by Israel Perez/SoMo Sports.

 

Webb City’s Makayla Mayes hits over the Joplin block on Thursday.

SOFTBALL ROUNDUP: Rhoades homers 3 times in Seneca win; Carthage tops Willard; Webb City beats Nixa 

Posted on by Lucas Davis

SENECA 10, ROGERSVILLE 3

SENECA, Mo. — Seneca won its third-straight game as Callie Rhoades entered rarified air on Thursday after smacking three home runs to fuel the Indians to a win over Rogersville on Thursday.

Kahli Fields singled home a run in the second to give the Indians the lead before Rhoades hit a solo home run in the third inning for a 2-0 margin. Rhoades belted a three-run home run in the fifth inning to give Seneca a 5-0 advantage before she hit her third homer of the game, another three-run shot to center field, an inning later to wrap the scoring for the Indians. 

Abigail Jamros earned the complete-game win in the circle after allowing two runs on four hits, two walks and six strikeouts in seven innings.

Sydney Prenger took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits, four walks and two strikeouts in four innings.

Rhoades homered three times and finished with a team-high seven RBI and three runs scored. Fields had two hits and an RBI, while Jamros had a hit and scored twice.

Seneca (3-8) takes part in the Lady Pirate Invitational softball tournament in Branson over the Weekend.

 

CARTHAGE 4, WILLARD 1

WILLARD, Mo. — Carthage took the first lead and never gave it up in a Central Ozark Conference win on the road over Willard on Thursday. 

The Tigers rode another strong start from hurler Addie Wallace, breaking a scoreless tie with two runs in the third inning coming home on RBI singles from Ashlyn Brust and Lottie Youngblood. Jenna Calhoon doubled home Shelby Hegwer, who doubled to lead off the inning, in the sixth to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead before both teams traded runs in the seventh. 

Wallace earned the complete-game win after allowing one run on three hits, a walk and four strikeouts in seven innings.

DeLaney Dixon took the loss after allowing three runs, two earned, on eight hits and two strikeouts in five innings.

Calhoon doubled three times and drove in a run to lead Carthage at the plate. Lexa Youngblood had two hits, including a double, and scored a run, while Brust had two hits and scored a run. Lottie Youngblood doubled, had two hits, drove in one and scored once.

Carthage (11-9, 3-1 COC) is at Cassville on Monday.

 

WEBB CITY 3, NIXA 1

NIXA, Mo. — Sophomore third baseman Alex Maturino blasted a pair of solo home runs to lead Webb City past Nixa 3-1 in Thursday’s Central Ozark Conference matchup.

Webb City improved to 11-4 overall and 2-2 in the COC.

The Cardinals halted Nixa’s seven-game win streak. The Eagles are now 8-4 overall and 2-2 in the COC.

Mylee Harper’s RBI single gave Nixa a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but Webb City tied it up in the fourth on Maturino’s home run to left field.

The Cardinals took a 2-1 lead in the fifth when Rylynn McFarland charged home from third after a Nixa throwing error.

Maturino homered to left again in the sixth to give the visitors a 3-1 cushion.

The Eagles threatened in the bottom of the seventh, but the Cardinals completed a game-ending double play, as Jensyn Pickett hauled in a fly ball in left and threw to first to double up the runner.

Webb City freshman Addie Burns earned the complete-game victory with a stellar outing in the circle. Burns gave up five hits, walked none and struck out six.

Maturino went 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Nixa’s Paige Garetson took the loss. She allowed three runs on eight hits and struck out five.

Webb City will compete at this weekend’s Park Hill Tournament.

 

REPUBLIC 4, CARL JUNCTION 0

REPUBLIC, Mo. — Republic held Carl Junction off the scoreboard in a Central Ozark Conference win on Thursday. 

The Bulldogs (6-10, 0-4 COC) were limited to three hits in the loss, while the Tigers (10-5, 2-2 COC) scored three runs, a single tally in the third inning and two in the fifth, on 10 hits en route to the win.

Kara Goeke earned the win after allowing four hits and two walks over seven shutout innings, striking out five.

Kiley Spencer took the loss after allowing three runs on 10 hits, a walk and a strikeout in six innings.

Paige Elsenraat led Republic with three hits, including a two-run home run in the fifth, two RBI and a run scored. Gracie Woods had two hits and scored twice.

Hannah Cantrell, Ryleigh Palmer, Spencer and Elsa Dogotch all had this for CJ.

Carl Junction is at Monett on Monday.

 

BRANSON 2, NEOSHO 1

BRANSON, Mo. — Branson and Neosho traded runs in the first three innings, with the Pirates taking the lead last and blanking the Wildcats over the final four innings to earn a COC win on Thursday.

Neosho committed two errors in the first inning that allowed Branson to take the lead with a run scoring. Carleigh Kinnaird led off the second with a double before coming around to score later on an error on a ground ball to tie the game at 1-1. Sadie Lampe gave Branson the lead in the bottom of the third with a two-out RBI single to left.

Kaleah Morrison earned the win after allowing one unearned run on two hits, a walk and five strikeouts in seven innings.

Olivia Emery took the loss after allowing two runs on two hits and eight strikeouts in five innings.

Carleigh Kinnaird doubled and Beclynn Garrett doubled to lead Neosho at the plate.

Neosho (11-5) is back at Branson over the weekend for the Lady Pirate Invitational tournament.

 

MCDONALD COUNTY 17, CASSVILLE 5 (5 INNINGS)

CASSVILLE, Mo. — McDonald County scored five runs in the first, two in the second, four in the third and six in the fourth to earn a run-rule win.

Dakota O’Brien blasted a pair of home runs, while Carlee Cooper had one homer.

Seven different Mustangs recorded two hits apiece in the game—Katelynn Townsend, Natalie Gillming, Kylie Brooks, Jaylee Brock, Kearston Hopkins, Cooper and O’Brien.

O’Brien and Brooks drove in three runs apiece, while Townsend scored four runs. 

O’Brien was the winning pitcher. She allowed five runs on seven hits in five innings. 

Cassville’s Aubrey Stoufer took the loss. Taylor Smith drove in two runs and Stoufer had two hits for the Wildcats.

McDonald County (6-9) is at Nixa on Monday.

Cassville (2-7) hosts Carthage on Monday.

SOFTBALL: Joplin falls to Ozark in conference action

Posted on by Lucas Davis

Joplin used a two-out base hit with runners in scoring position to take a lead in the bottom of the third inning before Ozark used crooked numbers in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings to rally and pull away from Joplin in a 10-5 win over the Eagles in Central Ozark Conference action on Thursday.

“I told the girls today after the game that I need to be better,” Joplin coach Brendan Schneider said. “I didn’t do a very good job coaching today to be honest with you. I think that was pretty apparent to anyone that came to the game. … Ultimately, to me, this loss started at the coaching level and just trickled down. … We have to be better, and we will.

“Luckily, we have a long weekend and I think it will be good for us to get away. We have the Pancake Feed fundraiser on Saturday, and we are always excited about that. The kids have a fun time and really enjoy it. That will be at the Southwest Missouri Fraternal Order of Police Hall. Hopefully, that will allow us to clear our heads because next week is going to be tough.”

The Tigers (10-6, 2-2 COC) held a 1-0 after the first inning before the Eagles (9-8, 2-3 COC) rallied in the third inning when Jadyn Pankow delivered a single up the middle to plate the runners from second and third for a pair of two-out RBI and a 2-1 lead.

“I thought that was a great adjustment by her,” Schneider said of Pankow’s at-bat. “She is such a good hitter and finds ways to make hard contact.”

Ozark tied the game in the fourth inning on an RBI single through the right side from Kendall McCoy. A Joplin fielding error later in the frame with two outs allowed the inning to continue, with Natalie Morgan doubling home two go-ahead runs in the next at-bat and Courtney Merrell singling through the right side two batters later to bring home another run and make the score 5-2.

Joplin got a run back in the fifth on an Abby Lowery RBI double to right field before Ozark answered with a three-spot in the sixth inning—highlighted by an RBI double from Morgan and a two-run home run to left-center by Audrey Carlton, to make the score 8-3. Joplin again scored a run in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI groundout by Ava Wolf, but the Tigers put the game out of reach with two more runs in the seventh on a Joplin error and a passed ball.

McCoy earned the win in the circle after allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits and seven strikeouts in five innings.

Wolf took the loss after allowing eight runs, five earned, on 11 hits, three walks and two strikeouts in five innings.

“We just have to help out our pitchers (defensively),” Schneider said. “Our walks per game are down. Now, we give up a lot of contact, but if we can find a way to cut down on the errors, we can compete with anybody. Our pitchers have done a great job.”

Morgan doubled three times, drove in three and scored once to lead Ozark. Carlton homered on the way to two hits, three RBI and a run scored.

Bailey Ledford had four hits and scored two runs to lead Joplin, while Lowery doubled on the way to two hits and two RBI. Pankow had two hits and drove in two, and Riley Kelly tripled and scored a run.

Joplin hosts Seneca on Monday.

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