WEBB CITY, Mo. — For the second time in less than two weeks, Carl Junction and Webb City squared off on the volleyball court with the Bulldogs walking away with a win.
After defeating Webb City 2-1 in the CJ Classic tournament championship match on Sept. 26, the area and Central Ozark Conference rivals met in the Cardinal Dome with Carl Junction (16-3) walking away with a 3-1 victory (25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22).
“This is always a tough place to play because of the environment, they always have a good crowd,” Carl Junction coach Cheryl Sharples said. “I didn’t think we played our very best game of volleyball because they did a good job of serving us out of our system and taking away what we like to do. Somehow, we found a way to win. … It’s a sign of a good team to win on a night where you feel like you struggled.”
“I think the biggest thing anytime you see Webb City and CJ matchup in volleyball, we are cross-town rivals … and these (teams) know each other well,” Webb City coach Rhonda Lawrence said. “It is going to be a grind-it-out match, with these kids laying it all out on the line. It’s always going to be a fun match.”
Like nearly every game, the first set started off in a back-and-forth pace. Webb City built a three-point lead before Carl Junction scored four straight points, tying the game at 11-11 on a kill from freshman Kylie Scott, to take a 15-11 lead.
The Cardinals (16-5-1) cut the lead to 16-15 late before kills by Jessa Hylton, Salma Lewis and Logan Jones put the Bulldogs on top 19-15. Back-to-back kills by Lewis moments later made the score 23-19 and swung the Game 1 momentum in favor for Carl Junction.
Maddy Peeples earned a kill midway through the second set as part of a three-point run to put Webb City up 15-11. Lewis forced a sideout with a kill and then went on a four-point service run to take a 16-15 lead on a kill by Scott.
“They just fought hard,” Sharples said. “They dug and put some balls back in play that I think everyone thought were dead. We popped something out, got a swing out of it and then got a controlled ball and executed to take control of the point.”
Webb City regained the lead, 18-17, after a sideout and an ace from Kearston Galardo. Both teams went back and forth until Carl Junction finished the set off with three straight points, highlighted by a kill from Scott and a block by Destiny Buerge.
“We have been trying to find ways all year to bring her into our system and let her acclimate herself to high school volleyball,” Sharples said of Scott. “Net wise, we knew she would give us (good defense) but she has been working really hard the last couple of weeks to find that connection with our setter to take those big swings.”
Webb City rallied back in the third set, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. A three-point service run by Kyah Sanborn after a sideout gave the Cardinals a 10-6 advantage. Webb City pushed the lead to 21-14 late in the set on another three-point service run by Sanborn, which included an ace.
“That was huge because it takes Salma out of the game if she can’t get the ball,” Lawrence said with a laugh. “If you can get scoring points, it wastes a rotation for them and keeps us in a good rhythm.”
Carl Junction didn’t go away quietly, with Hylton earning a kill to force a sideout. With Buerge serving, the Bulldogs scored five straight points, four of them kills by Hylton, to trim the Cardinals’ lead to 21-20.
“She really took over there towards the end of that third set,” Sharples said of Hylton. “She went back and did what we really needed her to do in the fourth set.”
Webb City scored four of the next six points, with Peeples earning kills on the final two points to earn the third-set win, 25-22.
“I feel like we just played a little more consistently and were more resilient,” Lawrence said. “Maddy hit her stride and we did a better job of getting her the ball more often.”
On a night where extensive service runs were few and far between, Carl Junction opened the fourth set with a five-point run on Jill Kennedy’s serve. Lewis highlighted the run with three kills.
Webb City answered back with a sideout and a four-point service run by Anna Hettinger, who had two aces, to trim the lead to 7-6.
Peeples earned a kill midway through the final set to make the score 16-16, with Lewis answering with a kill of her own to put the Bulldogs back on top 17-16. Hylton earned a kill and Kennedy followed it up with a block minutes later to give Carl Junction a 23-20 advantage.
A kill by Makenzie Storm and a return error by the Bulldogs brought the Cardinals within one of the lead, 23-22, but Hylton answered with a point on a tip and followed it up with an ace in service to end the match 25-22.
“We dug deep,” Sharples said. “It was back and forth. We took control towards the end and found a way to win.”
“I am proud of them,” Lawrence said. “We fought back to tie it up and even were ahead a little bit in that fourth set. It just goes back to us playing more consistently and smarter. … We just keep getting better, so it is going to be fun come district time.”
STATS
Lewis finished with 19 kills, while Hylton had 16 in the Bulldog win. Jones led her team with 45 assists, while Olivia Vediz had 19 digs. Kennedy finished with four blocks.
Peeples led Webb City with 12 kills and 12 digs, while Storm added seven. Hettinger finished with three aces and a team-high 18 assists, while Avery Westhoven added 10 assists. Sage Crane had 14 digs.
UP NEXT
Carl Junction hosts Ozark on Thursday, while Webb City hosts Nixa on Thursday.
