Top-seeded Carthage faced plenty of adversity in its Class 5 District 12 semifinal matchup against fourth-seeded Raymore-Peculiar, but the Tigers handled it in stride like the top seed should and earned a 25-23, 25-20, 24-26 and 25-21 win over the Panthers on Saturday.
“I don’t think we played our best, but we came out and knew that we could win,” Carthage coach Bradyn Webb said. “That is something that I have tried to instill in our girls’ minds. If you go out and have the mentality that you’re winning, it’s going to work out for you. I do think that they showed that tonight, so I am really happy with how everything worked out.”
Carthage and second-seeded Joplin will meet in the Class 5 District 12 championship at 6 p.m. on Monday.
“We’re going to play a great team no matter what, either Belton or Joplin,” Webb said after her team’s win to open the day. “We have beat Joplin before, but they are a good team. We played them last year in districts, too. I think that if we play them it will be a great game. Our girls are ready and prepared to play whoever we go up against.”
The Tigers (18-13-1) found themselves trailing the Panthers 23-19 late in the first set before rattling off the final six points to earn the come-from-behind win. Abby Holderbaum started the rally with a kill to force a sideout. Riann Schwartz took service for Carthage, with Sydnee Dudolski earning a kill to trim the lead to two before an ace from Schwartz cut the lead to 23-22. Three straight attack errors on the Panthers closed out the set in favor of the Tigers.
“We took it one point at a time and put the pressure on Ray-Pec,” Webb said. “It worked out in our favor.”
The second set played out much like the first, as neither team gained much separation until a kill by Dudolski and an ace by Olivia Bourgault put Carthage on top 15-11. The Panthers fought their way back to take a 17-16 lead on a kill from Isabel Bowen, but the Tigers responded with three straight points, including a kill from Sophia Shannon, to build a 19-17 advantage. A block from Holderbaum followed by a Panther error pushed the lead to 24-19, with Grace Pickering closing out the second set with a kill moments later.
Carthage trailed 21-17 late in the third set after a kill from Tia Storms and a block by Kylee Harris. An attack error forced a sideout and Carthage answered with a five-point service run by Raven Probert, which included an ace and kills from Holderbaum and Mia Camarillo, giving the Tigers a 23-21 lead. Ray-Pec used three Tigers’ errors to regain the momentum and earned their first set win after consecutive kills from Storms and Avery Lowe.
The Tigers didn’t let the defeat slow down their momentum. Ray-Pec led 13-11 in the fourth set when a kill from Pickering forced a sideout and Ava Bourgault followed with a three-point service run, which included a pair of aces, shifted the momentum with Carthage leading 15-13.
Ray-Pec picked up a point on a sideout before Dudolski hammered down a kill for an immediate sideout. With Pickering in service, Holderbaum earned back to back kills before a net violation put the Tigers on top 19-14.
“We have been working on serving,” Webb said. “We haven’t been very consistent with it in the past. Now, that is our focus—we may not be the most athletic team, but we can get a serve in and it can be aggressive.”
Kills from Dudolski, Shannon and Pickering pushed the lead to 24-19 put the game out of reach, with the Tigers finishing off the win minutes later.
Pickering had 13 kills and four digs, while Dudolski had 12 kills and 16 digs to lead Carthage. Holderbaum had eight kills and three digs. Olivia Bourgault had 16 digs, three aces and two kills, while Ava Bourgault had 12 kills and four aces. Schwartz finished with 11 digs and two aces.
“Abby Holderbaum did a really good job on the right side,” Webb said. “We knew that we could use her a lot against Ray-Pec, and she came to play. … Grace fills a huge role for us … She is a very good utility player that we can go to when someone else is struggling. Sydnee Dudolski probably played the best defensive game I have seen her play this whole year.”
