Fourth-seeded Raymore-Peculiar earned a 3-0 win over fifth-seeded Neosho to kick off Class 5 District 12 play on Thursday inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
The Panthers (14-18-1) took control of the match after earning a 25-14 win in the opening set. The Wildcats jumped out in front of the second set to take a five-point lead midway through before Ray-Pec rallied to earn a 25-20 victory. The Panthers took early control of the final set before closing out the sweep 25-15.
Neosho closes the season with a 6-21-5 record in Jessica Crow’s first season at the helm as head coach. The Wildcats graduate seniors Alexa Laney and Rylee Amato.
“We are very young and I see a bright future for my team, especially our young athletes,” Crow said. “My seniors have been great leaders this year, but I hate that the season ended the way it did for them. I think our culture is changing into something positive.”
“They have been the best,” Crow added about Laney and Amato leaving as seniors. “They have really led this team, putting themselves out there to help the team and rebuild the culture. … They are going to be hard to replace, and our girls were lucky to have them.”
Neosho started the opening set on a 4-1 run backed by a kill from Delaynie Kelly before Ray-Pec used a kill from Tia Storms and a four-point service run from Ava Rann to go up 6-4. The Wildcats battled back to take a 7-6 lead on a block by Karlee Ellick, but back to back kills by Kylee Harris and Storms as part of a four-point run staked the Panthers to a 11-10 advantage. A five-point run in service by Harris, which included an ace, kills from Harris, Storms and Avery Lowe and a block by Lowe, pushed the lead to 20-11, with Ray-Pec finishing the first game shortly after on an ace from Rann.
The Wildcats and Panthers had a tight battle in the early onset of the second game before a six-point service run from Laney gave Neosho a 14-9 advantage, with Miranda Wennhold and Kelly earning a kill. Ray-Pec rallied to take a 21-8 lead fueled by a long service run from McKenzie Marsh, which included consecutive aces, before eventually finishing off the second game moments later.
“We had a lot of bright spots in these matches,” Crow said. “Honestly, we are doing a better job of not giving up when we face adversity. We are still showing the effort to go out and make things happen when we are in a huge hole. I think we just have to work on consistency, and I think it will get better with us being so young and having so many sophomores who have never touched a varsity court before this year. I think getting a taste of that this year will help them grow and will take it head on next season.”
Sierra Jett earned three straight aces for the Panthers early in the third set to build a 9-4 lead. Meredith Baldwin recorded three consecutive kills to answer back for Neosho, cutting the lead to 9-7. The Panthers methodically built their lead up 22-10 thanks to eight straight points and went off to finish the sweep shortly after.
STATS
Wennhold led Neosho with seven kills, while Baldwin added five kills and three blocks. Jayley Ackerson had seven digs, while Laney had four digs and two aces.
UP NEXT
Ray-Pec takes on top-seeded Carthage in the district semifinals at 4 p.m. on Saturday inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
