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MORE THAN VOLLEYBALL: College Heights knocks off Jasper while raising money for a good cause

By:
Lucas Davis

Sporting a worthy cause with a new uniform scheme, the College Heights Christian volleyball team earned a 3-1 (25-9, 23-25, 25-20 and 25-18) win over Jasper on Tuesday at Ozark Christian College.

“I think we came out strong in service,” College Heights coach Mary Colin said. “And we were aggressive on the hit. We had a couple of kill blocks right off the bat, and that momentum was fun in the first set. I felt like we settled in too early, and that’s what I was pushing them to not do. But at the same time, they were just trying to get comfortable with the gym. … Each time I barked at them about something, they fixed it quickly, which was very important. We knew that Jasper wasn’t going to relax even after the first set.”

RAISING MONEY FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE

Instead of their patented Green and White uniform, the Cougars (3-2) were draped in Black and Gold for their matchup against the Eagles in honor of September being Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Coach Colin is close friends with Kristin Patterson, the Executive Director at Camp Quality Ozarks, a camp designed to provide an uplifting experience during the summer as well as year-round programs to enhance the quality of life for any Missouri child diagnosed with cancer. Coach Colin has volunteered at Camp Quality Ozarks for 10 years alongside Patterson, who is a childhood cancer survivor as well as a former member of the East Newton volleyball program.

“Kristin has really been pushing her entire community to go gold this month for the kids,” Coach Colin said. “She came in and talked to my team about childhood cancer awareness and gave each of the girls someone to pray for. They have done that, and one of our classes even wrote the children inspiring notes. All Seasons Signs and Printing donated our jerseys and they gave us t-shirts at cost to sell and raise money for Camp Quality. With that and donations, we raised $600 for Camp Quality.

“The girls know they are blessed to be on the court, healthy and playing a game that is super fun that they love. At the same time, they appreciate and honor families who don’t have the same experience they’re having.”

GAME ACTION

College Heights opened up with all of the momentum, building a 10-5 lead before a seven-point service run that featured several aces by Addie Lawrence gave the Cougars an insurmountable 17-5 lead.

College Heights opened the second game as quickly as the first, using two kills from Lauren Ukena and another by Lawrence to build a 6-1 advantage. Jasper rallied back though and tied the game at 6-6 on a kill by Crystal Smith. The lead never reached more than three points throughout the remainder of the set with Smith finishing off the game with a kill.

The third game was another tight contest, but the Cougars held the lead and momentum for much of the set. With Lawrence in service, CHC took a commanding 23-16 lead on a kill and ace by Lawrence followed by a kill from Lindsay Griesemer. College Heights finished the game off shortly after on a kill from Griesemer and a kill by Ukena. 

The Cougars held the momentum throughout much of the fourth and final set, sealing the win by scoring the final five points of the game behind two kills from Ukena and a kill from Marley Woodford.

STATS

Maddy Colin set the assist record for CHC with 42 while adding five digs, three aces and 13 points in service. Ukena led College Heights with 17 kills, 11 digs and eight service points, while Lawrence finished with 15 kills, four aces, nine digs and a block to go along with 16 points in service. Griesemer had 10 kills, two aces and 10 digs.

UP NEXT

College Heights is at Sheldon on Thursday.

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