It was a memorable debut for first-year Joplin coach Desiree Felker after opening the season with a 3-1 win over Rogers Heritage on Tuesday inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
The Eagles opened the match with a 25-17 win in the first set before moving to 2-0 with a 25-15 win in the second set. The War Eagles took the third game 36-24 before Joplin bounced back to end the match with a 25-11 win.
“I think it’s a really good way to start the season,” Felker said. “They showed grit and the ability to respond to adversity, which is something we talked a lot about this summer. I think it was good to show people what we’ve been working on in the gym. They responded when they needed to, which was fantastic.”
Joplin took control of the opening set on a five-point service run by Abby Edwards that led to an 11-3 Eagle lead, with a kill from Allie Lawrence finishing off the run.
“I think that shifted the momentum for us,” Felker said. “We were really feeling it and were able to build off of her serve to get them out of system.”
Following a kill from Emma Floyd and a passing error on the War Eagles, Joplin pushed its lead to 14-4.
Later in the set after a sideout, the Eagles scored two more points, highlighted by a block from Kacy Coss, to extend the first game advantage to 22-11 on the way to the win.
Joplin and Rogers Heritage played to a 6-6 tie in the second set before a five-point run with Abby Hembree in service propelled the Eagles to an 11-6 lead. Bailey Owens’ kill forced the sideout with a block in the next point setting the tone for the run. Logan Bruggeman added a kill.
A kill from Allie Lawrence, a passing error on Rogers Heritage and an ace from Jayla Hunter later in the set put the Eagles in front 15-9. Joplin went on to close out the second set on a kill and block by Owens.
“Bailey did great,” Felker said. “She stepped into some big shoes and kind of ran away with it. She is well composed and she gets it.”
Joplin built a methodical 15-8 lead in the third set before the War Eagles used an 8-1 rally to tie the game at 16. Rogers Heritage went on to win the third set on a kill from Malia Fosse.
“They were putting a lot of pressure on our passers and serve receive from the service line,” Felker said. “They were able to shift the momentum by getting us out of our system.”
The Eagles fell behind early in the fourth set 7-4 before rallying back to tie the game at 9-9 on an ace from Owens. Following a pair of sideouts, including a kill from Lawrence, Joplin used a five-point service run, capped by an ace, from Kaya Cooper to build a 15-10 lead.
Rogers Heritage rallied to cut the lead to 16-15 before a kill by Edwards forced a sideout. A block from Angelina Schramm and Owens pushed the lead to 19-15. The War Eagles didn’t go quietly in the final set, as a kill from Emely Salinas cut the lead to 20-18.
After Joplin forced a sideout, Hunter scored two points in service to build a 23-18 advantage. The Eagles went on to finish the match out on a block by Floyd.
“I think our practices are super competitive and our depth has helped us out a ton,” Felker said. “We get to deal with a little adversity every day at practice and I think that helped prepare us for that moment tonight.”
Edwards led Joplin with seven kills, while Floyd finished with six kills, a dig and a block. Lawrence and Schramm each had five kills, while Lawrence finished with a team-high 10 assists and nine digs. Cooper had seven assists, with Hembree finishing with six. Paisley Parker had a team-high 19 digs.
Joplin is back in action with a matchup at Cassville on Thursday.
