CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — The Webb City Cardinals still have an opportunity to finish the 2022 season with a win.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they just won’t be concluding their stellar campaign where they’d hoped—in a state championship game.
Webb City suffered a 3-0 setback to Incarnate Word Academy on Thursday afternoon in a semifinal contest of the MSHSAA Class 4 Volleyball Championships inside the Show Me Center on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University.
“We didn’t play anything like we’d played the last four games,” Webb City coach Rhonda Lawrence said. “We didn’t play anywhere close to how we’d been playing. We were too worried about what they were doing. We needed to stick to what we do really well. We were hesitant and worried about their big girl. And hesitation never wins in volleyball.”
With the loss, Webb City (32-5-2) will meet Platte County (26-10) at 8 p.m. later tonight for third place.
“We have to get our mental frame back where it needs to be for high-level competition,” Coach Lawrence said. “We have to get ready for the third-place game. We can still end the season with a win. And not many teams get to do that.”
The Cardinals were in uncharted territory on Thursday, as they competed in a state semifinal for the first time in school history.
The Cardinals held their own with the Red Knights early.
The opening set featured 10 ties, the last coming at 13-13 following kills from Webb City senior outside hitters Brenda Lawrence and Kate Brownfield.
But at that point, Incarnate Word grabbed the momentum for good, reeling off five straight points and finishing the first set on a 12-4 run.
The second and third sets played out similarly, as the Red Knights doubled up the Cardinals at 16-8 both times en route to victory.
In both sets, Webb City simply was unable to come from behind after trailing by eight.
Incarnate Word’s attackers were able to find the holes in Webb City’s defense while the Cardinals struggled to do the same. The Cardinals also had three service errors late in the second set that proved costly.
In the third set, the Red Knights took a commanding 21-10 lead before finishing off the sweep.
“We made a lot of unforced errors and lost confidence,” Coach Lawrence said. “We gave them too many points in every set. They’re a very good team and they earned their own points. But you can’t win volleyball games giving away points like that. We just didn’t play like we’d been playing. Incarnate Word did what they do well and we didn’t play our game.”
The 5-foot-10 Brownfield led the Cardinals with 13 kills, while her classmate Brenda Lawrence added seven kills and Aubree Lassiter, a 6-foot junior, contributed five kills.
Senior setter Kyah Sanborn handed out 25 assists, while junior libero Sophia Crane recorded a team-high eight digs.
Tara Greenberry, a 6-3 sophomore middle hitter, recorded 14 kills for Incarnate Word. Sophomore outside hitter Ellie Witthaus added 10 kills for the Red Knights. Sammi Bergjans dished out 31 assists and Abby Freund had 15 digs.
In an all-St. Louis area state championship match, Incarnate Word (29-12) meets Westminster Christian (31-2-5) at 2 p.m. on Friday.
