CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carl Junction cruised in the first set and ultimately won in a three-set sweep, but Carthage didn’t go away without a fight in a 25-14, 25-21 and 25-22 defeat on Monday.
“I thought we came out and played patient in Set 1, and we didn’t try to overdue some things and force some things because we were struggling a little bit with some connection,” Carl Junction coach Cheryl Sharples said. “After that, we got a little bit unfocused with what we were doing, but we got focused just enough to take control of it and finished what we started.”
The Bulldogs improved to 18-3, with a second-place 5-1 Central Ozark Conference standing. The Tigers fall to 14-10-1 and 3-2 in the COC.
The opening set saw Carl Junction and Carthage trade points before the Bulldogs methodically built a 15-7 lead following a three-point service run from Jill Kennedy after a kill by Logan Jones forced a sideout. Kylie Scott had a kill, with Kennedy contributing an ace in the run.
The Bulldogs took control of the first set with a late four-point service run from Salma Lewis to push the margin to 21-9, closing it out shortly after.
A key adjustment for Carthage after the first set was improving service scoring. The Tigers didn’t earn a point while serving until late in the first set when Sydnee Dudolski earned a kill with Chloe Black in service.
“We just knew that we had to serve aggressively,” Carthage coach Bradyn Webb said. “I told the girls that if we want to beat a team that good, then we have to be aggressive and consistent. … They just had a different mentality, I think, after being told that.”
“That was extremely impressive,” Sharples said of her team’s serve return in the first game. “That is what we focus on so much, that first pass. … We try to go out there, make that pass and do what we want to do out of our offense.”
The adjustment for Carthage showed up early in the second set, as the Tigers built an early 4-1 lead after a three-point service run from Dudolski. Tasha Schrader earned a kill and Dudolski had an ace in the run.
Carl Junction battled back and took a 9-7 lead on a kill by Kennedy, eventually pushing the advantage to 15-0. Back-to-back aces by Black shortly after trimmed the lead to two, 15-13, but the Bulldogs extended the lead to six, 24-18, with three consecutive kills by Jessa Hylton, Lewis and Kennedy. Carthage scored three straight before Kennedy finished the game off with a kill.
“When you get unfocused like that and get a little too relaxed, you’re always glad when your team can regain that focus enough to push through and win that set,” said Sharples.
The final set was more of the same as the second set, with neither team allowing the other to pull away. It wasn’t until a sideout followed by an ace from Olivia Vediz and a kill from Hylton allowed the Bulldogs some breathing room, 17-13.
Carthage cut the lead to 19-18 following kills from Black and Dudolski, but Carl Junction pushed right back with a kill from Lewis and an ace from Kennedy. Each team traded a sideout and a service point, keeping the Tigers from tying the set up in the process, until the Bulldogs finished the match, 25-22, with an ace by Lewis.
“You’re always happy with (getting a win),” Sharples said. “Even though we are almost through the season, I still think that we are still trying to develop that mentality of three-out-of-five and really having a go-after-it mentality in that third set to make sure we take it in three.”
“We have a great mentality when we want to,” Webb said. “It’s their third coach in three years, and that’s something that’s really hard for them because I’ve changed the offensive and defensive systems that they’ve used in the past. So, that change, they are still working on it.
“I just told them at the beginning of the year that mentality is what is going to get us through this year. And ball control, which we struggled with all three sets. We struggled with ball control, and our errors. If we clean that up, it’s a better game, and I think we would have taken them five sets.”
STATS
Lewis finished with a team-high 12 kills, while Hylton added nine kills and 12 digs for Carl Junction. Jones had 28 assists, seven digs and three blocks.
Dudolski led Carthage with eight kills and 14 digs, while Grace Schriever had five kills and two aces.
“I am so proud of (Sydnee),” Webb said. “I had a long conversation with her a couple weeks ago about being a leader on the court and what that looks like. Even tonight in the huddle, she said (to her teammates), ‘If you get blocked, come back and swing hard again,’ which is what she did. So, she not only talks, but she follows through with it herself, which is great for our team.”
UP NEXT
Carl Junction hosts Joplin on Tuesday.
Carthage travels to Ozark on Thursday.
