CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Carl Junction earned its first conference win after making quick work of Republic with a 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-17, 25-13) on a Thursday night where the Bulldogs honored a pair of seniors.
“I thought we had a really solid night,” Carl Junction coach Cheryl Sharples said. “I knew the first game was going to be tough, and we were going to have to adjust to some things they were doing. We haven’t played in a week, so that was a factor, but I watched some film on (Republic) and they were coming in pretty confident off a couple of wins. I knew we would have to get to them with our serve to get them out of their system and frustrate them a little bit.”
Outside hitter Salma Lewis, who recently broke Carl Junction’s all-time kill record, and middle hitter Jillian Kennedy were honored before the match in the Senior Night ceremonies.
“Sal and Jill, from a very young age, have made an impact on the court,” Sharples said. “Salma has been a four-year starter for us, and Jill jumped in her sophomore year and started on the right side for us. They’ve helped change the culture of our program to help it come around to where we want it. They have done a lot for us. They are just such great kids, teammates and great leaders.”
Carl Junction (8-2, 1-0 COC) took the early lead in the first game, with Logan Jones earning a kill to give the Bulldogs an 8-4 advantage. After Kennedy earned a kill to make the score 19-16, Republic answered back with four straight points, including a kill by Kailey Manes and an ace from Payge Plank, to take its first lead of the game, 20-19. Both teams were tied at 23-23 when Lewis earned a kill and an ace to finish the first set in favor of the Bulldogs, 25-23.
Following a back-and-forth start to the second set, Carl Junction took control with a four-point service run by Lewis to build an 8-3 lead. Lewis and Jessa Hylton had kills in the run, with Maggie Brown earning a block.
“We play games to five, that is our philosophy,” Sharples said. “It’s important to get to five first, and I felt if we could do that each game, we would be in a good spot. We really put ourselves in a good position there (in the second set). We were hitting really well, playing great defense and staying aggressive.”
Kills from Hylton and Jones, sandwiched around a sideout, put Carl Junction on top 23-15, with Lewis earning a block moments later to end the set 25-17.
A kill from Kennedy early in the third set jump-started a three-point service run from Hylton, giving the Bulldogs a 4-1 lead early.
Lewis earned a kill to force a sideout and two more straight kills later in the set during a Jones’ three-point service run to push the lead to 11-3.
“She is an exciting player to watch,” Sharples said of Lewis. “She is so dynamic and takes such a great swing. When she gets a kill, it really pumps up our team … and really energizes us.”
Carl Junction moved in front by 10, 15-5, following a kill from Hylton and a block by Kennedy.
Republic responded with five straight points later in the set to trim the deficit to 16-10, prompting Coach Sharples to call a timeout.
“I just said we needed to refocus for a second,” Sharples said. “We discussed what we wanted out of the offense at that moment. We went out there, stuck the pass and sided out.”
The Bulldogs allowed just three more points the rest of the way, using kills from Hylton, Kennedy, who added a block as well, and Lewis to finish off the sweep, 25-13.
“They did a good job of taking control,” Sharples said of her team’s play after the timeout. “They got their sideout and went for it.”
Lewis finished with 13 digs and 11 kills, while Kennedy led the Bulldogs with two blocks and added a pair of aces. Logan Jones finished with 21 assists to lead Carl Junction.
“Jill took some really key swings for us in that first set, and really controlled the net in Games 2 and 3 to shut them down,” Sharples said. “Salma was taking big swings on the outside, putting the ball away. She did a lot of great stuff on the back row as well, defensively and passing.”
UP NEXT
Carl Junction hosts the CJ Classic tournament on Saturday. The Bulldogs open with an 8:30 matchup against Joplin.
“We love that tournament,” Sharples said. “It has been going on a long time, and we get to see some local teams we haven’t gotten to play much, even this summer. We open up with Joplin, and when you are playing someone local, that is a little bit of a rivalry. I think the kids will be pumped and ready to go.”
