CARTHAGE, Mo. — The visiting Springfield Catholic Irish spoiled the Carthage Tigers’ Senior Night festivities with a 3-0 win (25-21, 26-24, 25-20) on Monday night.
After 11 ties in the first set, including the last one at 15-all, Springfield Catholic built a 21-16 lead behind a pair of scoring runs and scored the last two points of the set after Carthage senior Mia De La Pena’s kill made it a 23-21 score.
In the second set, Carthage used a pair of 4-0 runs to go ahead 13-8, before Springfield Catholic went on a 9-2 spurt to jump ahead 17-15. The teams exchanged runs, Carthage fought off three set points, and Springfield Catholic won the set 26-24 after consecutive kills by senior Grace O’Reilly.
Springfield Catholic jumped out to a 16-9 lead in the third set and established more than enough distance to fend off Carthage and win the match.
“Tonight was a very high emotional night and I’m very proud of the seniors for still showing up and staying focused,” Carthage coach Chloe Allmoslecher said. “Games like that are hard when you’re competing and you’re battling and you’re right there but you’re just not finishing or coming out with a win. There are just a few times we need to capitalize a little better. We have the lead then we let it go, and that’s just something we’ve been trying to work on all year long but tonight, it just wasn’t in the cards for us.”
Before the match, Carthage honored seniors Brielle Cartwright, Abby Holderbaum, Raven Probert, Kinley Adams, Kailyn Schultz, and De La Pena.
“We have six seniors, and they have all led really well this year,” Allmoslecher said. “I feel like they all lead very differently.
“We have Raven Probert, she’s our setter and she’s just consistent in everything she does. On and off the court, you know what you’re going to get as a person and as a player. She’s an awesome rock star.
“We have Abby Holderbaum, she brings the intensity every night and she’s going to lead vocally a little more than some of the others. Same thing with Brielle Cartwright, and they bounce off each other a little bit. They’re both going to hold the team accountable, be intense, and require everybody to be ready to play.
“Mia De La Pena, she showed out tonight. She was feeling it. She did awesome, and she’s been awesome in the middle for us.
“Same thing with Kailyn Schultz, she’s in the back row and this was one of the best games I’ve seen her play all year. That’s cool when you say that about your seniors in their last game on their home court.
“You’ve got Kinley Adams, same thing in the middle. She had some great swings tonight. She’s always bringing the intensity and the energy. When she flips that switch, you know it’s nice and exciting.
“They’ve been awesome for this program. Girls are going to miss them, coaches are going to miss them, and we couldn’t ask for a better group.”
Carthage drops to 8-20-2 entering the regular-season finale Tuesday against Central Ozark Conference rival Neosho (9-16-4), both teams hoping to end losing streaks before district play starts this week.
“End with a win,” Allmoslecher said. “That’s our goal. We’ve got Neosho (Tuesday), then we have one practice before we head out for districts. Season’s wrapping up, then you get into postseason play. That’s exciting because it’s anybody’s game, and we’re excited.”
Cartwright led the Tigers with nine kills.
Junior defensive specialists Riann Schwartz and Ava Bourgault recorded 10 digs apiece, while Schultz contributed nine digs.
Probert handed out 27 assists and Schwartz had two aces.
The Tigers are the No. 6 seed in the Class 5 District 7 tournament hosted by Lee’s Summit, and they face No. 3 St. Teresa’s Academy (13-11-1) in the quarterfinals Thursday.
