After starting at 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning, Joplin wrapped its day around 5 p.m. one round short of the championship game in the CJ Classic tournament after falling in three sets to Webb City in the semifinal round.
Though it wasn’t the finish the Eagles wanted, coach Staci Saunders was certainly proud of the way her team performed.
“I am very pleased with our girls,” Saunders said. “We lost Kacy (Coss), our big middle, first thing after she got hit in the head. So, to be able to adjust and play well after that, I felt like they did a really good job.”
Joplin opened the tournament with a 25-18, 25-19 loss to host Carl Junction in the Black Pool. From there, the Eagles bounced back with a pair of pool-play wins, defeating West Plains in three sets (25-16, 17-25, 15-9) before beating Carthage JV in straight sets (25-14, 25-23) to earn a spot in the Gold Championship Bracket.
“CJ just has so many weapons,” Saunders said. “For us to be able to compete with them, I felt like that just set the tone for the rest of the day. I think we got the job done and did what we needed to do in our next two matches.”
Joplin faced off with Neosho in the first round of bracket play, earning a 25-20, 25-19 straight-set victory. It was against the Wildcats that Coach Saunders felt her team turned the corner.
“Neosho is much improved this year, and I just feel like they are doing a fantastic job,” Saunders said. “I feel like we are very similar teams. I was very pleased with how well our girls played against Neosho. Our blocking was there, and we hit with a purpose. We just rallied around each other as a team.”
After the victory against the Wildcats, Joplin found itself in a semifinal matchup with Webb City, who fell in the three-set championship match against Carl Junction. The Eagles opened the match with a 25-23 win in the first set before the Cardinals rallied to win the second and third sets (25-14, 25-15) to end Joplin’s day.
“I thought after that first game we really put ourselves in a good position,” Saunders said. “I felt like we played lights out. But, against Webb, you have to play error free, and we had too many errors in that second game. In the third game, we started off well, but I think we just had too many errors.
“But, I can’t hang my head at all for my girls. I think they really played with everything that beats in their chest. These girls love to play volleyball and they give 110 percent every time. I am really proud of them. I told them afterwards they are winners in my book.”
Both of Joplin’s losses came to local Central Ozark Conference rivals in Carl Junction and Webb City. While the Eagles didn’t win, there are still several valuable lessons to be learned when playing strong conference opponents Joplin will likely see again down the road.
“We have to improve our blocking and be able to read when our block is not there and where to play on defense,” Saunders said. “(Carl Junction’s) Salma Lewis, Jessa Hylton and (Webb City’s) Maddy Peeples are special players. We just have to learn how to stop them and make adjustments. I also feel like we have to get better at receiving serve and being able to have three options every single time.”
Aubrey Ritter led Joplin with 32 kills, 47 digs and 17 service points in the tournament. Addison Saunders had a team-high 43 assists to go along with 21 digs, 15 kills and 15 service points. Kaylie Anderson had a team-high 50 digs, while Baileigh Riley had 37 assists, 20 digs and 24 service points. Allie Lawrence finished with 21 kills, 23 digs and 17 service points, with Angelina Schramm tallying 18 kills and 21 service points.
“Aubrey Ritter had a fantastic day today,” Saunders said. “You can always count on her. She is so consistent. She is a go-to player on the team. She passes, she can hit and she is a very smart, mentally-tough player.
“Angelina Schramm did a great job being the heart of our team today. You can tell she just has fun playing volleyball. She gets everybody else up. Kaylie did a really good job as our (libero), and I thought our setters, Baileigh and Addison, did a good job delivering the ball.”
Joplin finished the CJ Classic with a 3-2 record, moving their overall record to 11-6 on the season.
“You have to be mentally tough to play in a tournament like this,” Saunders said. “You have to be in good shape, and you have to be in good condition. Those teams at the end are usually the ones continually taking that extra step. … We are in the middle of our season. All of these teams are banged up, we’re banged up. I cannot tell you how proud I am of our girls for playing through the injuries, aches and pains. Our girls play for each other, and we rallied around each other as a team today.”
