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Volleyball: Carl Junction tops Webb City in CJ Classic title match

By:
Jason Peake

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. The Carl Junction Bulldogs had plenty of extra motivation ahead of Saturday’s prep volleyball showdown with the Webb City Cardinals.

“They got us three times last year,” Bulldogs coach Cheryl Sharples said. “Mentally, that was in our head.”

In fact, the Bulldogs could only watch a year ago when the rival Cardinals celebrated with the CJ Classic’s championship plaque.

The tourney hosts made sure history didn’t repeat itself. 

Finishing strong with an inspired effort, Carl Junction earned a 2-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-16) come-from-behind victory over Webb City in the championship match of the annual invitational named in honor of Dr. Jeffrey Knutzen. 

It’s the first CJ Classic title for the Bulldogs in three seasons. 

“Webb got us in this match last year, so we got a little payback,” Sharples said. “I think we had a really solid day of volleyball. We took care of business in every game. I thought we played a little tight in the first set against Webb City. When we stopped and refocused on the process of the game, we were able to do what we wanted to do.” 

Webb City coach Rhonda Lawrence noted the championship match was a hard-fought and well-played affair. 

“We’re pretty evenly-matched,” Lawrence said. “The kids know each other well. They’ve played against each other for years. Obviously the rivalry from last year is big, so I’m sure that gives them a good boost. We had opportunities, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out.”

For the tournament, Carl Junction senior standout Salma Lewis slammed 53 kills. A Drury recruit, Lewis recently set Carl Junction’s career kills mark. Junior outside hitter Jessa Hylton added 42 kills, while senior middle hitter Jillian Kennedy had 16 kills. Sophomore setter Logan Jones handed out 91 assists.

“We had several kids that had great days,” Sharples said. “I thought Salma and Jessa both took really great swings. Logan Jones did a great job of getting us 1-on-1 and making our hitters successful. And our middles (Jillian Kennedy and Maggie Brown) were very active and Des (Destiny Buerge) took some good swings on the right side. Our passers put us in system and let us play the game.” 

Senior outside hitter Maddy Peeples led Webb City with 51 kills, 39 digs and four aces on the day. Sophomore outside hitter Brenda Lawrence compiled 32 kills, seven aces and four blocks. Also for the Cardinals, Anna Hettinger handed out 67 assists, while Avery Westhoven had 40 assists and 25 digs.

Sophomore outside hitter Kyah Sanborn had 37 digs and seven aces, while senior libero Sage Crane recorded 62 digs. Kearston Galardo had 20 kills, 14 blocks and 10 aces, while Makenzie Storm contributed 22 kills and 11 blocks. Galardo and Storm are both junior middle blockers. 

“Maddy carries us in every match and I thought Brenda stepped up and did a lot of good things,” Coach Lawrence said. “Kenzie Storm’s blocking and presence at the net has been huge all season. She just keeps getting better. She’s already had more blocks herself that our leading blocker last year. Sage and Kyah made some huge digs.” 

In the first set, the Cardinals led 19-11 after a Peeples kill, but the Bulldogs came charging back, pulling within two at 24-22 after a kill from Lewis. But Peeples recorded a kill on the next play to give the Cardinals the opening set.

The Bulldogs grabbed the momentum from the start of the second set. Carl Junction stormed out to an 11-3 advantage, with Lewis and Hylton leading the attack at the net. The Cardinals trimmed their deficit to four late in the set, but the Bulldogs finished it off with a kill from Hylton.

“We started building momentum towards the end of the first set,” Sharples said. “We minimized some errors, stayed aggressive and passed a little better in the second and third sets.”

The deciding and intense third set was back and forth early, and the score was tied at 12. Carl Junction then rattled off six straight points to take control for good. An ace by Jones and a kill from Hylton helped the Bulldogs seal the deal.

“It was serving,” Sharples said of the difference in the third set. “We served them out of system and kind of got them frustrated. We stayed real aggressive. We wanted to control the net and make them out-swing us at the net.”  

“We played a little smarter in the first set,” Lawrence said. “In the second set, we butt-puckered a little bit. We didn’t play like we should have. In the third set, we came out a lot more smart. But they’re a tough team and they do a lot of good things. We made a run of about five unforced errors and you can’t do that against a good team. That was like five points in a row where we killed ourselves. You can’t give away five points.”

In the semifinals, Carl Junction beat Aurora 2-0 (25-10, 25-14) and Webb City topped Joplin 2-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-15). 

Webb City earned wins earlier in the day against Carthage, Aurora, Carl Junction’s junior varsity and Pittsburg. 

“We lost one game all day, so that’s a good day and you have to be proud of that,” Lawrence said. “We had a lot of great performances, but you hate to lose the championship. But I want our girls to have a competitive spirit and to not like to get second place.” 

The Bulldogs also picked up wins over West Plains, Joplin, Carthage’s junior varsity and Carl Junction’s JV. 

And this year, the Bulldogs were the team celebrating with the championship plaque.

“Hopefully this gives us some confidence going forward,” Sharples said. “That’s what we hope. We hope to build momentum and keep it going.” 

Notes: West Plains defeated McDonald County in the Silver Bracket championship. Neosho went 6-2 on the day.

 

Dr. Jeffrey Knutzen CJ Classic

Carl Junction results
Carl Junction 22-25-25, Webb City 25-20-16 (Championship match)
Carl Junction 25-25, Aurora 10-14
Carl Junction 25-25, West Plains 19-21
Carl Junction 25-25, Joplin 18-19
Carl Junction 25-25, Carthage JV 15-10
Carl Junction def. Carl Junction JV (score unavailable)

Webb City results
Carl Junction 22-25-25, Webb City 25-20-16 (Championship match)
Webb City 23-25-25, Joplin 25-14-15
Webb City 25-23-25, Carthage 12-25-20
Webb City 25-25, Aurora 19-16
Webb City 25-25, Carl Junction JV 19-11
Webb City 25-25, Pittsburg 15-12

 

Carl Junction’s Salma Lewis hits a kill at the net against Webb City. Photo by Peter Edwards.
Carl Junction’s Logan Jones and Jillian Kennedy block at the net against Webb City’s Maddy Peeples. Photo by Peter Edwards.
The Carl Junction Bulldogs pose after winning the CJ Classic on Saturday. Photo by Peter Edwards.

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