After dropping the first set, Carthage rallied back to win the second, third and fourth games to earn a 3-1 victory over Joplin in Central Ozark Conference action on Tuesday inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
“I think that we played hard, but we obviously did not play our best,” Carthage coach Braydn Webb said. “I think all of my girls would say that. Joplin had a great match, but it was great to see us battle adversity and come back stronger each set.
“It is a great win. We lost to Joplin in districts last year, so I think our girls were hungry to beat them. We are going to see Joplin again in districts this year, so this prepares us a little more for districts, which is our main goal.”
The Eagles (8-5-3, 2-1 COC) opened the contest with the momentum, winning the first set 25-18. The Tigers (12-11-1, 1-2 COC) rebounded to take the second set 25-22 before Carthage carried the momentum into another 25-22 win in the third game. Joplin jumped out to a big lead in the fourth and final set, but as they had from the onset, Carthage rallied back to complete the win 25-20.
“I am really proud of my kids,” Joplin coach Desiree Felker said. “We fought really hard but just didn’t come out on top tonight. We did a lot of things well, we just have to learn to play better when the game is on the line. Statistically, this might be one of the best games we played all season. It just sucks we were on the losing end of it. … I think this is a building block to get us where we need to be.”
Joplin gained a foothold in the opening set after a trio of three-point service runs from Allie Lawrence, Abby Hembree and Abby Edwards staked the Eagles to a 13-5 lead. Two attacking errors on the Tigers and a kill from Emma Floyd extended the lead to 17-10. Joplin held that cushion to the end of the set.
“She was huge for us,” Felker said of Floyd’s play. “We switched the lineup up to open things up a little more for her. She is super aggressive and super competitive. I knew if we could get her the ball, she was going to make some things happen. She was huge for us tonight.”
Carthage gained a cushion in the second set off a four-point run from Grace Pickering, which ended with an ace, for a 9-6 lead. Consecutive kills from Mia Carmillo later in the set put the Tigers on top 17-12. With Carthage leading 22-17, a four-point run by Joplin, highlighted by a block from Bailey Owens, a kill from Angelina Schramm and an ace by Paisley Parker trimmed the lead to 22-21. A kill from Sydnee Dudolski and an ace from Riann Schwartz moved the Tigers in front three and led them to the eventual win in the second game.
“I think the biggest difference from set one to sets two, three and four was that Carthage was able to put a little more pressure on us behind the service line,” Felker said. “They were able to go on a couple of runs and that was the biggest difference. We just have to side out a little quicker and prevent teams from going on those long runs.”
The third set saw the score at 13-12 in favor of Joplin extended to 17-12 by the Eagles after a three-point run from Parker that included a kill from Schramm. Carthage countered with a three-point run from Pickering that included a block by Sophie Shannon and a kill from Abby Holderbaum to cut the deficit to 17-15. Up 22-20, Carthage forced a sideout with a kill from Shannon before closing the game out with the next four points on Olivia Bourgault’s service that included two kills from Carmillo, another kill from Shannon and an ace by Bourgault to end it.
“It all comes down to the confidence that the girls have in themselves,” Webb said about the difference in play from the first set to the next three. “In that first set, we were struggling with being mentally tough. The last few sets, our serve-receive picked up and our energy picked up, and I think that all stems from them having confidence in themselves. We have worked really hard on that.”
Joplin jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the fourth set on the back of a kill from Floyd and an ace by Parker and eventually pushed the margin to 16-8 midway through.
Carthage rallied with a three-point run from Raven Probert that included an ace to trim the deficit to 16-12. After a pair of sideouts on errors, the Tigers scored the next seven points on Ava Bourgault’s serve to come all the way back and take a 20-17 lead. Dudolski had three kills during the stretch, with Holderbaum adding a block.
“She was amazing,” Webb said of Dudolski’s finish to the win. “In the first couple of sets, she struggled. She knew that and owned up to it. … She stepped up and mentally was there for us. She can put a ball away wherever it’s at, which is why she is the player she is. She is so versatile.”
Floyd earned a kill for Joplin to force a sideout, but it wouldn’t be enough as Carthage went on to win the set on a kill from Dudolski and a passing error on Joplin.
STATS
Dudolski led Carthage with 12 kills and 15 digs, while Pickering had eight kills, four aces and three digs. Bourgault had 18 digs and an ace, while Probert had 14s and 10 assists.
Schramm finished with 10 kills, four aces, three digs and a block for Joplin. Floyd had nine kills, three blocks and two block assists. Parker had 38 digs, two aces and two assists. Kaya Cooper had 19 assists and six digs.
UP NEXT
Carthage hosts Republic on Thursday.
Joplin hosts Nixa on Thursday.
