WEBB CITY, Mo. — Senior Night definitely went well for the Webb City Cardinals.
Webb City not only recognized its two seniors, but also halted a four-match skid with a convincing victory.
Webb City recorded a quick 3-0 non-conference prep volleyball win over Seneca on Tuesday night inside the Cardinal Dome.
In a matchup that took just about an hour to complete, the Cardinals defeated the Indians 25-16, 25-12, 25-9.
To Webb City coach Rhonda Lawrence, Tuesday’s quick and efficient win was a welcome sight following Monday’s road loss at Bentonville.
“Tonight, it was perfect timing for Senior Night,” Lawrence said. “I like to do the Senior Night a little bit earlier now. That way they’re not under so much pressure emotionally for that last home game. And getting off that losing skid was nice to see. Last night, Bentonville was a very salty team, but we were able to play with them and we’ll learn from that. That’s the level we need to see. But we didn’t play that well last weekend, so it was good to see us play at the level we know we can play at tonight. We played at a high level.”
Webb City’s lone seniors are Makenzie Storm and Kearston Galardo.
“Kenzie and Kearston have been through the thick of it,” Coach Lawrence said. “They were with us when we won districts two years ago and they were with us last year when we lost districts. They both love volleyball. They’ve both played since third grade. They’ve invested a lot into our program. It’s been a lot of fun seeing them develop.”
An outside hitter, Galardo recorded 15 kills on the night. A middle blocker, Storm had six kills, five digs and three blocks.
Also for the Cardinals, Brenda Lawrence had seven kills and four aces, while Aubree Lassiter added five kills. Kate Brownfield contributed six digs and five aces, while Jenna Noel chipped in four digs.
Junior setter Kyah Sanborn handed out 32 assists. Sophomore libero Sophia Crane recorded a team-high 14 digs.
Seneca’s setter duo of Rylee Darnell and Brylee Sage combined to hand out 15 assists.
Tatum White had seven kills, while Jera Jameson contributed four kills. Braxton Raulston had 11 digs, while Parker Long added 10 digs.
A kill from Storm gave Webb City a comfortable 11-2 lead in the first set. Moments later, Brownfield’s ace made it 14-4.
Seneca pulled within eight, but kills from Galardo finished off the opening set.
In the second set, Webb City went up 20-10 after a kill and an ace from Lawrence and a Galardo kill.
Seneca scored the first three points of the third set, but Webb City soon gained the momentum for good. The Cardinals led 17-7 en route to the match-ending win.
The Indians are at College Heights on Thursday.
Webb City hosts a triangular on Saturday with St. Mary’s Colgan (1:30) and El Dorado Springs (4:30).
