By: Jason Peake
The versatility of the Webb City Cardinals was on full display on Tuesday night inside the Cardinal Dome.
Solid in all aspects of the game, Webb City earned a convincing 3-0 victory over El Dorado Springs in a non-conference volleyball matchup.
In a match that took just under an hour to complete, the Cardinals defeated the Bulldogs 25-4, 25-8, 25-12.
"We played at our level tonight," Webb City coach Rhonda Lawrence said. "We stayed strong and consistent. We found some things we still need to work on. The more the girls play together, the camaraderie will get tighter. I think our team chemistry is getting better and better, so that makes me feel good. The mix is starting to get more consistent, and I think we're getting better every day we're in the gym."
Just three matches into the season, the Cardinals (2-1) have the look of a well-rounded squad.
Webb City features a solid 1-2 punch at the net in senior outside hitter Aubree Lassiter and sophomore outside hitter Jaeli Rutledge. The hard-hitting duo provided plenty of offense and blocking on Tuesday, combining for 19 kills.
"Keeping them opposite gives us more options, and when they're on the front row together it's fun to watch," Lawrence said. "They give us consistent front row power, along with Mia Lenker and Kirra Long, too."
While the Cardinals feature plenty of firepower at the net, the team also has a strong defense, with senior libero Sophia Crane playing a key role.
A returning all-state performer, Crane covers a lot of ground and digs up virtually everything in her vicinity for the Cardinals.
On Tuesday, Crane recorded a whopping 36 digs.
Lawrence noted Crane has been piling up digs for several seasons now, and she's nearing a milestone.
"Sophia is one dig away from 1,000 for her career," Lawrence said. "We were hoping she would get it tonight, but we'll have to celebrate on Saturday."
On Tuesday, the Cardinals also served extremely well, with several players contributing to the team's 11 aces.
"We served pretty consistently and aggressively tonight," Lawrence said. "I thought we looked more calm with our serving tonight."
Coming off a Final Four berth last fall, Webb City definitely has the goals set high this season.
"We want to make it back to the Final Four," Lawrence said. "We're super proud of what we did last year, but we didn't finish like we wanted to. This group got a taste of it, and they want to keep pushing to accomplish more. We have a good core back and our newer players were there to watch it and they were part of it too. I think that's helped this team gel together a little easier this year."
El Dorado Springs began the fall by winning the Stockton Tournament and entered the night with a record of 7-1-1.
But the Cardinals simply had too much firepower for the Bulldogs on Tuesday night.
Webb City reeled off 14 straight points in the opening set en route to a lopsided set victory.
An ace from junior Mia Lenker and back-to-back kills from Lassiter gave the Cardinals a comfortable 14-3 lead.
After the 14-0 run by the hosts, the Bulldogs were finally able to get a sideout, but late kills from sophomore Savannah Crane and Rutledge made it 23-4 before the visitors committed an attack error on set point.
The second set was close early before the Cardinals rattled off five straight points on kills from Lassiter, junior Kirra Long and Lenker and an ace from Sophia Crane.
Later in the set, Lassiter slammed a big kill from the right side and then served an ace for a comfy 21-7 advantage. Rutledge hammered home a kill on the final point of the second set for a 25-8 win.
A pair of aces from Sophia Crane gave the Cardinals an early 7-2 cushion in the third set.
El Dorado Springs stayed within striking distance but kills from Savannah Crane and a block at the net and a kill from Long gave Webb City a 17-6 lead.
Late in the set, Rutledge recorded a kill and served an ace as the Cardinals finished off a clean sweep.
Lassiter recorded 13 kills to lead the Cardinals, while Savannah Crane added eight kills, Rutledge had six and Long added five. The Cardinals hit .424 for the match.
Lenker and Sophia Crane served four aces apiece.
Savannah Crane handed out 11 assists from the setter position, while senior defensive specialist Jadyn Catterson contributed seven digs.
Webb City will compete at the Hillcrest Tournament this weekend.