By: Jason Peake
With a spirited surge, Webb City came from behind in the first two sets before rolling in the third en route to a 3-0 victory over Joplin on Thursday night in a Central Ozark Conference volleyball matchup inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
The Cardinals defeated the Eagles 25-20, 25-12, 25-8.
"We weren't quite ready to go from the beginning tonight," Cardinals coach Rhonda Lawrence said. "And it's a hard place to play in here. It's a different setting than what we're used to. It just took some time to get our feet under us. Then we got going. We needed to play at a faster pace from the start. The nice thing about this team is they are getting better and better. It's a great win. Any win in the COC is a great win."
The Eagles were the first team to 15 and 20 in the first set, but the hosts were unable to finish strong.
"That first set showed what we're capable of," Eagles coach Staci Saunders said. "We're capable of playing like that all the time. But once Webb City got the momentum, we just couldn't stop it. It kind of snowballed on us. You have to give Webb City credit. They're a good team and they can attack from everywhere. You can't take any plays off against a team like Webb City. We just had too many letdowns."
Led by the play of senior outside hitter Bailey Owens, the Eagles came out fired up in the first set, and the hosts took leads of 4-0 and 8-4.
The Eagles held the lead for most of the first set, but the hosts weren't able to hold off the hard-charging Cardinals.
Down 20-18, the Cardinals grabbed the momentum and reeled off seven unanswered points to take the opening set.
Sophomore middle/outside hitter Jaeli Rutledge and junior outside hitter Mia Lenker had two kills apiece late in the first set before a Joplin serve-receive error and a kill from Webb City senior outside hitter Makayla Mayes gave the Cardinals the come-from-behind win.
"They realize getting down two or three or four points isn't a big deal," Lawrence said of her team. "We don't have to have a panic attack. It was nice to see that drive to come back and to have the confidence to be able to come from behind. That set the tone and that helped us out a lot."
The Eagles led 9-5 in the second set after a kill from senior outside hitter Raelin Calderon and a Webb City attack error, but once again, the Cardinals regrouped and the score was deadlocked at 10-10.
From there, the Cardinals pulled away with a match-changing 11-0 run, as kills from senior outside hitter Aubree Lassiter and Rutledge gave Webb City a comfortable 21-10 advantage.
Overall, Webb City closed the second set on a 15-2 burst.
The Cardinals never let go of the momentum at that point.
Webb City never trailed in the third set, as the visitors led 5-0 after an ace from Rutledge.
Joplin pulled within five before Webb City rattled off nine straight points for a 19-5 cushion. The Eagles didn't quit, but the Cardinals ended the match in three sets.
"The girls on both teams know each other pretty well," Lawrence noted. "Once we got into the groove a little bit, we started taking advantage of some situations."
Webb City improved to 9-1 overall and 1-0 in conference action.
The 6-foot-1 Rutledge led the Cardinals with 15 kills, while the 6-foot Lassiter added eight kills and 11 digs.
Lenker chipped in five kills and nine digs, while junior Kirra Long contributed seven digs, three aces and three kills.
Sophomore setter Savannah Crane handed out 27 assists, while senior libero Sophia Crane had a team-high 15 digs.
Joplin fell to 3-8 overall and 0-1 in the COC.
Owens led the Eagles with eight kills and five digs, while Calderon added six kills.
Junior setter Adalynn Noirfalise recorded 16 assists and two aces, while junior libero Phia Vogel had six digs.
"The first set was definitely a positive for us," Saunders said. "We still have things to work on. We have to get better at serve-receive. But this team has a lot of potential. I think we have a higher ceiling than what they are believing right now. I want them to reach their potential."
WHAT'S NEXT?
Webb City hosts Carl Junction on Tuesday night inside the Cardinal Dome.
Joplin is at Carthage on Tuesday night in another COC clash.