Strafford, MO (Ozarks Sports Zone) -- The Ash Grove Lady Pirates were well on their way to winning their third Strafford Volleyfest championship in the past four years…
The freshman setter came in and sparked the Strafford Lady Indians from a 17-11 third set deficit, shocking Ash Grove and giving Strafford coach Adeana Brewer her first Volleyfest championship Saturday evening at Strafford.
“The girls set this as a goal at the beginning of the season. In my four years here we haven’t won our tournament so it was really important for us to win it on our floor in front of our fans,” said Brewer.
The Lady Indians jumped out to a 5-1 lead early in the first set. Although Ash Grove would rally, Strafford would go on to take the set 25-20.
The Lady Pirates responded in the second set with a 5-1 burst of their own, however Strafford wouldn’t surrender the set without a fight.
The Lady Indians closed the gap to just two points at 24-22 when Ash Grove junior Jamie Mauss slammed the door shut on the Strafford rally with a ferocious kill, guaranteeing a third and decisive set.
The third set would again see Ash Grove jump out to an early lead at 5-2. They would eventually extend that lead to 17-11 before a Strafford time-out.
Led by the insertion of Eden, Strafford won 11 of the next 14 points to take a 22-20 lead before Ash Grove would ask for a time-out of their own.
But the damage had already been done. The remainder of the set would go back and forth until an errant Ash Grove hit landed out of bounds, ending the match and giving the tournament championship to Strafford.
“This was a huge win for our team. Ash Grove is a great team, extremely well coached, and also a conference rival. For us to beat them tonight was big for our team. But, we will see them again soon,” said Brewer with a smile.
Really soon.
The two teams are set to collide in Ash Grove Tuesday, it will be both team’s Mid-Lakes Conference opener.
Catholic tops Osceola for 2-0 for third
After three pool play matches and a tough semifinal loss to Ash Grove, many teams would have considered “mailing it in” for the third place game.
Springfield Catholic came out strong, defeating Osceola in 25-21, 25-15 to claim third place Saturday in the Strafford Volleyfest.
“It was a good win for our team. It is always nice to end a tournament with a win,” said Springfield Catholic coach Marci Johnson.
The victory came with some first set suspense.
After holding a 20-13 lead, a few Catholic hitting errors led to an Osceola rally to pull within 21-18 before Erin Roebuck and the Irish thwarted the attack.
The second set was all Catholic from beginning to end, something that pleased Johnson.
“We had too many errors in the first set, but I was happy to see them finish the set out. The second set was much better, we cut down on our errors,” said Johnson.
Fewer errors and more Roebuck is always a recipe for success.
“Her leadership improving on and off the court has been key to our team and will continue to be key moving forward. She is such an incredible competitor,” said Johnson of Roebuck.
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