By Josh Hall
Brynn Bonewell regularly attended volleyball games at Ozark High School when she was younger.
She couldn’t help but notice the talent of the Lady Tigers, and she also couldn’t help but notice the number of banners that hung inside the gymnasium that recognized the accomplishments of the Ozark volleyball program over the decades.
“I always used that to encourage me to put in the work,” Bonewell, now a junior at Ozark, said during a mid-July practice. “I knew that’s what I wanted from a young age.”
Senior outside hitter and Arkansas State commit Macey Putt had similar thoughts when she walked inside the gym for team camps during elementary and junior high school.
“I remember wanting to be as big as those girls and be as good as them,” she said.
There’s no doubt, the Ozark volleyball program has had a tradition of winning. The Lady Tigers have been to eight-straight Final Fours and won a state title in 2009.
“They’ve watched these high school teams go and they want to be a part of that tradition,” fifth-year coach Adeana Brewer said. “I think they grow hungry for that experience at a very early age. I think they see that process and they want to dip their toes in that success. They want to keep that going.”
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This season will be no different after Ozark took third in Class 4 last year after compiling 27-10 record.
While the Lady Tigers respect the success the program has had over the years, they want to go even further this season.
“We’re really proud of all the accomplishments we’ve had, but keep getting third place, third place, third place – we all want to try to do more and see how far we can go,” Bonewell said. “Obviously, a state championship is something we’d all love and are excited to work towards.”
The Lady Tigers have spoken in groups about what they hope to accomplish this year. Sure, they would like to win a state title, but their goals go deeper than that.
Ozark hopes it’s the overall process will allow the Lady Tigers to achieve their ultimate goal.
“We definitely have the talent,” Putt said. “We just need to put it all together as a team, which I think we’ll do. It’s just wanting to be better – bettering ourselves, bettering the team and wanting to keep doing what we’ve done in the past.”
With its past success, Ozark knows teams will be gunning for them once again this season.
The Lady Tigers are okay with that.
“It is a target on their back, but they feel that pressure of wanting to continue that tradition, but they also take pride in that,” Brewer said. “They want a taste of that success. They know what that looks like, because those footsteps have been laid out in front of them. They’re hungry for that success too. Hopefully we can put it all together and put pieces together at the right time and be successful.”
The target on their back might even fuel the fire for the Lady Tigers.
“I’m definitely expecting us to make it back to state. It won’t be easy, but we have a history of winning and I think we can use that,” Bonewell said. “It also puts pressure on us to keep the tradition alive. People have high really expectations for us, but I don’t think we’d be where we’re at without those expectations. I think we can use that to fuel us to get us back there.”
Putt, Bonewell, Kennedee Anderson (junior setter) and Sidney Branson (senior outside) all played for Ozark’s Final Four team a year ago.
The Lady Tigers also have several newcomers that are expected to make an immediate impact this season.
Juniors Julia McConn and Holly Luginbill have already verbally committed to play at Missouri State. McConn will patrol the middle while Luginbill takes over at libero. Katie Vorhies (junior right side) and Kinadie Wilcox (senior right side) will also be in the rotation this season.
“When we stack up against other teams, we’re pretty physical, big and we have a lot of attackers,” Brewer said. “We have a lot of attacking options. Hopefully when other teams are trying to scout against us, we’re running different offensive schemes and routes and it makes it difficult to do that.”
The Lady Tigers may have set their sets high again this season, but they don’t plan on taking any team for granted.
“We obviously know that volleyball in southwest Missouri is growing,” Brewer said. “It’s very competitive and we know we have some quality competition in the area. We don’t take anyone lightly, but our goal is to always make it back to the Final Four and continue the tradition and represent our area of the state in the best way we can.”
