By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
As senior Addison Hammond eloquently said: When the pressure’s on, the Logan-Rogersville volleyball team starts cooking.
The Lady Wildcats served up a portion of the Ozark Mountain Conference championship on Thursday night, rallying from a two-set deficit to defeat rival Marshfield 3-2 (23-25, 19-25, 25-17, 25-20, 15-11).
Two days earlier, Logan-Rogersville (25-6-1 overall, 5-1 OMC) came back from another 2-0 hole to defeat a 20-win Camdenton team at home.
“They call us the ‘Cardiac Cats’ for a reason,” Hammond said. “If our backs are against the wall, we come out fighting.”
Logan-Rogersville, which features a trio of players 5’11” or taller, used its size to muscle back into Thursday’s conference showdown. The Lady Wildcats trailed 12-8 in the fourth set, then scored 11 of the next 14 points to take control.
“I just know how physical we are and that we fight through and fight through,” said Logan-Rogersville coach Logan Beach. “One of the things that we do well is wear teams out. All we had to focus on was not wearing ourselves out in the process and maintaining that consistent mindset. That’s the thing I’m starting to see with them a lot. Those seniors who are really competitive, they are holding it together.”
Millie Bauer registered 28 kills and Hailey Buckman added 14 kills for Logan-Rogersville. They were an effective force at the net against an undersized but speedy and skilled Marshfield squad (25-9-2 overall, 4-2 OMC) that played its all-senior starting lineup for the duration of the match.
The thrilling comeback left Logan-Rogersville’s senior libero a bit hoarse in her postgame interview.
“All I do is scream out there, you know?” said Hammond, who finished with 18 digs. “I like to talk. I like to let my teammates know where to swing. Full fire.”
Logan-Rogersville setter Kamryn Marshall finished with 52 assists.
With the victory, Logan-Rogersville clinched a share of the OMC championship with West Plains (24-6-3 overall, 5-1 OMC). West Plains beat Carl Junction 3-0 at home Thursday night to claim its share of the conference crown.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
But Thursday’s match had more than just a conference championship on the line for Logan-Rogersville. It was also senior night, and the Lady Wildcats were seeking revenging for last season’s loss to their familiar opposition.
“This game meant a lot to us because it’s a big conference game and we felt like we didn’t play close to our best against (Marshfield) last year,” Beach said. “We had extra motivation there. (Marshfield) has a huge senior class like us, extra motivation there. These players have all played club with each other, so extra motivation there.
“So, this one had a little more fire to it, even though it didn’t always feel that way.”
Districts start next week. Both Marshfield and Logan-Rogersville are No. 1 seeds in their respective brackets.
Marshfield travels to Camdenton for the Class 4 District 5 Tournament. The Lady Jays would likely face Jefferson City or Camdenton if they can reach the finals. Marshfield will be seeking its first district volleyball championship in about 25 years.
Logan-Rogersville will host the Class 3 District 10 tournament. The field features a 27-win Strafford team, along with two more teams (Clever, Fair Grove) ranked in the top 25 of the Class 3 state rankings. The Lady Wildcats beat Strafford 3-2 in the regular season meeting this year (Sept. 29).
A year ago, Logan-Rogersville finished the regular season 16-15-2 overall before finding its form in the postseason and reaching the Class 3 state title game.
“We’re not the underdogs anymore,” Hammond said. “We’re the ones expected to win. We proved ourselves last year. A year ago, we lost to Marshfield and then we got it together.
“This year, I feel like we have that charisma and fire to keep pushing. We’re even more motivated to go back and do it again.”
