By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Some pregame festivities may have been the secret ingredient in Logan-Rogersville volleyball winning its second straight district title.
A decorated locker room, a team breakfast prepared by a program alumna and handwritten letters exchanged amongst teammates gave the Lady Wildcats a dose of synergy in postseason crunch time.
“They had all this stuff where they just felt really connected,” said Logan-Rogersville coach Logan Beach. “And we hadn’t felt that in a couple of weeks. Even the Camdenton and Marshfield games where we had the cool reverse sweeps – they were great. But I still didn’t feel like we were as unified as we were today.”
The Lady Wildcats hoisted the district crown for the second year in a row, defeating Strafford 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 15-25, 25-17) in the Class 3 District 10 Tournament championship game at Logan-Rogersville High School.
Logan-Rogersville will play at Sullivan (18-9-4 overall) or St. Clair (15-13-1 overall) in the sectional round on Thursday, Oct. 30.
With a win, the Lady Wildcats (27-6-1 overall) would host a quarterfinal game two days later with a spot in the final four on the line. Logan-Rogersville finished state runner-up in Class 3 last year.
“The postseason excitement, that feeling, it’s back and we know we need to seize it,” said Logan-Rogersville setter Kamryn Marshall, who recorded 25 assists on Saturday.
The second set proved to be the turning point in the match. Logan-Rogersville overcame a 12-7 deficit and forged an 18-all tie. The Lady Wildcats closed out the set win after both teams were again level at 20-20.
“We’re usually really slow to come out,” Beach said. “Usually, the second set is like our ‘first set.’ Getting that idea that ‘we have to be fighting from behind’ off our back to start was great. When we fell behind in the second set, we relaxed, calmed down and followed our gameplan.”
Said Marshall: “We’re very good at coming back from a deficit. For us, we’re so competitive. It’s never over for us.”
Millie Bauer (16 kills) and Hailey Buckman (14 kills) led Logan-Rogersville’s attackers. Logan-Rogersville’s service unit also had a strong outing, led by three aces each from Buckman, Sidney Holland and Addison Hammond. All but one of Logan-Rogersville’s servers recorded at least one ace.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
Emma Holstein led the Logan-Rogersville backline with 21 digs, followed by Holland (16 digs) and Hammond (15 digs).
Strafford, which was seeking its first district title since 2022, couldn’t counter Logan-Rogersville’s offensive balance after extending the match to a fourth set.
“We knew we had to get them out of system. We had to get them out of serve-pass,” said Strafford coach Ashley Bough. “They have good attackers everywhere.
“In (set) 3, we got them out of system and I think that helped us. The rest of the game, (Rogersville) did a really good job of being in system. And they were super scrappy tonight. They got hands on balls that would normally go down.”
Saturday’s victory marks another championship for Logan-Rogersville athletics. Beach, who is only in his second year as head volleyball coach, had a rush of emotions during the postgame celebration as he held the district championship plaque.
“Being here, it’s a great school. Everybody competes for everything,” Beach said. “Looking around, you see all the different fall sport coaches that I’m friends with. Being here and supporting each other is awesome.
“I know Coach Bough and any Strafford volleyball team is going to be hard to beat. I’m trying to savor the moments. I don’t want to take it for granted. I’m trying to really hold on to that as much as I can.”
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE MATCH
The Lady Indians surpassed the 25-win mark for the fourth time in five seasons. They’ll graduate two seniors: setter/middle Reese Darnell and defensive specialist Payten Coulter.
“It’s all about response,” Bough said. “It sucks to lose, but you use your setbacks, you use your hurdles and you use your mountains to figure out how to respond and be even better – as a person, as a teammate and as a player. I appreciate these girls for buying into what system we have in place and believing in us.
“I’m super proud of this team. They gave it their all.”
