By Chad Hayworth (for ozarkssportszone.com)
MONETT – Mt. Vernon swept the host Lady Cubs on Saturday, securing the Class 3, District 12 volleyball title, the program’s third-straight district crown.
“All year, our team has been relentless,” said Mt. Vernon Coach Bridgett Schmutz. “And today, we relentlessly attacked every job we had.”
Saturday’s district title matchup was a repeat of last year’s title game matchup between the Lady Cubs and Lady Mountaineers.
In game one, Mt. Vernon established a fairly consistent two- to four-point edge, until Monett tied the game at 16 all.
From there, the game was tied at 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22, before Mt. Vernon pulled away for a 25-23 win.
“We knew Monett would come out and give us everything they had,” Schmutz said. “They have a really talented, young group. I felt like we struggled a bit early with just some first contact.
“Peyton Brandt, their No. 2, is a phenomenal player, she can just jump out of the gym. They’ve done a really good job of build around her.”
Monett struggled to consistently handle the power of Mt. Vernon outside hitter Camryn Cornell, especially early in the match.
“We are a little predicable,” Schmutz said. “But we know she’s been battle-tested in that position and she is a great athlete, she gets to the ball and swings hard and swings fast.”
Monett Coach Courtney Bauer agreed that Mt. Vernon approached the match exactly as she expected.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
“They are first in the district for a reason, but we were ready,” she said. “They played the game we were prepared for.”
Even when Monett blockers got to Mt. Vernon’s spikes, the ball often went skittering off out of bounds.
“Getting a block at any level of volleyball is hard,” Bauer said. “Getting touches on those balls was a huge thing for us. The difference is, we have to figure out how to keep them in play.”
Schmutz credited the communication between Cornell, a four-year starter, and her daughter, junior setter/outside hitter Ziah Schmutz for keeping each other focused on the best plan of attack.
“They communicate really well,” she said. “They are constantly talking about what is open and what is available.”
In game two, Mt. Vernon took five of six points in one stretch, building a 19-15 lead. But a Monett timeout got the Lady Cubs back on track and they ran off four-straight to tie it at 19.
Mt. Vernon then called time out.
“I thought we’d gotten a little tight,” Schmutz said. “We just wanted to say, ‘hey, let’s go back to fundamentals and do what we need to do.”
The pep talk worked, as Mt. Vernon scored the last five points for a 25-20 win.
“This group does a great job of keeping things light-hearted and moving on to the next play,” Schmutz said. “We work hard not to get beat the same way twice, or make the same mistake twice.”
In game three, Mt. Vernon built an early 8-4 lead, which is expanded to 20-11. The teams traded points, but eventually Mt. Vernon prevailed 25-14.
Mt. Vernon improves to 23-7-2 on the season, while Monett ends the year at 21-7-1. Mt. Vernon will play Liberty-Mountain View on October 30 in the opening round of the Class 3 tournament.
