By Chad Hayworth (for OzarksSportsZone.com)
JOPLIN – New Heights Christian overcame a slow start in game one and a 11-point loss in game 3 take the Class 1, District 10 volleyball title 3-1 over Greenfield on Monday.
“Our team goal was to win the conference,” said New Heights Coach Christy Hipple. “And we put districts on there as well. But I wasn’t too sure at the beginning of the season. We lost a player and then we had injuries and stuff like that.
“But as we progressed through the season, I thought, ‘Oh, we can do this.’”
The win puts the Lady Cougars in the Class 1 state tournament, where they will face Billings on Thursday.
Greenfield, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, scored the first six points of game one, forcing Hipple to call an early timeout.
“I told them they know how to play volleyball,” she said. “We just had to let our nerves settle in and then chip away at each serve. And that’s what we did.”
The No. 2 seed Lady Cougars trailed 8-2, before a handful of runs — including six-straight at one point – gave them a 16-15 lead.
From there, they never trailed in game, winning 25-19.
Hipple said working from behind has been a staple in practice in the past few weeks.
In game two, New Heights asserted itself early, scoring the first five points and 12 of the first 15.
Trailing 19-8, Greenfield eliminated the big run from the Lady Cougars, but fell 25-15, and trailed two games to none.
With their backs against the wall, Greenfield Coach Melissa Hull settled her team between games.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
“I told them they just have to relax,” she said. “We needed to reset and play the game they way they know how to play.”
Tied at 11 in game three, Greenfield went on a six-point run of its own, taking a 17-11 lead. After a couple of New Heights points in a row, the Lady Wildcats scored three-straight and then the final five points of the match for a 25-14 win.
New Heights took the first five points of game four, before surrendering four straight to Greenfield. The teams battled back and forth in front of a large and boisterous crowd.
“I can’t say enough about our student section,” Hipple said. “It was definitely to our advantage.”
New Heights took a 18-13 lead, only to see Greenfield cut it to 18-16 with three straight points.
A four-point Lady Cougar run put them on the verge of clinching the district at 24-18, but Greenfield again wouldn’t go away, taking two-straight points before finally falling 25-20.
Lydia Hipple, the coach’s daughter, led the team with 20 kills, while Allie Stout added 10 and Caitlin Meppelink had 8. Libero Lilly Plassman ended the night with 38 digs.
“They all did their parts tonight,” coach Hipple said.
The Lady Wildcats advanced to Monday’s title match with straight-set wins over Everton and Lockwood, the tournament’s No. 1 seed.
Hull said she was proud of the way her team battled, even as they trailed most of the night.
“We played well,” she said. “To me, we went out on top.”
New Heights improves to 19-9-5 on the year, while Greenfield ends the season 19-11-6.
