Weeks ago, their assistant coach mentioned the word “grit,” and the word not only became as affixed to their lexicon but also to their mindset.
So when seniors Lydia McCall and Savanna Vance rolled into Marshfield High School on Thursday determined to put an exclamation point on the volleyball team’s home-opener, there were no smiles. Work had to be done, with a win column sitting empty.
“Marshfield hasn’t necessarily been known for volleyball as much as other sports, so we want people to come watch us,” Vance said. “We want people to know who we are. We want Marshfield to be a bigger deal. We wanted to show that tonight. It didn’t come out across like that, even though we won.”
Despite the Blue Jays’ self-critique, Marshfield showed it could well pique the interest of many as it took an important first step in a 25-18, 25-16 victory against the Waynesville Tigers.
The importance was simple. Because it was an ugly win – their coach’s assessment – Thursday could prove valuable later in the season when Marshfield seeks a strong postseason run.
The Blue Jays overcame 10 serves that hit the net and committed a number of other unforced errors, and yet they never trailed after taking a 6-5 advantage in the opening set.
McCall finished with four kills, three blocks and two aces while Bethany Freeman also had four kills. Sophomore Alexis Moon finished with 13 assists and four digs.
This a week after Marshfield suffered a narrow, 27-25, 25-21 loss at Lebanon.
“We played great against Lebanon, so I really don’t think they showed what they are capable of,” said Marshfield coach Kailey Bridges, whose team expects to surge past last year’s 17-win total. “We missed 10 serves, and our strong area is serve-receive. We didn’t showcase that as much tonight, but we got the job done.”
In the back of their minds was a saying from assistant coach Layne Louallen, who in the preseason talked a lot about grit.
Marshfield found it throughout and, along the way, showed a nice, consistent flow throughout its nine-player varsity rotation. What bodes well is its height and aggressive at the net, as well as Vance, Freeman, McCall and Bailey Geren – the seniors –quickly refocusing the troops after a play goes haywire.
For instance, in the opening set, Waynesville pulled within 17-15 before a timeout allowed Marshfield a breather. From there, the Blue Jays went on the attack with strong kill attempts that put the Tigers on the defensive.
In the second set, Freeman tapped two hits over the net as Marshfield took an early 3-1 advantage. McCall soon had a kill and block, and Marshfield began to hit its stride.
The lead reached 13-8 after a Kaylah Cottengim block and Freeman ace, and Marshfield shook off a Waynesville timeout as McCall scored on back-to-back blocks. Soon, the Blue Jays had a 10-point advantage and were cruising.
“We do have a lot of height, and we definitely use it to our advantage,” McCall said. “We’re a pretty good blocking team this year, and it helps our defense a lot.”
She went on.
“We’ve all played together for three years together,” McCall said, “so we work pretty well together.”
To McCall and Vance, Thursday’s mistakes are correctable. Their coach echoed their sentiment.
“The girls, we always talk about getting our uglies out,” Bridges said. “There’s going to be that one game where nobody can put everything together. They know that and I know that. We’re going to hope that maybe this was it. We’re going to go nothing but north from here.”
It was another learning experience for Waynesville, which fell to 0-3 in a year when the Tigers’ roster is carrying only two seniors and has four sophomores in the starting rotation.
The team dropped its first two matches to Glendale and Jefferson City-Helias. Against Marshfield, Kelsey Arnold had six digs, while Ashlyn Wardin (3 kills, one ace), Korban Reiter (8 assists) and Gracie Hutchison (one block) factored in.
“We are definitely young,” Waynesville coach Sara Covey said. “To me, this was my first true picture of us. … The mental capacity is what we lack right now – the knowledge of the game. We talk about the need to be mentally tough in volleyball and what it looks like. Skill-wise, they’re OK. But understanding when they need to pull a swing or when to dump the ball, we’re not there quite yet.”
