By Angie Brushwood
Ash Grove, Mo. – The Ash Grove Lady Pirates celebrated senior night with a two-set win over the Pleasant Hope Lady Pirates, 25-14 and 25-16.
Pleasant Hope hopes to turn the tables when it faces Ash Grove again on Monday in the Class 2 District 12 quarterfinals, hosted by Strafford. Coach Crystal Turner is pushing for an underdog win.
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“I told my girls that we can definitely play with this team,” said Turner. “We played tonight, and if we can get our heads in the game a little better, we have a chance to be a spoiler at districts. I just think it’s a confidence issue with my girls right now. They’re not used to winning yet, and right now we have to get over that hump and actually believe.”
Ash Grove widened their lead to 23-13 in the first set with a 7-1 run, including 2 kills by Catie Martin. Martin led with 4 kills on the night.
A Pleasant Hope error and final kill by Stefani Duncan gave Ash Grove the first set, 25-14.
Pleasant Hope led early in the 2nd set, but never gained the momentum needed to stifle the Ash Grove offense. With the scored tied 9-all, Ash Grove went on an 8-2 run, helped by 2 aces from Catie Martin.
“We were noticing that Pleasant Hope wasn’t closing their block,” said Ash Grove head coach Stephanie Curbow. “So we were focusing on swinging through, getting through that block, and putting it down. Catie did a good job doing that. We were finding the holes and putting it down.”
Trailing 17-11, Pleasant Hope scored two points, 17-13. But Ash Grove went on a tear and did not look back.
A big hit by Pleasant Hope’s Kimberly Zahner looked like a kill until Ash Grove’s Canyon Gouty stopped it with a dig. Stefani Duncan followed through at the net for the point, 20-13.
Pleasant Hope put three more points on the board, but Ash Grove sealed the match with a 25-16 second set win.
Pleasant Hope (4-10) meets Miller on Thursday, but Ash Grove’s focus is now solely on districts. The Lady Pirates’ coach Stephanie Curbow looks forward to topping off Ash Grove’s 11-10-1 season with a solid performance against some tough opponents.
“From the get-go tonight, I said they’re not going to lay down on us,” said Curbow. “We’ve got to play our game. We’re looking forward to the future—to districts. We do see Pleasant Hope again on Monday. But hopefully we will also see the next team, which we’re thinking is Fair Grove. We’re very Fair Grove minded right now. We wanted this to be a good game to try some things, get prepared, get in the groove, get ready for districts. This was kind of a practice game to get ready for that.”
This final home game marked seniors’ night for the Ash Grove Lady Pirates. Sydnee Cashio (sr.) expressed her feelings about celebrating the seniors with a win.
“I think it’s really special to finish where we’ve always played and to play for our families,” said Cashio.
1 2
Ash Grove 25 25 — 2
Pleasant Hope 14 16 — 0
Ash Grove:
Sydnee Cashio 3 kills
Stefani Duncan 4 aces, 3 kills
Catie Martin 2 aces, 4 kills
Jabet Pennington 4 kills
Tori Tummons 3 kills
Pleasant Hope: Kimberly Zahner 8 kills
