By Nolan Epstein (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
With her team trailing by five points late in the deciding set and staring elimination square in the face, Ozark head coach Adeana Brewer called her most important timeout of the entire season.
What followed was a true exhibit in grit, heart and determination as the Lady Tigers (27-9) rallied out of the much-needed timeout to stun Blue Springs South (31-4-1) by a final of 25-21 in the third and final set on Saturday – propelling Ozark to the Class 4 state semifinal round.
Ozark managed to score ten of the set’s final eleven points after it had trailed the Lady Jaguars, 20-15, and essentially seemed dead in the water on its home floor.
“It’s really hard to maintain that mental toughness when a team is up 20-15 and only needs to score five points, and you need to score five to just tie,” Brewer said after the thrilling finish. “They did, though. They fought and that’s what volleyball is about.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
With the quarterfinal win (25-17, 21-25, 25-21), Ozark reaches the Final Four for the eighth consecutive time and gives its seniors another shot and claiming a state title – something it hasn’t done since 2009.
“We all knew that we had to come back, we were trying to play for the seniors,” junior outside hitter Sidney Branson said. “We try not to be selfish and we play for others.”
After earning a split in the first two sets, the Lady Tigers got on the board first in the rubber set before Blue Springs South, led by star senior Genna Berg, quickly tugged momentum in its favor and grabbed as much as a six-point advantage in the early going.
Ozark managed to trim the lead to 12-10, but the Lady Jaguars continued to play with an elevated intensity to go up 20-15 – forcing Brewer to gather her squad and offer some clutch words of wisdom.
“It was pretty much a miracle speech,” a chuckling Brewer said of her words during the break. “It was really just a true, fight-with-everything-you-have, motivational timeout.”
It perhaps wasn’t to the level of a Knute Rockne moment, but Brewer’s words resonated in a major way with her club as the Lady Tigers, spurred by timely kills, two key blocks on defense and a loud ace for the finishing touch, stormed back to steal one of the most memorable wins of the year.
“I knew we could push through because we’re a great team together and we work well together,” added Branson. “We had a few problems along the way, but we fixed it in the end.”
Branson, along with junior teammate and fellow outside hitter Macey Putt, led the way in kills for the Lady Tigers. Branson topped the team with twelve, while Putt trailed right behind with eleven.
“We’ve never had both of our outside hitters getting double-digit kills,” the third-year head coach said. “If we can get our outside [hitters] and middle [hitters] getting double-digit kills, that’s a really good thing.”
The Lady Tigers advance to the Class 4 Final Four Friday in Cape Girardeau. They’ll be looking to get one step closer to collecting their second state title in eight seasons and continue a terrific tradition rippling through the program.
“I think [the girls] just have to take pride for wearing “Ozark” on their jersey,” Brewer added. “If people see them be prideful in that, it’s physically evident. You can see someone be proud to wear [an Ozark jersey] and I want the girls to know that’s what they’re teaching the younger kids.”
