By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Death… Taxes…Ozark Volleyball.
The Lady Tigers are heading to Cape Girardeau for the ninth consecutive year after sweeping Central Ozark Conference rival Willard in Saturday’s Class 4 Quarterfinal at Carl Junction High School.
“It’s so rewarding to see this team’s growth and progression over the last three months,” said Ozark head coach Adeana Brewer. “We’ve had those teams that were just dominant because they were so athletic. This team is talented, but to see them grow and develop and really unify as a team has made this season has been really special, especially with so much outside doubt.”
Ozark was nothing short of dominant on Saturday.
After handling Jefferson City in Sectionals, Willard went toe-to-toe in the first set with Ozark.
Leading by just two, 10-8, Ozark mounted an 11-1 run that survived two Willard timeouts. Ozark went on to win the set 25-16, with Willard struggling to recover for the rest of the match.
The theme throughout the day was Ozark’s ability to quickly transition from defense to offense and score points.
Ozark didn’t allow more than 18 points in any of its four sets on Saturday.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
A major part of that was a career-high 22 digs by junior Brynn Bonewell.
“Our defensive effort was outstanding tonight,” said Brewer. “When we had Brynn, Holly and Haidan in the back row we were able to score points and it’s because they kept the ball off the floor. Our block was solid and discipline which allowed our floor defense to set up and make good reads; that allowed them to be successful.
“We had a really good game plan coming into today. We were able to dig in system and run middles off of digs which isn’t necessarily always the case.”
Leading the big block was 6-foot-2 junior Julia McCown, who finished with a game-high five to go along with 12 kills. Classmate Kennedee Anderson handed out 27 assists.
McCown has now had double digit kills in three of her last five games, all against elite teams.
Ozark will head to Cape Girardeau next weekend and try to do what hasn’t been done since 2009; win a state championship.
Awaiting them will be St. Dominic, St. Teresa’s Academy and St. Joseph’s Academy. Ozark split a pair of meetings with St. Teresa’s and lost to St. Joseph’s.
Since that loss to St. Joe’s on Sep. 29, Ozark is 12-1-1.
“There’s pride and tradition in putting on an Ozark uniform and we talk a lot about that,” said Brewer. “I think they want to play for the players that played before them and make them proud. We’re playing our best volleyball at the right time and our entire team has bought in and we’re excited about what we’re doing. We’re excited about having another opportunity.”
Class 4 Final Four play will begin on the morning of Oct. 27.
