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By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
How dominant has Rogersville been in district competition lately?
The Wildcats had swept their way to a district championships the past six seasons.
That changed Tuesday night.
When Marshfield forced a decisive third set in the Class 3, District 11 tournament finals, the Wildcats were in unfamiliar territory.
“We got a little snippy with each other and we just talked about staying together as a team and playing it one point a time,” said Rogersville coach Tammy Miller. “We needed to relax.”
Rogersville recovered and, aided by a string of Marshfield service errors in the final set, held on to win its seven straight district championship (25-14, 22-25, 25-19).
“(The feeling) never gets old,” said Rogersville junior Birdie Hendrickson, who had 15 kills. “It’s great to win as a team and play as a team. That was a really good game against a really good team. I love playing with my team and winning. We’re all about heart and playing together.”
Sophomore Sam Thompson had 35 assists for Rogersville. Claire Taylor led the Wildcats with 17 digs.
No team had taken a set against Rogersville in district competition since Mountain Grove in 2011. Locally, the Wildcats’ seven straight district champions are second to only Ozark, who has won nine straight.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
“This is the best we’ve competed with Rogersville in the last several years,” said first-year Marshfield coach Jarod Olson. “I’m just proud of our girls and proud of the way we played.”
Led by the play of middle hitter Rileigh Mings, Marshfield jumped out to a 15-10 lead in the second set. The Blue Jays led 22-19 before Rogersville scored three straight to make it 22-all.
A resilient Marshfield squad scored the final three points to force a decisive third set.
“First set, we had a lot of momentum,” Hendrickson said. “Second set, I think we had the wrong attitude thinking we could take it easily like we did the first set. But that wasn’t the case at all. We deserved to lose the second set; Marshfield played really hard.”
In the third set, Addison Crider’s kill brought Marshfield within 15-14.
Later, Hendrickson’s ace – she had four in the match – put Rogersville in front, 20-16. Marshfield also struggled with its services down the stretch.
“We gave them a good run,” Olson said. “We just had some freak errors in that third set. We don’t typically miss serves like that, but we did in that third set for some crazy reason.”
Rogersville’s sectional destination will be determined tomorrow by whoever wins the Class 3 District 9 tournament, which features nationally ranked Helias Catholic and two-loss Blair Oaks.
Marshfield ends its 26-6-3 overall and graduates a four-player senior class in Leiken Barton, Alexis Moon, Maddie Gardner and Emily Whitehurst.
“We have a deep rotation,” Olson said. “It’s been a process all year. I think these girls have bought in and their all so unselfish.”
