By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Trailing Carthage 17-9 in the second set of Thursday’s Class 4 – District 12 championship game, Carl Junction Coach Cheryl Sharples had a simple message for her team, which seemingly had eight points remaining in their season.
Compete.
“I just told them that we couldn’t take this home with us tonight,” said Sharples. “We needed to put it on the line and leave everything on the court. We needed to fight until the end no matter and that’s what they did.”
The Lady Bulldogs rallied to score 16 of the next 22 points, stealing the set 25-23. Carl Junction would them complete the dramatic comeback and upset with a 27-25 third-set victory, giving CJ a 2-1 win and back-to-back Class 4 – District 12 championships.
PHOTOS: CARL JUNCTION VS. CARTHAGE — CLICK HERE
Maybe the most impressive part is the fact that Carl Junction was winless in its previous six games entering district play and had dropped two of three matches against Carthage this season.
The Lady Bulldogs unbroken will and toughness is a testament to their coaching staff and collective perseverance.
“We were young all year,” said Sharples. “We had some good, athletic kids in different positions and we had to let them develop and because of that we had some losses in there. Our schedule was tough, but they just came in and kept working every day. Our prep for districts was amazing. Our kids were focused and just really got in the gym and were ready to play.”
Following the dramatic second-set comeback, the third and final set was nothing short of movie-esqe with the two teams exchanging points for nearly the duration of the set.
Carl Junction took a 21-19 lead, only to see Carthage tie it up at 24 following a monster kill by junior standout Alexa Boyle.
Boyle had a match-high 21 kills and 11 kills. It was her sixth game of the season with at least 15 kills.
“She’s a competitor and she has a lot of volleyball talent,” said Carthage coach Tony Allmoslecher. “She was our go-to when we needed a kill and she wore the pressure well; she rose to the occasion. I’m so glad she’s coming back for another year.”
But, while the duo of senior Grace Southern and sophomore Salma Lewis combined for 21 kills and 19 digs, it was also the play of freshman Jessa Hylton and her six kills that brought an added dimension as the match continued on.
“They’ve been that way for us all year,” said Sharples. “They’ve taken a lot of swings for us. But we’ve also got some kids that didn’t take a ton of volume swings, but took some crucial swings for us tonight. Jessa is such a gamer, she loves to play, and she brought a lot of energy tonight and it was a huge key that she was able to put that energy into play tonight.”
For Carthage, a tough ending can’t erase yet another great season.
The Lady Tigers put together their ninth consecutive 20-win season, with this being the fourth season of at least 25 or more wins. Carthage won its first 10 games of the year and took home both the Pittsburg (Kan.) and Branson Tournament titles.
They also lose a 10-member senior class that totaled nearly 50 wins over the last two seasons.
“This is a great group of girls,” said Allmoslecher. “It’s a privilege to be able to coach volleyball, but it’s really a privilege to coach these girls. I’m going to miss them all. Yeah, it didn’t turn out the way we were hoping but their record over the last two years was amazing and they’ve won a lot of games.”
For Carl Junction, the season continues this Saturday in Willard where the Lady Bulldogs will matchup with Blue Springs South in the Sectional round. The other Sectional meeting is a tilt between COC powers Ozark and Willard.
In what is undoubtedly the deepest pod in Class 4, the other three teams are a combined 87-14-1.
Carl Junction, advancing to its fourth Sectional in the last six seasons, will be playing with house money.
“We’re happy to be there and be a part of it,” said Sharples. “Our kids worked hard all year and I’m just happy to see it pay off for them and get to play again on Saturday.”
Carl Junction and Blue Springs South are set for a 2:30 p.m. start time on Saturday.
