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By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
One day, Springfield Catholic volleyball senior Kaitlyn Whittar will return to her high school gym and point to the south wall.
Under the state volleyball banner, the current Irish libero will be able to brag.
“It’ll be great to have our year (2020) up there,” Witthar said. “It’s something I’ll definitely come back to later on and show my kids. I’ll tell them, ‘(My team) did that.’”
For now, the Fightin’ Irish have bigger business ahead: Preparing for the program’s first final four in 30 years.
Catholic swept regular season nemesis Mt. Vernon 3-0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-23) on Saturday in a Class 3 state volleyball quarterfinal matchup in Springfield.
Catholic sophomore Grace O’Reilly (16) and junior Hallie Cook (15) combined for 31 kills.
The Irish are headed to the state final four for the first time since going back-to-back in 1989 and 1990.
“Every coach probably dreams about this. This season has been so crazy with the COVID stuff and having kids out,” said Catholic coach Dan Evans. “It hasn’t sunk in yet that we’re going to Cape Girardeau. In a couple of days, it might.”
The Irish play Park Hills Central (26-5-3 overall) at 9 a.m. on November 5 at the Show-Me Center in Cape Girardeau in the Class 3 semifinals.
“I’m feeling so much joy and excitement,” Witthar said. “Everyone doubted us, so to show everyone that we could actually do it means a lot.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
The winner advances to the Class 3 state title game at 9 a.m. on November 6, facing either Maryville (19-2 overall) or Hermann (24-6-3 overall).
“I’ll probably be a little scared and nervous at first, but we’re all so excited to play next weekend,” said Catholic senior Rylie Jeffers, who had 12 assists against Mt. Vernon.
To continue its record-breaking season (most single-season wins and first district title in 20 years) Catholic had to beat a team it struggled with in the regular season.
The only blemishes on Catholic’s 33-2-1 overall record came against Mt. Vernon.
The teams split a pair of meetings at the Strafford Tournament, with Mt. Vernon prevailing in the championship game. In the official Big 8 meeting on October 8 in Mt. Vernon, the Mountaineers edged Catholic in five sets.
“If we played (Mt. Vernon) 15 times, someone would probably win eight and somebody would win seven,” Evans said. “Every set we’ve played against (Mt. Vernon) has gone down to the end and we’ve come back on each other.”
Unlike the previous three meetings, Catholic had its full lineup available on Saturday.
The Irish trailed 23-21 in the second set, but kills from Ashlyn Witthar and Hallie Cook ignited a comeback.
Catholic again fell behind 17-14 in the third set, but rallied to tie it at 22 on a Jeffers kill. The Irish got a block to make it 24-23 and set up match point.
“It was definitely tough mentally coming in, knowing (Mt. Vernon) had played us so tough,” said Kaitlyn Witthar, who had a team-high 16 digs. “But I think we’re a really strong team mentally. We definitely pulled it together at the end.”
Senior Emme Ast led Catholic with 16 assists.
Catholic controlled the game at the net. Ashlyn Witthar (three), Cherie Sabini (three) and O’Reilly (two) combined for eight blocks.
Catholic will look to end a magical 2020 season with a state championship next weekend.
“It means the whole world to me,” Jeffers said. “The past few years, we haven’t done too well in the postseason. Now, as a senior, we’re playing together and as a family.”
