By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Cheryl Sharples is entering her fifth season at Carl Junction. The Lady Bulldogs are hungry coming off a 24-7 campaign that saw them lose to eventual state champion Willard in a five-set thriller.
CJ now reloads with a ton of experience and a group eager to get to the Final Four, led by All-State selections Jessa Hylton and Logan Jones.
Hylton, a senior outside, totaled 312 kills and 48 aces. She’s a four-year starter that has won two district championships in three years.
“Jessa is coming off a good junior season,” said Sharples. “With that success and experience we can look to her in big moments. She will move into the OH1 spot and we will look to her to take a lot of swings.”
Those swings will come off of passes from junior Jones – aka Lolo – who is one of the nation’s top setters. She has committed to the University of Arkansas.
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The Under Armor All-American handed out a school-record 914 assists last year, including a single-game school record 53 in the playoffs against Willard. Her 1,730 career assists has her on track for more than 3,000 career assists, which would make her the third player in state history to eclipse that number.
“She knows the game so well and makes good decisions to set us up to be successful,” said Sharples. “She is a great leader and takes control of the court. She continues to get better and stronger; she will run our 5-1 offense.”
Senior Olivia Vediz returns after leading Carl Junction with 333 digs last year. She was an All-District 11 selection.
Juniors Destiny Buerge and Chloe Taylor will both see increased roles offensively at outside hitter, as well as sophomore Aubriegh Fowler. Senior Maggie Brown and Sophomore Kylie Scott will look to be a force on both sides of the net. Both saw meaningful sets at middle in 2020.
It’s no secret that Carl Junction is preparing for a deep playoff run and that is a realistic expectation. Last year’s season-ending loss to Willard is still fresh in their minds.
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“That loss still hurts a bit,” said Sharples. “It is definitely driving this team. We want to achieve even more this season. We need to play clean volleyball, move on quickly after an error and win the serve and pass game to be at our best.”
Carl Junction will be at Kickapoo’s jamboree with Ozark and Nixa on Aug. 24. The Lady Bulldogs will open the season on Aug. 31 at Kickapoo.
