By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
State vibes.
Fueled by an iron will and soaring confidence, the Strafford Lady Indians are headed back to the state volleyball championships in Cape Girardeau.
Strafford prevailed 3-2 over Fair Grove (22-25, 25-21, 25-27, 25-22, 15-12) on Saturday in an epic Class 2 quarterfinal showdown.
The victory sends Strafford to state for the second straight season and fourth time overall since 2015.
“I’m so proud of these kids,” said Strafford coach Ashley Bough. “We’ve worked so hard for this. We’ve overcome a lot – so much adversity – and we’ve just grown so much as a team. These kids have turned the corner over the last three weeks. They’ve taken ownership of what we’re trying to do. The credit goes all to them.”
The Lady Indians relished being an underdog on Saturday.
Fair Grove (30-2-4 overall) was unbeaten in its last 30 matches and seeking its first trip to state since 2013. The Lady Eagles were three points away (22-20) in the fourth set from punching their ticket.
“Not everyone thought we were going to win walking into this gym,” said Strafford senior Sophia Frerking, who had a team-high 15 kills. “But my team knew we were going to win. We did not hesitate or doubt ourselves.”
Strafford’s secret sauce for its mid-season turnaround? Positive vibes.
The Lady Indians have gone 12-1 overall since losing in five sets to Fair Grove on Oct. 6.
“It’s about having good vibes – having that energy. A lot of energy. And everyone’s been bringing it,” said Strafford senior Abby Chadwell.
More specifically, Bough said, it’s about keeping confidence and trust from start to finish.
On Monday, Strafford fell behind 2-0 in its district championship match versus Clever before winning 3-2.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
Saturday’s match saw the Lady Indians fall behind 1-0 then 2-1 before rallying to win the final two sets.
“There’s been a lot of moments this year where we haven’t had that,” Bough said. “We’ve been in control of a lot of the games, and sometimes we’ve fallen just short of winning because we didn’t have enough confidence.
“We’ve tried to instill the importance of confidence, body language and self-belief matters. You’re here for a reason. Believe in yourself.”
Trailing 22-20 in the fourth set, a resilient Strafford refused to have its season end.
With Fair Grove just three points away from taking the match and earning a final four berth, Strafford responded with five unanswered points to force a fifth set.
“We talk about how we create momentum on the court and get points and energy. It’s about those hustle plays and being ready for balls. It’s just a mentality out there,” Bough said. “It would’ve been easy to fall like we have before, but they didn’t today.”
In the fifth set, a battle-tested Strafford put the match away after Fair Grove had climbed even at 8-all.
“We’ve been through a lot of adversity,” said Strafford senior Ashley Suter. “We set up a hard schedule for ourselves from the very beginning of the season. That’s helped us so much. We’re used to those pressure situations. We know how to pick ourselves up.”
Suter had 13 kills for Strafford. Sophomore Halle Forester added 12 kills and led Strafford with 31 digs.
Chadwell had three blocks, 26 digs and 56 assists.
“We’re usually not a five-set team. We don’t always come out on top,” Frerking said. “But we definitely pushed through and got there today. Everyone stepped up and did their job.”
Strafford will face one of the state’s all-time winningest programs in Friday’s semifinals: Hermann. The Bearcats (30-9-1 overall this season) have won 15 state titles overall in volleyball, including three in the last four years. Strafford has never won a state title in volleyball.
But when you have these vibes, anything can happen.
“Our vibe has been really high and up,” Frerking said. “We started off not doing too well with our vibe, we picked it up and created a vibe that’s letting us go to state.”
First serve is set for 6 p.m. at the Show-Me Center.
“I think we need a few days for recovery,” Suter said, laughing. “I think we’ll have some players who are really sore tomorrow, but we’ll just keep grinding and get prepared for state.”
