By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Morgan Bos and the Clever Lady Jays were not going to let history repeat itself.
A year after suffering a heartbreaking loss in its district title game, Clever found redemption in Monday night’s Class 3 District 10 Tournament finals at Logan-Rogersville High School.
Clever swept the host school 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-22) to punch its ticket to the Class 3 state tournament.
“Logan-Rogersville is such a great volleyball program. To win it here, it’s a special night for these girls,” said Clever coach Dan Evans.
Like it did in last year’s district finals against Strafford, Clever took the first two sets on Monday night versus Logan-Rogersville.
But as Logan-Rogersville went ahead in the third set, Clever was ready to put any lingering flashbacks (or doubts) to rest.
“We talked about that loss (last year) in our last timeout tonight,” said Bos, a senior and middle hitter. “We said, ‘We’re not going to let that happen again.’ And we didn’t.”
With a district championship in sight, Clever rallied. The Lady Jays erased an 18-12 deficit to secure their second district title in four seasons.
“It’s like a million times better to do it as a senior,” Bos said. “My freshman year, we had an easy path. This year, (Rogersville) is a great team. We came in knowing this would be a very tough match.”
Said Evans: “After last year, we didn’t want to let this get to a fourth set.”
Clever (29-5-3 overall) will play at the District 9 winner – St. Clair or Sullivan – in the Class 3 sectional round on Thursday, Oct. 26.
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If Clever wins, the Lady Jays would host a quarterfinal match on Saturday, Oct. 28, with a trip to the state final four in Cape Girardeau at stake.
Clever (enrollment: 312) moved back up to the Class 3 level this season, joining a district group that included larger schools like Logan-Rogersville (547) and Bolivar (615).
“When those district assignments came out, I’m not going to lie, my heart skipped a beat for a second,” Evans said. “But it says a lot about our community – Clever’s growing.
“I think our girls kind of fed off (being the small school). Tonight, they just weren’t going to be denied.”
Said Bos: “We knew we’d have to put some work in to win (districts). It was going to be hard, but we’ve been preparing all season for this moment.”
Evans, who was at the helm for Springfield Catholic last season, ended a brief retirement this offseason to come back and coach Clever.
He inherited a 22-win team with size and athleticism.
Bos leads the team with over 350 kills on the season, but the junior trio of Chandlyr Friend, Addie Gilmore and Audrey Riley have given Clever a well-rounded attack.
Best of all, Evans said, everyone gets along.
“We haven’t had any team bickering or fighting. Everybody has accepted their role – and some roles have changed from last year to this year. But everyone just keeps playing,” he said. “I haven’t had one kid, for one moment, do anything that wasn’t 100 percent team-oriented. They’re just full go to make things happen.”
Logan-Rogersville was hoping to finish a Cinderella-like run Monday night. The No. 3 seed Lady Wildcats knocked off No. 2 seed Strafford in Saturday’s semifinals.
“I’m super proud of our girls with how they’ve competed and handled some (injury) adversity,” said Logan-Rogersville coach Emily Hutcheson. “This team has been super dynamic this year. We’ve been able to adapt and change to different scenarios throughout the season.”
Logan-Rogersville finishes 16-15-3 overall. The Lady Wildcats, who were trying to win their second district title in three seasons, graduate five seniors.
“Our girls can’t hang their heads and be unhappy with how they performed,” Hutcheson said. “It just did not go our way tonight.”
