By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
MT. VERNON, MO – Mt. Vernon volleyball powered its way to the Class 3 District 12 championship Saturday afternoon.
The top-seed Mountaineers downed No. 2 seed Monett in straight sets (25-22, 25-11, 15-11) to capture a second-straight district title.
While Mt. Vernon had defeated the Cubs 3-0 late in the regular season, head coach Bridgett Schmutz knew a tournament rematch would be a challenge.
”Monett has a lot of firepower, and I knew it wouldn’t be an easy task,” Schmutz said. “But when we scouted them, rotation by rotation, we said this is our game plan. This is what they’re going to bring, and this is how we’re going to beat and win every rotation — and we executed that game plan flawlessly.”
Mt. Vernon got off to a slow start in the first set, as Monett proved to be the early aggressor, forcing the top seed out of system and into a slew of hitting errors.
The Cubs rode the early momentum to a 21-15 lead; however, Mt. Vernon would rally.
While ‘Neers’ outside hitter Ziah Schmutz struggled at the net during the initial set, the sophomore sparked a late run from the service line to propel her team to the win.
A kill from Teagan Huver allowed Mt. Vernon to recapture the lead, and then successive blocks at the net from Huver and Rae Downing closed out the set.
Coach Schmutz praised her team’s resilience under duress and ability to overcome adversity.
”Ziah, I think, had four or five hitting errors to start the match, which is uncommon for her,” Coach Schmutz said. “For her to go back there from the service line and serve out in that game, she was able to regroup and do that second skill when her first wasn’t working. That’s something we’ve talked about all season long.”
With momentum on its side heading into the second set, Mt. Vernon quickly returned to dominant form.
An early 6-0 run in the set was followed by a 12-0 stretch, and Monett was unable to stem the tide.
While Cubs head coach Jennifer Nichols attempted to rally her squad with multiple timeouts during the set, they were unable to recapture the early match mojo.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
“Honestly, I’m not sure it was any one thing,” Nichols said. “We came out, we were confident, we looked great and we played hard, and then I think it just kind of snowballed. We made a couple mistakes, and as soon as they came back, they went into the second set with all the momentum, and we just never really got it back.”
Mt. Vernon cruised to a 25-11 victory in the second set and then posted an identical score in the third to close out the match and seal the championship win.
“Neers setter Macie West talked about slowing Monett’s athletic duo of Peyton Brandt and Karlee McCallister and shaking off the slow start in game one.
”Peyton Brandt and Karlee McCallister really get after it,” West said. “And we knew that those two were going to have to be shut down. We know we’re successful when we take teams out of system, and so being able to execute the game plan and take them out of system really loosened us up.”
West led the ‘Neers attack with 15 assists and 3 aces.
Late in the final set, West began directing Mt. Vernon’s attack through outside hitter Camryn Cornell, who responded with multiple kills down the stretch — including the championship point.
“Camryn is a quiet force and doesn’t say a lot,” West said. “She’s definitely the forefront of our offense, but she’s a quiet force. We know that we can go to her to consistently put the ball into play and, once she gets on a roll, she doesn’t stop.”
Coach Schmutz praised her senior setter’s ability to quarterback the Mt. Vernon attack and adjust on the fly when necessary.
”Macy is an incredible setter, plays great defense and takes teams out of system with her serve,” Coach Schmutz said. “But the preparation she puts in and how she leads our team with such a high level of expectation — while also being encouraging — is something we’re going to really miss. So, we’re going to keep playing as long as possible, because I definitely don’t want to see her go.”
Next up for Mt. Vernon (18-12-2) is a Halloween matchup against District 11 champion Mountain Grove in the sectional round.
For Monett (19-9-2), a season-ending loss doesn’t diminish the program’s monumental turnaround under second-year head coach Jennifer Nichols.
After posting only three victories in the past two seasons, Nichols and the Cubs (19-9-2) recorded the program’s first winning season in two decades and its first double-digit win total since 2009.
”It’s just this group of girls,” Nichols said. “We came in, and they just did everything we asked them to. They really came together as a team. I can’t think of another team who’s ever made the turnaround from two wins to 19 and a district final run. I’ve had other coaches compliment them on just they way they’ve been willing to be coachable and listen to what we’re asking them to do with no pushback.”
