By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Yet again, the Jefferson City volleyball team stood between Webb City and a trip to the Final Four.
And, unfortunately for the Cardinals, yet again the Lady Jays were the ones celebrating after earning a 3-1 win in a Class 4 quarterfinal match at Webb City on Saturday.
“It’s a tough group,” Jefferson City coach Ali Eskens said. “I told my girls that’s a very talented team on the other side of the net and playing on the road makes it even more difficult. We talked about how we can prepare, prepare, prepare for what we might see on the other side of the net, but at the end of the day it comes down to what we do on our side of the net and how we take care of business. That’s all we can focus on, especially on the road. I thought they did a really good job of that tonight, riding the wave, staying consistent and playing a really tough team on the road.”
Webb City, which finished 4th in the state two seasons ago, concludes the season with a 28-9-1 record. Jefferson City (26-7) advances to face Lutheran St. Charles in the semifinals.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
Saturday’s quarterfinal appeared destined for the full five sets until late.
In a back-and-forth first set, the Cardinals fell behind 16-11 before rallying to tie it at 19, but the visitors scored the next three points and went on to win 25-20. Webb City was the team in control in the second, with the Cardinals leading 8-2 after an ace by Jaeli Rutledge. They pushed the lead to 14-7 on a Rutledge kill, and then 17-7 after a block by Savannah Crane and a kill by Rutledge. Kills by Jaylee Van Becelaere and Rutledge made it 19-11 but then Jefferson City made a run to get within three points at 22-19. Another Crane block and another Rutledge kill helped Webb City earn a 25-21 win.
The Jays then controlled the third set, leading 21-11 at one point before three straight aces by Mia Lenker made things close. Jefferson City held on for a 25-20 win.
And then Webb City was back in charge for the fourth set––a kill by Kirra Long made it 9-6 and then 11-10. Two kills by Rutledge helped the Cardinals lead 14-11, and it was 17-13 after yet another Rutledge swing. But then the momentum shifted; Jefferson City tied it at 17 and 18 and then pulled ahead 23-19. A Lenker kill kept Webb City within 3, but the Cardinals couldn’t score again and dropped the deciding set 25-20.
“That was all them,” Eskens said. “We told them we’ve just got to come in and focus on every single point, every single touch and you’ve got to have a narrow focus, especially when you’re playing games down the stretch like this. It’s really easy to get a wide focus, it’s really easy to think big picture. Every time we’re reiterating one touch at a time, one ball at a time, one point at a time. When we’re playing these games down the stretch that’s what we’ve got to keep our focus on.”
