Lady Wildcats fall to Mt. Vernon on Senior Night

October 4, 2017
Lee Stubblefield
On Senior Night in Cassville, the Lady Wildcats lost to Mt. Vernon in straight sets on Tuesday night in a Big 8 Conference match-up.
Down to the final two weeks of the regular season, the Lady Wildcats volleyball team owned a record of 15-5-2 after splitting a pair of home matches last week. Cassville dropped a tough match to East Newton in straight sets, 25-20 and 27-25, then recovered to sweep Purdy, 25-16 and 25-16.
That set the stage for Tuesday, when the Lady Wildcats hosted Mt. Vernon. “A big night for us,” Briana Kleine described it.
But the moment, and the play of the Lady Mountaineers, was too big for Cassville. Mt. Vernon took the match in straight sets, 25-19 and 25-17.
The Ladycats, plagued by unforced errors, dug a 16-7 hole to begin the night. They rallied to cut the lead to just 23-19 when Jesse Edie won a huge point at the net. But the ‘Neers won the next two points to take that set.
The second set saw new energy on the Cassville side. The Lady Wildcats overcame a brief deficit to take a 10-6 lead. But Mt. Vernon roared back to tie at 10-10 and stretched the lead to 18-14. Cassville scratched back to 17-19 but the rally stalled when Brianna Hemphill’s smash carried past the baseline. The visitors won the final five points to take the set and the match.
With districts scheduled to start on Tuesday, October 17, and the Lady Wildcats sitting in the #4 spot in district standings - every remaining game is critical for district seeding and for building and maintaining momentum going into the post season.
“Finishing this season, we just really want to fight for every single point,” said Cassville’s Kleine. “Our best games were the games where we came out with a lot of fight and a lot of energy. Energy had been lacking a bit in the last couple of weeks, but we have been doing several things to turn that back around before we play some really tough conference games.”
Cassville returns to action on Thursday with a short turnaround, playing at Lamar.
Lee Stubblefield
On Senior Night in Cassville, the Lady Wildcats lost to Mt. Vernon in straight sets on Tuesday night in a Big 8 Conference match-up.
Down to the final two weeks of the regular season, the Lady Wildcats volleyball team owned a record of 15-5-2 after splitting a pair of home matches last week. Cassville dropped a tough match to East Newton in straight sets, 25-20 and 27-25, then recovered to sweep Purdy, 25-16 and 25-16.
That set the stage for Tuesday, when the Lady Wildcats hosted Mt. Vernon. “A big night for us,” Briana Kleine described it.
But the moment, and the play of the Lady Mountaineers, was too big for Cassville. Mt. Vernon took the match in straight sets, 25-19 and 25-17.
The Ladycats, plagued by unforced errors, dug a 16-7 hole to begin the night. They rallied to cut the lead to just 23-19 when Jesse Edie won a huge point at the net. But the ‘Neers won the next two points to take that set.
The second set saw new energy on the Cassville side. The Lady Wildcats overcame a brief deficit to take a 10-6 lead. But Mt. Vernon roared back to tie at 10-10 and stretched the lead to 18-14. Cassville scratched back to 17-19 but the rally stalled when Brianna Hemphill’s smash carried past the baseline. The visitors won the final five points to take the set and the match.
With districts scheduled to start on Tuesday, October 17, and the Lady Wildcats sitting in the #4 spot in district standings - every remaining game is critical for district seeding and for building and maintaining momentum going into the post season.
“Finishing this season, we just really want to fight for every single point,” said Cassville’s Kleine. “Our best games were the games where we came out with a lot of fight and a lot of energy. Energy had been lacking a bit in the last couple of weeks, but we have been doing several things to turn that back around before we play some really tough conference games.”
Cassville returns to action on Thursday with a short turnaround, playing at Lamar.