Pierce City first at College Heights Volleyball Invitational over the weekend

Sep. 16—College Heights Christian School hosted its first Volleyball Invitational last weekend.

The Cougars welcomed seven other schools for a day full of volleyball inside the College Heights Athletic Complex. Those schools were McAuley Catholic, Bronaugh, East Newton, Pierce City, Wheaton, Greenfield and School of the Ozarks.

That's a mix of Class 1 and 2 schools and a Class 3 school in East Newton.

"It's fun to get a good mix of classes and competition," College Heights coach Mary Colin said. "Whether they're a small school or even a little bigger, it mixes up your game."

The facility was packed with coaches, players and fans throughout the day.

THE ACTION

Pierce City cruised to a top seed after not dropping a single set in pool play. The Eagles won both sets against each team in their pool. Those teams were Wheaton, Bronaugh and East Newton.

Bracket play began and Pierce City's success continued. The first two games saw the same result: Two set wins for the Eagles against fourth-seeded McAuley Catholic and two more against second-seeded College Heights.

The Eagles dropped one set in the championship game with School of the Ozarks before claiming a 25-22 win in the third set.

"I'm honestly really proud of them," Pierce City head coach Amber Wilson said. "It was based on who wanted it more and who had the energy at the end and it definitely wasn't easy going to three (sets). They fought hard and it was all about who could stay in control and we executed it."

On the other side, School of the Ozarks finished above the Cougars for the other top seed. The Patriots also battled Greenfield and McAuley in their pool play.

In bracket play, Class 1 School of the Ozarks defeated Bronaugh and East Newton to meet the Class 2 Eagles in the championship game.

The Eagles started the game with a 5-0 lead on the Patriots. That was soon a 9-2 lead and then eventually 18-8. The Eagles closed the first set with a 25-13 victory and could have been on their way to a perfect record for the day.

But School of the Ozarks didn't lay down.

"Our team is always willing to go that extra mile," Patriots' head coach Charlie Warfield said. "It's just sometimes a matter of refocusing and getting back toward that common goal. Of course when you can show some resilience, that's always a really good indicator that the rest of your season is going to go really well."

The second set was back-and-forth almost the entire way and especially down the stretch. It was tied 18-18 and Pierce City grabbed a lead on the next point. Senior setter Annie Rakoski put her team up by two when she went up for a set but tipped the ball over the net to catch the Patriots off guard.

The Eagles grabbed a 21-18 lead but then saw School of the Ozarks fight right back to tie it at 21 and then go ahead by two at 23-21. Pierce City then rallied for three in a row off of kills from a sophomore duo at the net in Jaelee Mettlach and Liliana Lasker. Mettlach had two of the three kills and Lasker's put the Eagles ahead 24-23.

Lasker and Mettlach are just two of Pierce City's multiple underclassmen who contributed to the championship.

"Basically it's just a matter of working together as a team," Wilson said. "So I had a lot of times when they were out of sync and that's when we start to fall short. When they're in sync it's hard to beat them."

The teams traded the next two points but then three strong kills in a row from the Patriots led to a 27-25 win.

Set no. 3 was similar in a tight back-and-forth sequence with many miscues from both sides as they neared the end of a nine-hour day. Pierce City was able to claim a 25-22 win.

"Both teams had like 10 unforced errors," Wilson said of the final set. "That literally just proves how tired we all were. I told them over and over, 'It's going to be really hard for your body and your mind to get that serve over the net.' You saw them (both teams) miss a bunch of serves. That was just because they're exhausted. We're exhausted."

Pierce City's Addison Avondet showcased her ability to not have to swing in order to get points. On more than one occasion in the tournament, the sophomore hitter pushed the ball to the far side of the court while keeping it tight with the net and forcing the defense to backtrack and chase the ball to a spot. That's something coach Wilson tells her players to work on.

"That is something I've really been working on with my hitters," Wilson said. "Abby (O'Hara) also did a really great job at executing this. It's listening to my libero (Ali Debes) because she has the best view of the court. Those girls are good at not going for the perfect kill and finding the spot. ... They could go up and swing every single time but it would be selfish... when you have someone telling you exactly what spot is open."

COLLEGE HEIGHTS

The Cougars took 4th place and finished with a 7-6 record in overall sets. In pool play, they split two sets with School of the Ozarks and Greenfield. CHCS won both sets against McAuley.

College Heights took down Wheaton in two sets during bracket play before falling 0-2 to Pierce City in set scores of 21-25 and 19-25. CHCS met East Newton for third place and fell in three sets by scores of 22-25, 25-12 and 18-25.

"We were inconsistent early," Colin said. "The thing I love about this group is they have to fight to win. So that's what we're working on are the little things and finding our inner fight to come out and win points. ... We're not tall. We're not a super tall team so you have to find ways to score without height."

Colin added that her team is doing a good job of that right now as they learn to work around being undersized. A big thing for her is how well her team can take information and challenges to improve and they do it.

McAULEY CATHOLIC

The Warriors were eliminated in the first round of bracket play by Pierce City and finished the day with a 1-7 overall set record. McAuley's set win came during pool play against Greenfield.

"It was a frustrating day. I think at times we played to our potential and at other times we lack confidence," McAuley head coach Sarah Nangle said. "I had three girls today that ran at cross country and then came late. So I know there was a little bit of exhaustion."

Nangle hopes this tournament can help to build a fire under her team as they continue into the regular season. She wants it to give them confidence moving forward as they continue to improve.