The Lady Outlaws punched their ticket to the big dance with their 3-0 win over Westside Christian in the second round of playoffs on Saturday, October 29. They will head to the state tournament held on Friday and Saturday, November 4-5 at Springfield High School. Their first match of the tourney will be against St. Mary’s on Friday at 1:15 p.m.

Sisters got the win against Westside Christian, but it wasn’t a pretty match. The Outlaws struggled with their serve-receive, hitters had a hard time getting the ball in the court, and they were called numerous times for being in the net. The Lady Eagles were a scrappy bunch, and put up a good fight with great defense and good serves, and made the Outlaws work for their points with long rallies.

In the first set, Holly Davis served up five straight points early in the game to put Sisters on top 7-1. Midway through the set, the Outlaws struggled on serve-receive, hit the ball out of bounds on both the serve and attempted kills, and Westside Christian took advantage. The Eagles scored several points and pulled to within eight points. From there, they committed several errors, and on the last point hit the ball out of bounds to give Sisters the 25-17 win.

Sisters struggled at the start of the second set, and teams traded points back-and-forth. The Outlaws started to pull away midway through the set, but the Eagles battled back. Sisters committed several unforced errors and the Eagles pulled to within three at 24-21. The Outlaws game-winning point came off an Eagle error. The set ended 25-21.

The final set was very similar. Sisters went up 12-6 and the Eagles fought back. The Outlaws again committed mental errors, and were called for being in the net numerous times. The Eagles narrowed the gap to one point at 24-23, but a hard kill from Gracie Vohs notched the win and Sisters recorded the sweep.

Several Outlaws made big contributions in the win.

Every time Holly Davis went back to the service line she tallied several nice runs, which kept the Outlaws out front. Sisters got some great kills from Gracie Vohs, Bailey Robertson, and Kathryn Scholl, and several nice blocks from Molly Meyer, Robertson, Vohs, and Kathryn Scholl. Senior setter Hannah Fendall brought great energy to spark the Outlaws offense.

Sophomore Scholl, right side hitter, especially did a great job for the Outlaws with numerous hard kills that went straight down to the floor, and a few that were strategically placed to the back of the court.

Coach Rory Rush said, “Kathryn really stepped up tonight. When most teams are focused on Gracie being our go-to, Kathryn took advantage of the block not being there and was able to put the ball down and spread out our offense.”

The Lady Outlaws plan to work hard in preparation for the state tournament next week.

JERRY BALDOCK

Mia Monaghan makes a dig versus Westside Christian in playoff action.

Rush said, “We’re going to work on our passing and serve-receive, and also work on tightening up our offense. We’re also going to work on our mental positivity and remembering to enjoy the journey. We’re obviously excited to be back at the state tournament, and we want to stay focused, enjoy our game, and not get caught up on who’s on the other side of the net.”