The McDonald County High School volleyball team beat East Newton twice at the Lady Mustang Volleyball Classic held on Oct. 19 at MCHS, but losses to Diamond and Sarcoxie relegated McDonald County to a fifth-place finish in the tournament.
McDonald County opened the tournament with a 25-22, 25-15 win over East Newton in pool play.
Shye Hardin had seven kills, while Erin Cooper added 15 assists and Kaycee Factor had 20 digs to lead McDonald County.
But after claiming a 25-19 win in the first game against Diamond in its other pool match, McDonald County dropped the second game, 25-22, before the Lady Wildcats won the match with a 19-17 win in the third and deciding game.
McDonald County scored four straight points to break a 7-7 tie for an 11-7 lead in the third game, which is played to 15 points but the winner must win by two points.
Diamond answered with five straight points to take a 12-11 lead.
The teams then traded points until McDonald County staved off one match point on a kill by Katelyn Ferdig to tie the score at 14-14. A spike by Diamond went long on the next point giving McDonald County a match point.
But Diamond erased that chance for McDonald County and had a match point of its own only to see the Lady Mustangs score two straight points for a 17-16 lead. Diamond was not only able to save that match point, but the Lady Wildcats also scored three straight points for a 19-17 win.
Adyson Sanny led McDonald County with five kills. Cooper had 22 assists and Factor had 19 digs while Hardin chipped in three blocks.
McDonald County's 1-1 record in pool play earned the Lady Mustangs a semifinal berth against Sarcoxie.
Sarcoxie jumped out to a 10-4 lead before McDonald County battled back to tie the game at 18-18. However, the Lady Bears scored six of the next seven points for a 24-19 lead. McDonald County scored three straight points to cut the margin to 24-22 before Sarcoxie scored the game-winner.
In the second game, Sarcoxie again jumped out to an early lead, taking a 14-4 lead before McDonald County again rallied to tie the game at 18-18.
Sarcoxie took a 20-19 lead and then scored five of the final six points for a 25-20 win.
McDonald County was led by Ferdig with seven kills, Cooper with 13 assists and Factor with 17 digs.
McDonald County then defeated East Newton 25-17, 25-23 in the fifth-place match.
Hardin and Ferdig had six kills each, while Cooper added 20 assists and Factor had 26 digs to lead McDonald County.
"We came out really strong in our first match against East Newton," said coach Logan Grab. "Against Diamond, we won the first set and they won the second and we just battled it out with them in the third set and came out a little bit short. I was proud of (the) effort and energy we had in that match. We did not come out hitting very well against Sarcoxie and it showed. We had a good day, but losing to Diamond in pool play affected us the rest of the day. Overall, we had a good turnout and heard from several parents and coaches, they love coming down here and it is one of their favorite tournaments to come to."
College Heights defeated Seneca in the championship match.
Seneca
Seneca jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the third and deciding game on the way to a 25-6, 22-25, 25-12 win on Oct. 17 at MCHS.
Seneca led 5-2 in the first game before going on a 20-4 run to win the first game in dominating fashion.
But in the second game, McDonald County evened the score.
The Lady Mustangs trailed 9-4 before scoring five straight points for a 9-9 tie.
Seneca took a 12-11 lead, but the Lady Mustangs scored six of the next seven points for a 15-13 and never trailed again on the way to a 25-22 win to force the deciding third game.
The match served as senior night for the four senior members of the 2019 squad.
"The seniors have been very dedicated to our program," Grab said. "The three who are four-year seniors (Adyson Sanny, Kelli Brennand and Ember Killion) played all throughout junior high and high school, so they have been a part of our program for a long time. Grace (Poland) played in junior high and then came back last year and played as a junior and a senior. They have been very valuable and we wish them the best. They contributed to kind of rebuilding the program the last couple of years and getting it in a good state. They are leaving a good group of people who can help carry that on."
McDonald County was led by Hardin and Ferdig with four kills each. Cooper added nine assists and Factor had nine digs.
Seneca claimed a 27-29, 25-19, 16-14 win in the junior varsity match, while the freshman teams split a pair of games. McDonald County won the opening game 25-23 before Seneca claimed a 26-24 win in the second game.
McDonald County was at Nevada on Oct. 22 before the Lady Mustangs host an opponent from the Big 8 East Division on Oct. 24. The opponent will be determined by Tuesday night results.
Sports on 10/24/2019