Lady 'Stangs Rally Back, Win Three

RICK PECK/SPECIAL TO MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS McDonald County High School honored its eight senior members of the Lady Mustang volleyball team on Sept. 29 prior to their win over Nevada. Front row, left to right are Jaimie Malone, Kaycee Factor and Erin Cooper; (back row), Shye Hardin, Rylee Bradley, Mollie Milleson, Sydnie Sanny and Katelyn Ferdig.
RICK PECK/SPECIAL TO MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS McDonald County High School honored its eight senior members of the Lady Mustang volleyball team on Sept. 29 prior to their win over Nevada. Front row, left to right are Jaimie Malone, Kaycee Factor and Erin Cooper; (back row), Shye Hardin, Rylee Bradley, Mollie Milleson, Sydnie Sanny and Katelyn Ferdig.

After pool play at the Mount Vernon October Aces Volleyball Tournament on Oct. 3, it appeared it was going to be a bad day for the McDonald County Lady Mustangs.

McDonald County went 0-3 in its pool matches, losing to Reeds Spring 17-25, 20-25; Carthage 23-25, 17-25; and Miller 18-25, 16-25.

The Lady Mustangs' 0-3 record in pool play relegated McDonald County to the consolation bracket for bracket play.

But in the bracket, the Lady Mustangs won all three of their matches to claim the consolation championship.

McDonald County opened bracket play with a 25-22, 25-20 win over Hollister. In the semifinals, McDonald County avenged its loss in pool play to Reeds Spring with a 16-25, 25-17, 25-23 victory to advance to the championship match.

In another three-set match, McDonald County claimed a 25-17, 16-25, 28-26 win over Republic for the title.

McDonald County was led by Katelyn Ferdig with 35 kills and Sydnie Sanny with 26 kills and six blocks. Erin Cooper added 91 assists, while Kaycee Factor had 65 digs and Shye Hardin had eight blocks. Rylee Bradley led serving with six aces.

"We did not start out the tournament as well as we would have liked to, the team pulled together and finished strong for the day," said coach Logan Grab. "During pool play, we struggled with keeping momentum and putting the ball away. Regrouping and refocusing after pool play definitely played an important role in how we performed during bracket play. The intensity of the team remained consistent even during times of struggle and we were able to earn wins against three good teams. Being able to rally back and get the win against Reeds Spring after losing to them during pool play had us fired up and ready to face Republic. When playing Republic, we did have some trouble putting plays together during the second set and ended up going to a third set that was a battle until the last point. I am proud of the girls' resiliency and for being good teammates to each other. Even when the cards are stacked against them, they are there for each other and that in itself is priceless."

McDonald County is now 11-10 overall for the season, 2-0 in the West Division of the Big 8 Conference, heading into its Oct. 6 match at Lamar. The Lady Mustangs return home on Oct. 8 to host East Newton.

Nevada

McDonald County claimed a five-set Big 8 Conference win over Nevada to celebrate Senior Night on Sept. 29 at MCHS by scores of 25-23, 27-29, 18-25, 25-15, 15-11.

Eight senior players were honored prior to the match, including Shye Hardin, Rylee Bradley, Jaimie Malone, Mollie Milleson, Katelyn Ferdig, Erin Cooper, Kaycee Factor and Sydnie Sanny, along with managers Parker Toney and Ethan Francisco.

"We have had to reschedule senior night a couple of times, so they were really excited to just play a home match," coach Logan Grab said. "They have been playing together since junior high so they have been together for several years. I knew they had a lot of potential and they have invested a lot of time -- both in-season and out-of-season. A lot of the success we have been having is attributed to that. They have been very dedicated to their craft. We were so glad they were able to get a win against Nevada. They are a great group of girls. They stay on top of their stuff in the classroom and they are people with great character. You can trust them to do the right thing. It doesn't matter if someone is around to watch them or not, they are going to do the right thing."

Sanny led in kills with 16. Cooper added 50 assists and Factor had 23 digs, while Hardin and Sanny had two blocks each.

McDonald County added an 18-25, 25-19, 25-9, 25-15 win in the junior varsity match while the freshmen split sets, falling in the first, 10-25, before rebounding to win the second, 25-15.

Monett

McDonald County defeated Monett 25-16, 25-20, 25-23 on Oct. 1 at Monett High School.

Factor had 17 digs and four aces for the Lady Mustangs. Ferdig and Hardin had eight kills apiece. Cooper dished out 29 assists.

RICK PECK/SPECIAL TO MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS McDonald County's Erin Cooper (3) and Sydnie Sanny (26)  battle with Nevada's Taylor Thompson at the net during the Lady Mustangs' 25-23, 27-29, 18-25, 25-15, 15-11 win on Sept. 29 at MCHS.
RICK PECK/SPECIAL TO MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS McDonald County's Erin Cooper (3) and Sydnie Sanny (26) battle with Nevada's Taylor Thompson at the net during the Lady Mustangs' 25-23, 27-29, 18-25, 25-15, 15-11 win on Sept. 29 at MCHS.