O’Hara, Blue Springs advance to Missouri state volleyball finals

Source: The Star

Shane Keyser | THE Kansas City Star

Blue Springs setter Kieley Culbertson and the Wildcats will attempt to win their first Missouri Class 4 state title today.

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O’Hara volleyball coach Lori Hanaway admits she wasn’t quite sure what to expect from her team entering the round-robin semifinals of the Missouri Class 3 state tournament on Friday at Municipal Auditorium.

That’s not to say Hanaway didn’t think her team, which was gunning for its third straight state championship, was ready to play. She did. But she’s also been coaching long enough to know that when it comes to state, you can never really be sure until that first match.

However, what Hanaway saw early in the Celtics’ opening match against Logan-Rogersville was enough to quell any fears. O’Hara hammered the Wildcats 25-16, 25-14 to start the day and didn’t stop there, beating Cape Girardeau Notre Dame (25-11, 25-14) and Villa Duchesne (25-11, 25-20) to advance to today’s championship match, where they will have a chance to become the first Missouri school since Incarnate Word (2003-2005) to win three state titles in a row in any class.

“We got off to a phenomenal start — we really set the tone,” Hanaway said. “Our passing was great, our setting was great and our hitters came through.”

Junior middle hitters Tori Hurtt (35 kills in three matches) and Michala Boehm (30 kills) led the way for O’Hara, which is now one win away from its sixth state championship since 2002. The Celtics will face Villa Duchesne for the title at 5:30 p.m.

Blue Springs moves onBlue Springs volleyball coach Katie Grusing pondered what she was going to say to her team.

Blue Springs was facing Ozark in the opening match of the Missouri Class 4 semifinal round of pool play, and Grusing’s Wildcats had just dropped their first game against the Tigers handily.

Blue Springs still had five games left to play, but if they were going to advance to the finals, Grusing knew something was going to have to change. Her team wasn’t scared, but she sensed they were playing a little tight. So she adjusted her message in the huddle accordingly.

“The overriding idea was ‘Thank God that’s over,’ ” Grusing said. “This is a fresh start.”

Indeed it was. And the Wildcats, who went on to win their next five games and clinch a berth in today’s finals, showed plenty of grit along the way. After forcing a draw with Ozark (15-25, 29-27), Blue Springs beat St. Joseph’s (25-22, 27-25) in the second match and Incarnate Word (25-19, 25-12) in the third match.

Senior outside hitter Lisa Henning led the Wildcats with 30 kills on the day, while senior middle hitter Kirsten Erikson chipped in with 20. Grusing also praised sophomore outside hitter Taryn Miller, who Grusing said had “a fantastic day defensively.”

Now only one team stands between Blue Springs, 35-4-1, and its first-ever volleyball state title. Fittingly, it’s Ozark — the same team that forced the Wildcats to raise their game to another level in the semifinals.

The first-place match starts at 4 p.m.

Lutheran strugglesLutheran, which was making its first appearance in the Class 1 semifinals since 1986, had a rough first day. The Knights struggled in pool-play, going 0-3 against Lesterville, Winona and Osceola and failing to win a game.

“We made a lot of errors today,” said Lutheran coach Lee Rudzinski, whose team entered the day with a sterling 30-4 record. “It’s hard to explain why that happens.”

submitted by TEREZ A. PAYLOR - 2009-11-06 23:25:02