St. Joseph volleyball improves to 9-0

By Amanda Smallwood
UCA sportswriting

St. Joseph’s Lady Bulldogs demolished Cedar Ridge’s Lady Timberwolves on Monday, 25-13, 25-14, 25-8.

St. Joseph is now 9-0 in 3-A Central conference play.

“This was a conference win so I am proud of them, but I am disappointed because it got sloppy at times," Lady Bulldog coach Luke Davis said. "We are fresh from a tournament so we are a little tired, but if we are going to go all the way and win our conference and even state, we don’t need this type of playing.”

In Game 1, St. Joseph led off with the first point but made multiple net violations to give the Lady Timberwolves a 6-3 lead. Junior Amy Schichtl tried to bring the Lady Bulldogs back with a strong kill that hit a player from Cedar Ridge. Schichtl served 10 straight serves to expand St. Joseph's lead from 15-12 to 24-13.

“One of our major challenges with Cedar Ridge was getting used to them free balling," junior Katie Halter said. "We had to stay alert and communicate with each other.”

Schichtl had three aces, two kills, three hits and two tips. Halter added three kills and three hits. Sophomore Courtney Briggler recorded five kills and two hits.

"We need to be consistent on our playing to make sure we can deliver our best," Briggler said.

In Game 2, St. Joseph had a slow start, giving Cedar Ridge a small lead, 3-1. Senior Veronica Bausom served seven straight, giving the Lady Bulldogs an 8-3 lead. The Lady Timberwolves seemed to have difficultly communicating with each other and not blocking against Lady Bulldog hits. St. Joseph kept the big lead to win the game, 25-14.

Briggler put down three kills and five hits. Junior Jordan Justice served one ace and addedthree digs. Junior Brandi Elsinger had one kill and five hits. Halter recorded one kill, one dig and four hits.

"We are still struggling on our communication skills on the court," Davis said. "We were running into each other and not keeping our heads up."

In Game 3, the Lady Bulldogs swept through the Lady Timberwolves quickly. Junior Jessica Justice started the game with three consecutive aces. Bausom served six straight, including three aces, to increase St. Joe's lead. Sophomore Torri Carter ended the game with seven consecutive serves with two aces at the end.

Bausom had four aces and three hits. Elsinger had once ace, one kill and three hits. Jessica Justice had three aces, four assists and one dig.

"Courtney Briggler and Katie Halter played a good game," Davis said. "They were alert and also very consistent."

St. Joseph's next match will be against Cave City Wednesday at St. Joseph.

Both teams are undefeated. Cave City beat St. Joseph at the 3-A Central Conference district final last year.

“We lost to Cave City last year and we lost two of our varsity players," Briggler said. "We have a whole new combination of players and the team is excited to see how the game will go.”