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Lady Tigers are conference champs!
By Joe Warren
Nevada Daily Mail
NEVADA, Mo. -- In front of home fans for the last time this season, the Nevada Lady Tigers clinched sole possession of the Southwest Conference championship Tuesday by knocking off Neosho in a sweep, 25-22, 25-17.
Playing with a large and loud student section behind them, and a small contingent of Webb City players also in attendance, the Lady Tigers (7-1 in the conference) took care of business by topping the Lady Wildcats (2-5).
The win gave Nevada its first Southwest Conference title in volleyball since 2000.
"It was awesome," Nevada head coach Trudy Fleeman said.
"I'm speechless right now," Nevada senior Ashleigh Bryson said.
"I'm really excited," even-keel senior Brittany Crockett added.
The Lady Tigers had already clinched at least a share of the title when they beat McDonald County Thursday, in Anderson. Since Nevada had only one conference loss this season and second-place Webb City had two, the worst Nevada could have done going into Tuesday was a 6-2 conference mark.
Since Nevada and Webb City split two regular season matches (with each winning on the other team's floor), the championship could have been split between the schools.
But Nevada had other plans. With six Webb City volleyball players in attendance Tuesday, hanging on the outcome of the Lady Tiger-Neosho matchup, Nevada overcame deficits in each game.
Neosho led by as many as three in the first game, 12-9 and 13-10. But Nevada mounted a comeback, getting two kills from Crockett and one from Bethany Brower as they went up 14-13.
After a Neosho timeout, the game went back and forth, with each team leading by as many as two.
Up 21-20 after a kill attempt went long, Nevada mounted a final charge. A net violation on Neosho made it 22-20, and a block by Crockett that fell in for a point gave the Lady Tigers a 23-20 lead. A Neosho kill made it a two-point game again, but a Crockett kill made it 24-21, and the Lady Wildcats were called for a four-touch to give Nevada the game.
In the second game Neosho led 9-5, before Nevada scored five consecutive points to take the lead. Ashleigh Bryson led this surge, collecting a block and three kills in the process as Nevada led 10-9.
The two schools exchanged points until a Crockett tip made it 14-12. A net violation on Nevada brought the Lady Wildcats to within one, but Nevada outscored Neosho 11-4 the rest of the way.
"We played good," Fleeman said. "We were pretty focused."
Nevada took advantage of the lack of experience on Neosho's side. The Lady Wildcats have only one senior on the roster and she didn't play Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Nevada's six seniors came through on senior night. All six played and made contributions.
Crockett led the way with eight kills and three blocks. Bryson added five kills and two blocks, and senior Amanda Wilson had three kills and 12 assists.
Senior Bethany Brower also had a good match, with three kills and six digs.
Junior Emma Dreyer also had a solid match, with 16 digs and 10 assists.
The senior leadership showed as Nevada didn't overlook the Lady Wildcats, despite their only having two conference wins coming in.
One of those wins came against Webb City, which helped allow Nevada to take sole possession of the conference title.
Fleeman said the seniors made it happen.
"They deserve it," she said. "They worked hard for four years and they all stuck it out. It's rare for that many players to stick it out for all four years."
It was the final regular season match for Nevada, and the final match at Wynn Gymnasium.
"It was our senior night, we wanted to prove something," Bryson said. "It's sad, but I'm glad we won our last night here. It leaves a good memory."
Now Nevada turns their sites on the Class 3, District 12 tournament in Harrisonville. Nevada is the second seed and has a first-round bye.
The Lady Tigers will play the winner of the Harrisonville-Clinton match in Wednesday's semifinals at 6 p.m. The winner of that match plays in the championship at 7 p.m.
Bryson said the team is peaking at the right time.
"We're focused," she said. "I think we're starting to know that we have to come together as a team to win games."