The Trenton Lady Bulldogs came into Wednesday night’s Class 2, District 16 semfinals as a somewhat overlooked #4 seed, with the top-seeded Mid-Buchanan Dragons more familiar with a potential championship foe in KCI rivals East Buchanan and Lathrop.
After Wednesday night, Trenton, despite a loss, took a huge amount of pride home from the amount of fight shown by the Lady Bulldog volleyball team, while Mid-Buchanan felt certain relief, before the Lady Dragons, in three sets, lost the District 16 title match to #2 seeded East Buchanan in three sets.
Trenton came out of the gates blazing against Mid-Buchanan, jumping to an early first-set lead behind brilliant defensive play team-wide, and an offensive attack effectively led at the net by senior Libby Fewins and junior Evy McCullough. Up 24-20 late in the set, the Dragons put pressure on Trenton to close out the set, grabbing three straight points to close with 24-23. With the set hanging in the balance, the Lady Bulldogs cleanly played the Dragon serve, and took a 25-23 victory on the swing of McCullough. Tom Johnson had the call on KTTN FM 92.3:
The Bulldogs started the second set much like the first, grabbing early momentum, particularly after McCullough moved back to the service line in a 4-4 draw:
With Trenton holding a slight advantage with the score moving into double figures, change in the match became more evident as Mid-Buchanan began to look for the most experienced “hitter” on the Dragon roster, and senior Kelsey Stout delivered, slowly bringing Mid-Buchanan back from the brink of postseason elimination. The match see-sawed back and forth to 23-23 late in the second set. However, with Trenton two points away from a victory and one point away from getting serve and game point, the Dragons responded with two points in a row, drawing even with a 25-23 victory.
Perhaps boosted by their flirting with a loss, Mid-Buchanan came out inspired in the third and deciding set, and early on, rattled off eight straight points on serve to grab a decisive lead. Down 20-10 and needing a spark, Trenton got five straight points off the serve of senior Allena Allen to pull within 20-15 and boost hopes of a Bulldog rally, but after a Dragon timeout, Mid-Buchanan achieved a side out to get serve back. Four points later, the match was over, with the Dragons winning 23-25, 25-23, 25-15.
Trenton, in its final match of the season, was led by 11 assists from freshman setter Ava Simpson, while McCullough had a superb match, with eight kills, five blocks, and three aces. Libby Fewins added three digs and three aces, with Allen contributing three digs, two kills, and two aces.
Despite the loss, Coach Pam Bowden exclaimed, “I am so proud of our team! We worked all season to get to this point! We came in as the 4 seed and played an outstanding game against the first seed. The girls played with 110 percent determination tonight. We may have fallen jus short, but we made a statement for Trenton High School volleyball!”
In the second semifinal played on Wednesday night at Lathrop, East Buchanan knocked out the host Lady Mules, and rallied from a set down to defeat Mid-Buchanan in a thrilling final.
Joining East Buchanan in Saturday’s Class 2 state sectionals at Van Horn High School will be the District 15 champion St. Paul Lutheran Saints, along with Summit Christian Academy and Stover. Summit Christian will play SPL and East Buchanan will duel with Stover in the Round of 16 on Saturday, with the Bulldogs match with Stover at 4:30, with the first match at 3 o’clock. The state quarterfinal, featuring the two survivors, starts at 6 o’clock.
In Class 3 sectional action on Saturday from St. Michael the Archangel High School in Lee’s Summit, St. Michael plays Odessa at 1 o’clock, followed by Pleasant Hill battling Maryville at 2:30. The winners play at 4 o’clock in the quarterfinals. From California High School, another grouping of four Class 3 schools will face off on Saturday, with California opposite Logan-Rogersville at 1, followed by Kirksville taking on Reeds Spring at 2:30. The quarterfinal starts at 4.
The Class 1 sectionals involving Northwest Missouri will be played at Crest Ridge High School in Centerview, Missouri on Saturday, with Bishop LeBlond taking on the host Crest Ridge at 3 o’clock, while Santa Fe battles Rock Port at 4:30, with the state quarterfinal following at 6.
The state semifinals and finals will be played next weekend at the Show-Me Center in Cape Girardeau.
