CJ volleyball hosts Four States Classic
· Yahoo Sports
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The Carl Junction High School volleyball team hosted its Four States Classic Saturday, with 16 teams from Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
The tournament had its share of top-tier teams, including the No. 1 ranked Class 4 team in the state, the Helias Catholic Crusaders (24-0-1). They won the Gold Bracket of the tournament after defeating last year’s Kansas 6A state champs, the Olathe South Falcons, 2-0, in the championship match.
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Carl Junction (10-7-3) beat the Webb City Cardinals 2-0 in the quarterfinals before falling 2-0 (15-25, 17-25) to the top-ranked Crusaders in the semifinal.
In the CJ/Webb City quarterfinal, the teams battled close throughout the entire first set, with the Bulldogs outlasting Webb 27-25.
The Cardinals held a 24-22 lead late, but a pair of timely kills by CJ’s Kate Odaffer helped the Bulldogs claim the set win.
“I’m really proud of them, especially coming back late in the set,” CJ head coach Bradyn Webb said. “We were down 20-23. I think that’s really hard to come back and fight and they did it.”
Webb also talked about Maddie Huffman and Odaffer, who had key kills down the stretch for CJ.
“They bring a ton of energy and they are smart,” Webb said. “They always know where to put the ball and put us in a good position to win.”
Carl Junction had an easier time in the second set, cruising to the 25-18 win.
Huffman led CJ in kills with 11, Odaffer pitched in with eight and Nabria Osborne had five.
Defensively, Kylie Smith had 15 digs and Huffman had 12.
CJ earned a spot in the Gold bracket by finishing first at 5-1 in pool play. They swept Claremore (Oklahoma) 25-18 and 25-14, beat Pea Ridge (Arkansas) 25-16 and 25-12, and split with Olathe South (Kansas) 25-21 and 21-25.
Webb City (6-7) was second in its pool after going 3-3. The Cardinals fell to Nevada 20-25 and 18-25, swept Shiloh Christian (Arkansas) 26-24 and 27-25, and split with Pittsburg (Kansas) 25-22, 16-25.
In other results involving area teams, Nevada (12-3-2) won its pool after going 5-1. In addition to its sweep of Webb City, Nevada split with Shiloh 23-25 and 25-17 and beat Pittsburg 25-23 and 27-25. They lost 2-0 to Olathe South in the Gold Bracket quarterfinals.
CJ hosts Hillcrest Tuesday while Webb City travels to Kickapoo Tuesday.