Centralia was hoping to avoid a repeat against Hallsville in the rematch on Oct. 22.
The rivals met again in the first round of the Class 3 District 7 tournament in Hallsville, and Centralia …
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Centralia was hoping to avoid a repeat against Hallsville in the rematch on Oct. 22.
The rivals met again in the first round of the Class 3 District 7 tournament in Hallsville, and Centralia lost in three sets (25-18, 25-23, 25-12) to end its season at 10-19-2. The Lady Panthers close this season with a co-Eastern Missouri Conference championship along with North Callaway and Wright City and with their sixth straight double-digit win season.
Head coach Julie Crum said Centralia rewatched its previous match against Hallsville at the end of September in Centralia to prepare for the first round. She said the Lady Panthers allowed a lead to slip away in that match before being swept and the rematch transpired in a similar way.
“I’m so proud of the way they fought,” Crum said. “They have sometimes struggled with energy and communication. I asked the girls (after the game) that everyone has to tell me one thing that they’re super proud of. They were all complimentary, saying, ‘I was so proud of this.’ Everything they did was a step up from where we were in our last game. We just didn’t push the third set.”
After Hallsville took the first set, Centralia took a 22-16 lead in the second set. Senior Madilynn Hunter picked up a couple of service aces while attacking along with fellow all-conference player Ryenn Gordon, who posted 12 kills and finished with a school record 383 kills this season. Gordon is Centralia’s career kills record holder with more than 900.
Hallsville came roaring back to win the second set after closing the first set strong by winning eight of the last 10 points. Crum said Hallsville can tip the ball into open spots of the defense, which contributed to Centralia losing its second-set lead, and finish with power that is difficult to match without “grit.”
"They run a really quick offense," Crum said. "When they got a hold of the ball, it came down fast and my girls were frozen and weren't pushing to the ball. That made a big difference."
Centralia didn’t pick up its first win until Sept. 16 in a four-set victory at Wright City. Over that time, Crum said mental toughness was a struggle but improved during the season.
After the Wright City victory, Centralia won two of its next three matches and eventually went into districts winning seven of its last 12. The Lady Panthers secured their second straight conference championship.
“You’ve got to be 100 percent in your mind and your heart,” Crum said. “You can’t get down, and you’ve got to push every time. That was our biggest struggle the whole season. We were super consistent being inconsistent.”
Crum said there were definitely moments where Centralia pushed through adversity, like serving through an opponent’s several game points, and the team worked hard on defense in districts against Hallsville. Centralia finished with seven blocks.
The Lady Panthers only had three service errors against Hallsville, which made Crum happy. She said it was good Centralia didn’t give away many free points, but neither did Hallsville.
Gordon and Hunter led Centralia’s efforts this season as they both earned all-conference honors. Crum said Gordon rewrote school record books while Hunter closed her career well, displaying a strong swing at the Eugene Invitational on Oct. 18.
“She is aggressive and she got after it,” Crum said about Gordon. “Her passing has improved more and more.”
“Madilynn has always been an aggressive server,” Crum said. “She didn’t miss a single serve this whole night. Her serving is definitely one of our strongest assets for sure. Serving and attacking, those are definitely her strengths.”
Crum said she will miss her other seniors including Audry Ricklefs, Becca Erisman and daughter Kendall Crum. She said Ricklefs has been “whatever I needed her to be” and was “perfect” for the right side with her “good hands. She takes direction well along with Erisman, who Crum said “she pushes herself to do better every single time,” and Crum’s daughter Kendall has made her serve “more aggressive” after moving up to varsity last year.
“They are a great group of seniors,” Crum said. “Everybody got along great. They had a really good time.”
