Diamond volleyball advances in Class 2 District 11 tourney

DIAMOND — The sixth-seeded Diamond High School Wildcats volleyball team (8-21-4) advanced to the semifinals of their Class 2 District 11 tourney with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-15) win over the third-seeded Sarcoxie High School Bears (13-17-2) on Thursday night at Diamond High School.

Backed by a large rowdy crowd of supporters, the Wildcats gained an early 8-1 advantage that included an ace by Addy Ellis and a Lilly Hoyer kill from the left wing.

Sarcoxie battled back with a 5-point run, but after an Aubrey Curtis kill and two Ainsley Webb service aces, the Wildcats were on top 11-6. Diamond later extended its lead to 13-7 off a kill in the middle by Codi Sweet.

The Bears managed to claw back within 2 points at 13-14, but Diamond put together 3 points in a row to go up 17-13.

Up 17-14, the Wildcats scored 7 straight to increase their lead to 24-14. After giving up a pair of points to Sarcoxie, Callie Thomas closed out the 25-16 Set 1 win for Diamond with a kill in the middle.

The Bears claimed the early lead in the second set, going up 7-3. Diamond erased that deficit after a timeout that saw the Wildcats return to the floor and put together a 13-0 run. That 13-point stretch was sparked by an Ellis kill and was capped off by a Thomas ace that gave Diamond a 16-7 lead.

Up 18-11, the Wildcats put together another run, this one 6 points, that gave them a 24-11 lead. Sarcoxie tallied the next 3 points to make it 24-14, but Webb closed out the Set 2 win with a kill in the middle.

The teams played close in the early stages of the final set, until Diamond, up 12-9, went on a 7 point scoring spree that included another Ellis kill. The Bears got 4 of those points back to close within 5 at 19-14, but Diamond scored the next 5 points on a run that included a Curtis block.

Sweet later closed out the 25-15 win with a block in the middle that sealed the Wildcats 3-0 match win.

Diamond head coach Chad Adams assessed his team's play after the win.

"They came out ready to play," Adams said. "Offensively, we really had a lot of energy and defensively, we stepped it up. We haven't played good defense all season, but we really stepped it up tonight.""

With the win, Diamond advances to face second-seeded Miller High School (19-11-2) in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Monday. The team's met on Oct. 6 with the Cardinals logging a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-8) win.

Adams is well aware of what his team is up against on Monday. He talked about how to prepare for a strong Miller squad.

"We'll watch a lot of film and talk about where the holes are at," Adams said. "We know what they did to us last time and where they scored on us. I think, offensively, we can pay against them. Defensively, we came up short last time. I think this time we will be ready and at least make it a closer game."