The Helias volleyball team has shown off a variety of traits this season, but one that has gotten overlooked was on display Tuesday night: When it's time to focus, the Lady Crusaders know how to do just that.
Playing once again with an off-court tragedy fresh in their minds, the Lady Crusaders wrapped up an undefeated regular season with a 25-9, 25-9 dismantling of Jefferson City at Rackers Fieldhouse.
The Helias players found out Saturday while playing in the Ozark Grand Slam Tournament that Kelsey Toebben, a former Lady Crusader star who graduated in 2010, had been killed in a car accident. After learning about it early in the event, they put aside their grief long enough to capture the title.
Hours after Tuesday's visitation for Toebben, the Lady Crusaders held a moment of silence for her before the match, dedicated the match to her and then went out won in dominating fashion.
"I told them I was very proud of them," Helias coach David Harris said. "It was a very rough day, very emotional for us, but they came in and took care of business.
"We talk about being mentally tough all the time and sometimes I question whether they are. I have no questions anymore. I know they are."
The Lady Crusaders never trailed on the night, storming out to a 7-0 lead in the first set and a 5-0 advantage in the second. The biggest lead in either set was 16 - twice in the first and three times in the second.
The margin of victory was surprising for longtime observers of the rivalry.
"That's very unusual," Harris said. "I can't remember anything (as lopsided). If there was, it was probably (in Jefferson City's favor) a long time ago."
Lindsey Griggs racked up three kills and two blocks to lead Helias to the first-set win, while Ashley Dudenhoeffer had four aces.
In the second set, Griggs racked up three more kills to lead the way.
For the match, Griggs had four blocks to go with her six kills, while Erica Haslag had four kills and three blocks. Dudenhoeffer dished out 16 assists and Blake Berhorst had nine digs.
"I was very pleased with how we played overall," Harris said. "We served tough, we blocked very well. Our serve-receive was good, it was a little shaky over the weekend, so I was glad to see we did a good job with that tonight. And the defense picked up most everything they took over."
Mary Wehmeyer had the only three kills of the match for Jefferson City, two in the first game and one in the second. She also had one of the Lady Jays' two blocks, with the other going to Madisyn Stone. Janice Steacy had two assists.
"We were very out-of-sync," said Jefferson City coach Lisa Hoffmeyer, whose team used a new-look lineup. "We've had kids out of town, we've had kids sick, we've had kids injured. We've been all over the place.
"We're trying to piece things together and make something new, something different, work. It didn't pan out tonight. This same lineup played really well against Hickman (last Thursday) and it just dind't carry over. We thought maybe we had a new idea, but now we look again and figure out what we need to do moving forward."
Both teams are now off until districts next week, with Helias (35-0-1) hosting the Class 3 District 12 event and Jefferson City (10-19-1) playing in the Class 4 District 9 Tournament at Sedalia.
"If tonight wasn't a wakeup call, I don't know what would be for this group," Hoffmeyer said. "We're spending our energy on the wrong things and we're having the wrong conversations before game time. We're worrying about things other than being an athlete and playing volleyball. It's the biggest lesson we need to learn."
In Tuesday's JV match, Helias rallied for a 15-25, 25-13, 25-13 win.
Lexi Lamb had seven service points and 12 assists for the Lady Crusaders, who end the year with a record of 30-0-1. Bradi Berhorst had 20 digs, Abby Shepard added 13 assists, Maddie Neuner had seven service points and Madeline McDaniel had two blocks. Erin Wyrick and Regan Bruns had six kills apiece.
Tatum Gaines had 10 kills and four blocks for the Lady Jays, who finish up with a mark of 19-12-1. Bailey Diehl had 25 assists and Cameryn Campbell had 21 digs.
In the freshman match, Helias claimed a 19-25, 25-10, 25-4 victory.
Elisabeth Mealy had 14 service points, including six aces, and 22 digs for Helias, which finishes at 30-1. Kelsey Brester had six kills, Rachel Schulte had 11 service points and Grace Twehous had 10 service points.
Veronica Allison had 10 service points and nine assists for Jefferson City, which ends at 21-7-1. Samantha Murray chipped in with four kills.
III
The Helias varsity suffered the lone blemish on its record Saturday in the Ozark Grand Slam Tournament, splitting with Webster Groves in the first match of pool play, falling 22-25 and winning 25-17.
The Lady Crusaders followed that up with a 25-13, 25-16 win against Oakville. They then beat Ozark, ranked No. 2 in Class 4 and No. 49 in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com by a 25-15, 25-17 margin.
In the first round of the gold bracket, the Lady Crusaders defeated Carl Junction 25-7, 25-18. In the semifinals, Helias beat Fayetteville, Ark., 25-19, 25-11.
Then in a rematch, Helias beat Ozark 19-25, 25-17, 25-21 for the championship.
"If they can handle what they've dealt with, they can handle about anything," Harris said of his team. "I'm very proud of not only how they handled it on the court, but the support they've given to the (Toebben) family and friends. It has been amazing to watch.
"They've done the same thing with (Erica Haslag's) mom, Patricia, with her fight against ovarian cancer. They are so loving and supportive, it's really neat to see as a coach."
Dudenhoeffer, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, had 121 assists, 46 service points, 47 digs and eight blocks on the day.
Haslag and Laura Schieber were named to the all-tournament team. Haslag had 39 kills, 24 service points, 16 digs and 13 blocks, while Schieber had 55 service points, 32 kills, 46 digs and seven blocks.
Also for the Lady Crusaders, Tory Wiley had 31 kills and eight blocks; Griggs had 28 kills, 27 digs and six blocks; Molly Sandbothe contributed 16 blocks and Berhorst had 53 digs.