Banged-up Lady Jays volleyball defeats Rock Bridge

The Jefferson City volleyball team earned its first win of the new season Tuesday night against Rock Bridge, but Lady Jays head coach Lisa Hoffmeyer left Fleming Fieldhouse with more than a couple concerns.

If the Lady Jays weren't banged-up before their home-opening 25-16, 25-17 win, they certainly are now.

The squad opened its season in a two-game loss Friday at St. Joseph's Academy without seniors Jayme Baumgartner and Mary Wehmeyer. Baumgartner recently had surgery and Wehmeyer is still dealing with a sprained ankle that has kept her out since the start of the summer.

Junior setter Bailey Diehl was held out of Tuesday's contest after she landed awkwardly on a teammate's foot during warmups, forcing the Lady Jays out of their planned 6-2 offense.

The biggest scare came when sophomore middle hitter Corrin Lepper went down hard on her right ankle near the halfway point of the first game. She had to be helped off the court and left the building in a wheelchair to get further tests done.

"There is no denying that it hurts a little bit, but right now I'm praying that Corrin is dealing with a sprain and not a break, and that (she's back) in a couple weeks and we're moving foward," Hoffmeyer said. "... But (the training staff) is leaning toward a break. That one could be a season-ender."

When Lepper went down, the Lady Jays coaching staff waved to the student section for help. They called for junior varsity middle hitter Samantha Murray to suit up. She went off to the locker room to prepare, and for the extended timeout, the Bruins were given a point.

"It's just a matter of our kids stepping up for right now. Hopefully we get back to being healthy and get going," Hoffmeyer said. "I don't think it's game-changing for us. I think we have enough leaders out here that we can keep doing what we planned on doing."

The Lady Jays scored the first six points of the match before the Bruins countered with a 9-3 run to tie it up.

Lepper went down as the Lady Jays took a 14-12 lead. That's when the home side pulled away, running off a 11-4 stretch to take the first game.

Senior Madisyn Stone and junior Tatum Gaines led the team with four kills apiece on the night. Stone moved from the left to the right side and Hoffmeyer said Stone will make the full rotation instead of being subbed out to take advantage of her blocking abilities.

"I'm really proud of the way she has responded," Hoffmeyer said. "Consistency has been a battle for (Stone). It's finally starting to soak in that she can't hit everything hard, whether it's a serve or an attack. She's starting to really adapt to keeping the ball playable instead of trying to bury it."

The Lady Jays got out to an even faster start in the second game by a count of 10-2. They also had a 9-0 run to push the lead to 22-9. The Bruins didn't go bow out too fast, though, with the Lady Jays earning the 25-17 victory.

At the end of the night, Hoffmeyer stood uncertain about the health of her team, but was happy with how they responded.

"I'm really pleased with the way our kids stepped up," she said. "To pull up a couple kids off the JV team and have them step in and our leaders to step in and fill that gap, they were able to step in pretty seamlessly. ... It wasn't really a feeling of discomfort for the girls and I do think that's because we have a lot of strong leaders who were able to step up."

The Jefferson City JV squad also swept Rock Bridge prior to the varsity match, with the Lady Jays (1-1) winning 26-24, 25-19. Stephanie Fisher had seven kills, while Veronica Allison dished up six assists.

The Rock Bridge freshman team defeated the Lady Jays (0-2) 25-23, 25-18. Jefferson City's Maddie Jones had eight assists and Carlee Brehe had five kills.