Lady Jays volleyball beats Fatima in four sets

The Jefferson City Lady Jays were successful in every phase.

"I thought today we stayed steady," Jefferson City coach Ali Eskens said Thursday night after the Lady Jays defeated the Fatima Lady Comets in four sets at Fleming Fieldhouse. "We passed well, we served well, we took care of everything. We did the little things well, which leads to the big things. We talk about that a lot, taking care of the little things so the big things will come and the they did a very good job of that today."

Jefferson City beat Fatima 25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 25-17. After the two back-and-forth sets to start the match, the Lady Jays got rolling in the third.

A Fatima error rotated Ava Reeser behind the service line for the Lady Jays, then a Claire Stegeman kill put them in front 2-1 before Maddie Mitchell used one of her team-high 17 assists to help Hannah Linthacum get one of her team-high 10 kills.

Jefferson City built a 4-1 lead, but Fatima came back when Leah Markway used two of her game-high 22 assists to help Addisyn Peters on back-to-back kills for two of her co-game-high 11.

Fatima came back to tie at 6 and 7, but Hannah Vogt assisted Elicia Theroff for one of her eight kills to rotate Abby Blake behind the service line and the Lady Jays got rolling.

Blake served Jefferson City to a 12-7 lead, gaining points on blocks from Linthacum (one of her game-high 9) and Jada Murray, as well as a Vogt-assisted Linthacum kill.

A Lady Jays' error switched the serve to Fatima, but Vogt used one of her 13 assists to help Murray on one of her five kills to regain it, and Jefferson City built its lead to 15-8.

The Lady Comets brought the score within 15-10, but the Lady Jays scored seven consecutive points, including a Reeser ace, a Mitchell kill and a Linthacum block.

The Lady Comets fought back with an Ava Bock ace, a Markway-assisted Elsie Bax kill and a Markway-assisted Peters kills, bringing the score within 24-14 before Abby Kempker connected on an ace for Fatima. AnnaBele Massman added a kill and Bock assisted Samantha Bax for a kill to get within 24-18.

Vogt ended the set for the Lady Jays with a kill.

"They came back strong in the last two games, fell behind big, but came back to make it a challenge," Fatima coach Curtis Brandt said of the comeback. "I appreciate that, volleyball is a momentum game."

Jefferson City jumped ahead to leads of 3-0 and 6-3 in the fourth set, but Fatima came back to tie both times.

After a Fatima blocking error gave Lauren Reid the serve for the Lady Jays, Jefferson City built a lead it wouldn't give up.

Mitchell and Vogt kept the inital service point alive with incredible digs, with Vogt's coming fully sprawled on the floor and reaching out with one hand, long enough to force a Fatima error. Then a Reid ace, a Reeser-assisted Vogt kill and a couple more Lady Comet errors built a 12-6 lead for the Lady Jays.

The Lady Jays built their lead to 21-10 after Linthacum spiked a free ball that floated high above the net, but the Lady Comets came back once again.

Markway assisted Elsie Bax for a kill to rotate Bock behind the line where she connected on back-to-back aces to bring the score within 22-15, but the Lady Jays' lead was too much to overcome.

"We passed well, we set well, we were taking good swings, we were taking care of the ball," Eskens said. "Our block did really well, we were attacking from the service line, we were just moving on all cylinders tonight. A good overall team win."

The teams fought back and forth in the opening set.

Neither team took more than a one-point advantage until Markway served the Comets to a 10-6 lead with the help of four-consecutive Lady Jays' errors.

Jefferson City fought back to tie at 10, then eventually took a 16-13 lead on the strength of a five-point run on Reid's serve.

The Lady Jays stayed about three to four points ahead until Fatima fought back within 21-20, but a Vogt-assisted Mitchell kill, two Fatima errors and a Mitchell-assisted Linthacum kill ended the opening set.

The second set looked similar with the teams fighting to ties at 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 before the Lady Jays separated to a 12-7 advantage after a Blake service ace.

Jefferson City held the advantage until a Kempker ace brought the Lady Comets within 14-13. The Lady Jays extended back to a 17-14 advantage, but Fatima took advantage of Jefferson City errors to tie the matchup at 18 before the teams tied at 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23.

After a Kempker-assisted Peters kill tied it at 23 for Fatima, back-to-back service aces from Elsie Bax ended the set for the Comets.

"They played really well, we're still trying to mess with the roster and rotations a bit and I mixed it up all four games and they adjusted well," Brandt said.

Reeser anchored the Lady Jays' defense with 16 digs, while Grace Spalding had 15 and Mitchell totaled 13.

Samantha Bax tied for the Lady Comets' team lead with 11 kills to complement seven digs, while Olivia Kleffner racked up five kills.

Kempker and Bock each served three aces for Fatima, while Elsie Bax had five kills and two ace serves.

Jefferson City (4-7), which collected its first non-tournament win since Sept. 7, will play Saturday at the Lee's Summit North Tournament.

Fatima (4-7-3) hits the road again to face Capital City at 6:15 p.m. Monday.

Fatima beat Jefferson City 25-17, 25-21 during junior varsity action.

Jefferson City won the freshman match 25-12, 26-24.