Lebanon Volleyball Battles to Third-Place Finish at Lake Volleyfest

Photo Credit Chris Roden and Lebanon Area Sports

The Lebanon High School varsity volleyball team battled through a full day of competition Saturday, earning a third-place finish at the Lake Volleyfest Tournament after more than 11 hours of volleyball.

Lebanon opened pool play at 8:30 a.m. with a straight-set victory over Eldon, 25-16 and 25-20. The Lady Jackets then split with Carl Junction, winning a tight opening set 28-26 before falling 25-23 in the second.

Lebanon closed pool play with a convincing win over Sedalia Smith-Cotton, 25-16 and 25-11, securing the No. 1 seed from its pool and advancing to bracket play.

In the opening round of the bracket, Lebanon faced Camdenton, the No. 4 seed from the opposite pool. The Lady Jackets controlled the match from start to finish, winning 25-13 and 25-8 to advance to the semifinals.

Strafford ended Lebanon’s run toward the championship with a 25-18, 25-20 semifinal victory, sending the Lady Jackets into the third-place match and setting up a rematch with Carl Junction.

After dropping the opening set 25-21, Lebanon responded with a 25-15 victory in the second. The Lady Jackets completed the comeback with a 25-22 win in the deciding third set, walking off the court after 8 p.m. with third place secured.

The performance came just two days after Lebanon suffered a loss at Joplin on Thursday night and during a busy Homecoming week.

Photo Credit Chris Roden and Lebanon Area Sports

Lebanon’s coaching staff praised the team’s response, noting that the players could have allowed the late trip home from Joplin, Homecoming festivities or the opportunity to attend Saturday night’s Homecoming dance to become distractions. Instead, the team recommitted to its season goals and to one another.

That response showed throughout Saturday, particularly in Lebanon’s defensive and serve-receive efforts.

Offensively, Liv Ahmann led Lebanon with 59 kills on the day, followed by Rikki Reimers with 37. Anora Haney recorded 18 kills, Kenzie Uder added 17, Payton Fort finished with 12 and Harper Starnes contributed 10.

Starnes directed the Lebanon offense with an impressive 131 assists.

Photo Credit Chris Roden and Lebanon Area Sports

Uder led the defensive effort with 44 digs, while Brayli Ogle recorded 37. Starnes added 25 digs, Reimers had 22, Ahmann finished with 21 and Graicyn Hazlewood added 19.

At the net, Reimers led Lebanon with three kill blocks, while Haney and Ahmann each recorded two.

Ahmann and Starnes also led the Lady Jackets from the service line with six aces each. Hazlewood recorded five, Uder added four and Reimers finished with three.

Lake Volleyfest Results

Pool Play

Lebanon def. Eldon: 25-16, 25-20

Lebanon split with Carl Junction: 28-26, 23-25

Lebanon def. Sedalia Smith-Cotton: 25-16, 25-11

Bracket Play

Lebanon def. Camdenton: 25-13, 25-8

Strafford def. Lebanon: 25-18, 25-20

Lebanon def. Carl Junction: 21-25, 25-15, 25-22

Photo Credit Chris Roden and Lebanon Area Sports

Another Full Week Ahead

Lebanon now turns its attention to another busy week, beginning with back-to-back home matches.

The Lady Jackets host Parkview on Monday before welcoming Carthage on Tuesday. Carthage also competed at Lake Volleyfest and finished second in the tournament, although the two teams did not meet Saturday.

Lebanon travels to Webb City on Thursday, and the JV team will compete in the Marshfield Tournament on Saturday.

The team photo was taken Saturday following Lebanon’s third-place finish. Action photos from the tournament are courtesy of Chris Roden, Lebanon Area Sports Photographer.