Leopold rolls, brings home its third state volleyball title

WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- Leopold's volleyball team and many of its fans predicted a state title through much of the season.

They were rewarded Saturday.

After handing Green Ridge (35-1-1) its first tie of the season on Friday, Leopold issued Green Ridge its first loss in the Class 1 state championship match a day later. Leopold posted matching 15-5 scores to win its third title in 10 years.

"We didn't play like ourselves Friday and that helped us today," senior Holly Jansen said. "We wanted to break their winning streak, so they had all the pressure on them."

Leopold (34-2-3) trailed only at the beginning of the first game when they were down 3-0. But they rattled off seven straight points and never looked back.

"The difference today was us, we played 100 percent better than Friday," coach Leanne Huffman said. "The normal Leopold team was out there today."

The normal Leopold team was led by its usual standout, Jansen. She ended the day with 10 kills, four blocks and nine digs. Tasha Thele added six kills and 12 digs. Wendy Vandeven had 20 assists and five digs.

"Everything clicked for us and everybody on the court played as a team," Huffman said. "I said in the locker room before the game that they've been working for this since the fifth grade."

The title is Leopold's third state championship. They also won in 1993 and 1997.

"It's a relief to win," senior Courtney Wesbecher said. "Many people said we were going to win and it's nice to be worthy of their predictions."

"We're just soaking all of this in right now," Jansen said. " We know it's going to be a good ride home."