Leopold volleyball team reaches Class 1 final four

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- Heading into to the third set of a state quarterfinal matchup against Lesterville, Leopold volleyball coach Sandy Davis talked to her players about staying calm.

"Just to play our game," Davis said. "Lesterville's a good team and they tipped on us and they moved us, but we had to take control of it and play our game -- play aggressive, hit the ball and not tip -- and that's what we did. We had girls step up and our passing was so on that we could run our offense."

Leopold defeated Lesterville, 25-16, 22-25, 25-19 to advance to the Class 1 final four this Friday and Saturday at the Show Me Center.

The Wildcats didn't lead in the third set until it was 13-12 after a kill by junior Caitlin Petty.

Leopold then went on a 7-2 run, during which Lesterville was called for being out of rotation and junior Bailee Cope had three kills to extend the lead to 20-14 and force a Lesterville timeout.

"My confidence was in the team, it wasn't in myself at all," Cope said. "I played for what they wanted and I just did what I could."

A couple of Leopold errors following the timeout allowed the Bearcats to pull within 20-16, but they never got any closer.

A kill by Petty that was tipped out of bounds ended the match and Leopold's celebration began.

"I just dropped to the floor," Petty said. "Our seniors wanted it so bad and we wanted it so bad for not making it past our district last year, so we were just excited. Unbelievable, ecstatic."

No player on Leopold's current team had made it past the sectional round.

"It feels incredible," senior Denai Arnzen said. "I've been wanting this forever and it finally happened."

In the first set Leopold had a 7-4 lead before Lesterville (23-11-3) tied it at 8-8, with help from a Leopold serve error and hitting error.

The Wildcats went on an 8-3 run that included four kills and a block from Petty, resulting in a Lesterville timeout.

A block and two kills from Cope put Leopold ahead 19-13 before Lesterville called its second timeout of the match.

Four Lesterville hitting errors helped the Wildcats as they outscored the Bearcats 6-3 to end the game.

The second game looked similar to the first when Leopold jumped out to a 12-6 lead to force a Lesterville timeout.

Leopold extended its lead to 16-8 with four straight kills from Cope, but Lesterville went on an 11-4 burst with the help of a couple of Leopold errors to pull within 20-19. The run had Davis calling timeout.

The Wildcats led 22-21, but Lesterville moved ahead 23-22 on a pair of Wildcat errors that prompted another timeout. When play resumed, the Bearcats scored the final two points on a kill by Immerah Bethume and a Leopold hitting error.

"We were trying to tip too much, and on a team like this you can't tip, you've got to be aggressive," Davis said. "So that's what I wanted them to do -- to see the open spots, be smart, to think, to see where the holes are on the court.

"I told them to adjust their hitting a little bit and to keep moving the ball, and they know what to do, and they just put it all together."

Petty led Leopold with 18 kills, 10 digs, 17 assists, five blocks and two aces. Cope had 13 kills, five blocks and eight digs.

Arnzen had 25 digs and five kills. Sydney Eeftink had 23 assists, three kills and 10 digs. Leah Landewee had 16 digs.

"This is what you work for all year long and these girls -- that's what their dream has been since they first started playing when they were in fifth grade. You see them play and you see them improve and you see them work together like this and then they battle ... It's just a great feeling."

Leopold made it to the quarterfinal game with a 25-12, 25-12 sectional round win against Class 1 District 1 winner Gideon earlier in the evening.

The Wildcats (31-5) advance to the Class 1 final four along with Santa Fe, Winona and Osceola.