Scott City volleyball has spike in talent

SCOTT CITY -- The first time coach Haley Jennings watched foreign exchange student Anna Laitinen hit a volleyball, she knew her already talented team was even better.

"We had her hitting," Jennings said. "Me and my sister were like, 'Oh, my God.' It's like we have a great team together, but this is just going to be an added bonus."

The Rams have found three added bonuses this year.

Scott City had a decent team last year with seven seniors. The Rams went 18-15-2, won their district title and were eliminated by St. Vincent in a sectional contest.

Some teams struggle the year after losing so many seasoned seniors.

ELIZABETH DODD ~ edodd@semissourian.comAnna Laitinen, left, and Stephanie Essner encourage each other before the start of their quarterfinal match against Mountain View Liberty last weekend at Clearwater. Laitinen, a foreign exchange student, and freshmen Katie Hogan and Mikah Simpson have played important roles for the Rams, who will be playing in the Class 2 final four today.

Not Scott City. The Rams only got better.

Much better.

The Rams are 35-1-3 and the No. 1 ranked team in Class 2. They buzzed through the sectional and quarterfinal rounds of the playoffs with sweeps over Crystal City and Mountain View Liberty, and have advanced to the state tournament as the favorite.

A big reason why Scott City was able to improve despite losing seven seniors is because the team has received enormous contributions from first-year players, including Laitinen and freshmen Katie Hogan and Mikah Simpson.

The Rams play in the Class 2 final four against Hermann, Ash Grove and Cole Camp today and Saturday at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

How much impact have the three newcomers had?

Laitinen, from Finland, is second on the team with 120 kills, tied for second with 200 digs, third with 46 blocks and first with a .444 attacking percentage.

Hogan leads the team with 227 digs and 65 blocks. She is third with 118 kills.

Simpson has 57 kills, 68 digs and 29 blocks and a 95 percent serving percentage.

The Rams needed these three first-year players to step up because the team has only seven players.

They have stepped up so far. And the three are excited to continue their strong play this weekend at state.

"I'm ready to win," Laitinen said. "I know how much this means to Scott City."

The three players have helped the Scott City volleyball team reach the final four for the first time in school history. The Rams have won six district titles this decade.

"We can't stop smiling," Simpson said. "We'll pass each other in the hall or see a 'Good Luck Lady Rams' sign and we just can't stop smiling."

Jennings had a good idea of what she would be getting from Hogan and Simpson, who led their eighth-grade team to an undefeated season last fall.

Hogan, a 6-foot-1 middle hitter, was selected to participate in a 34-member USA High Performance girls select A2 training program at the U.S. Olympic Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., this past August after trying out with approximately 200 other girls in Kansas City, Kan.

Hogan's strong hitting and height has given the Rams a strong presence near the net. Hogan is a confident player, too. She said this past summer that she was looking to help lead this Rams team to the state tournament.

Jennings said her two freshmen have played amazing, as has the whole team.

"Once we started playing, they all seemed relaxed and played," Jennings said. "I was very impressed."

Laitinen adds to the team as an all-around player. She is both a hard hitter and strong defender.

"She is our hardest hitter ,definitely," junior Brooke Simpson, Mikah's sister, said about Laitinen. "She is one of the highest jumpers. She moves very quick and she's just able to read the floor very well and read the other team very well. She's just very smart on the floor. So she's definitely been a great addition. ... Her vertical is insane. It's crazy."

Laitinen also is important because she gives Scott City seven players. Without her, the Rams would not have had any substitutes.

Laitinen was the tournament MVP when Scott City took first place in the ASU PlayDay tournament.

"She's able to put up a massive block for us, which is always good, especially against good teams that will always have that strong right-side hitter," Jennings said. "Then, you'll have Anna there and she'll jump and get a ball that you'll never think she's going to get. Her hitting is just tremendous. She's got just such a hard swing."

The major positive for Scott City is that Laitinen is the only senior. Other than Laitinen, the team consists of four juniors and two freshmen, which means six of seven on the team will return for another run at the state title next year.

But they are focusing on this year.

"We just have to know we're not there yet," Mikah Simpson said. "We're in reach of it, but we're not there. We have to think about our game. We have to think about what we're going to do right. We have to block out what we're going to do wrong."