WOODLAND BREEZES INTO 2A FINAL FOUR

No, there wasn't a draft in Notre Dame's gymnasium.

That was just Woodland blowing away two opponents and breezing into the state final four.

The Lady Cardinals made easy work of Caruthersville and Belle in sectional and quarterfinal games Saturday, advancing to the Class 2A final four in four easy sets.

Woodland will begin pool play of the final four on Friday at 9 a.m. at the CMSU Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg. It will play another game at 11 a.m. and another at 1 p.m.

The winners of pool play will for the state championship at noon this Saturday, while the third-place game will be a 9 a.m.

In the quarterfinal game against Belle on Saturday, Woodland (25-5) posted a 15-1, 15-4 win and didn't even seem to work up a sweat.

Belle advanced to the quarterfinals with a 15-9, 15-8 victory over Bloomfield.

Woodland, the District 1 champion, clobbered Caruthersville, the District 3 champ, earlier in the day 15-9, 15-8."I wasn't for sure what the teams would be like once we got here," Woodland coach Emily Johnson said.

Well, they weren't very good.

Caruthersville gave Woodland a decent game and ended its season record at 17-12. But Belle and Bloomfield came in with a combined record of 19-29-5. They were two of only three Class 2A district champions with losing records statewide.

Despite the lack of competition, Johnson was pleased with the accomplishment."I'm very proud of the girls," Johnson said. "They're a great group of kids and they have worked hard all year long."Belle, the winner of District 4, absolutely collapsed in the quarterfinal, botching passes and committing one error after another.

But Woodland handled the fundamentals and got impressive play from Jessica Bollinger and a host of others in the rout.

Bollinger, a 5-foot-11 lanky middle hitter, provided a game-high six kills.

Sarah Booth, one of just two seniors on the squad, provided four kills and hustled for a team-high seven digs.

Lilo Whitener, the team's other senior, had three kills.

Julia Cutsinger posted seven assists and two digs.

Against Caruthersville, Whitener, the team's tallest player at 6-0, led the team with nine kills.

Whitener followed with nine kills, while Bollinger had five.

Cutsinger had 12 assists, followed by Amanda Jordan's nine.

In spite of the lopsided wins, Johnson thinks her team could've played a bit better."I don't think we played up to our potential," she said. "But we got the job done."