WOODLAND VOLLEYBALL IN FAMILIAR TERRITORY AT CLASS 2A FINAL FOUR

Emily Johnson's first year as head volleyball coach at Woodland is beginning to look a lot like her last year as a player for the Lady Cardinals.

Under Johnson, the tradition-rich Lady Cardinals have maintained the winning ways she helped to establish as an all-state player.

In Johnson's senior season, the Lady Cardinals captured the Class 2A state crown.

Friday, with Johnson at the helm, Woodland begins its quest for another state title at the Class 2A Final Four in Warrensburg. The Lady Cardinals are packing a 25-5 record after winning last weekend's sectional tournament at Notre Dame High School." We set a team goal to get this far and I hope that we play hard enough to see how far we can really get," said Johnson.

The competition will be much tougher than Saturday's sectional where Woodland swept both Caruthersville and Belle.

At the final four, Woodland (25-5) will run into the likes of Spokane (27-6-1), Eldorado Springs (32-1-2) and Herman (30-6). Eldorado Springs played in last year's state championship match and Herman claimed a state championship in 1993."The teams we will face this year definitely have experience and know what it's like to compete at the state level," said Johnson, whose own Lady Cardinals placed fourth in last year's state tournament.

Woodland will begin 2A Final Four pool play Friday at 9 a.m. at the CMSU Multipurpose Building against Spokane. They will play two sets against each of the other three qualifiers. The two teams with the best round-robin records will meet Saturday at noon for the state championship. The third-place match will be held at 9 a.m.

Woodland has not faced any of the final four teams during the regular season, but has seen plenty of tough competition. The Lady Cardinals won their own Woodland Tournament and placed second in the Stoddard County Conference Tournament, pushing 1A power Bernie to three sets. Woodland has lost twice to Bernie this year, twice to Leopold and once to Jackson."I feel we play in a tough conference and tough teams in the area which only help you to get better and really help you to prepare," said Johnson.

Woodland returns three senior starters from last year's state qualifier in all-stater Sara Booth, Julia Cutsinger and Lilo Whitener. Booth, an outside hitter and a four-year starter, leads the team in kills while Cutsinger leads the team in assists from her setter position. Whitener has been a force at middle hitter/blocker."They've shown a great amount of leadership throughout the year," said Johnson.

Also starting for the Lady Cardinals will be juniors Amanda Jordan and Jessica Bollinger and sophomore Danyel Farrell, who is just returning from a badly sprained ankle.