By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
SAVANNAH - Benton has been hard to count out in 2022.
The Cardinals (24-9-1) have played 11 matches this season that have gone four sets or longer. Two of them against Maryville. One of those two was Monday.
Benton was down by seven points in set one, four points in set two and seven points in set four.
Yet, the Cardinals stormed back in each of those and overcame a sluggish third set to beat Maryville 3-1 in the Class 3 District 16 championship at Savannah High School Monday.
It marks the first district title for Benton volleyball since 2017.
"It feels so good," Benton coach Lauryn Doolan said after leading her alma mater to a district championship in just her second season at the helm.
"These girls have worked so hard all year and fought through a lot of stuff. We have just one senior, so a lot of people would look at this as a rebuild year for us, losing four (seniors) last year, but they have just completely turned it around at the end of the season and just dominated. So proud."
Maryville (19-16-2) raced out to a 6-1 lead early and then a 15-8 lead in set one. The Cardinals swung at a high percentage early though, knocking down 16 kills in the first set and coming back to win it 25-23.
Set two started similarly. Maryville led 10-6, but the Cardinals reeled off a 7-2 run to grab the lead. The Spoofhounds responded out of a timeout, going on a 7-3 spurt to lead 19-16 in the second.
Yet again, Benton could not be counted out. Sophomore Andrea Simmons had three critical kills late in the second and Benton took it 25-23 to go up 2-0 in the match.
Maryville, again, grabbed an early lead in set three and this time did not relinquish it. The Spoofhounds built a 19-11 lead out of a Benton timeout and dominated the third frame 25-14.
Set four started much the same. Maryville again raced out to a lead. This time, a 14-7 advantage. It seemed like a fifth set might be inevitable.
Then suddenly, Benton found a 5-1 run, thanks to a couple of momentum changing kills from junior Hollie Peters. Up 15-12 in the fourth, Maryville called timeout.
Benton found itself, and just kept coming. Behind seven kills in the fourth by Peters, the Cardinals eked out a 24-22 lead and then Peters fired the final shot on the front row to send Benton to a district championship.
"We got down as a team and on each other, but we really pulled it together," Peters said of her team's rally. "We came together and we came to play for sure. I'm honestly just so proud of our team. I am so proud."
Peters finished with 23 kills and three blocks unofficially. Simmons had 10 kills, while Cammie Peters had seven.
"Everyone was ready to hit today," Peters noted. "Everyone was ready to play and we really just got everywhere and I'm so happy about that."
Senior Rylee Vierthaler ended her varsity volleyball career with a team-high 22 kills, including eight in the third set. Sophomore Addison Weldon had eight kills and two blocks. Senior Anastyn Pettlon had four kills and two aces.
Benton will be back home on Thursday to host either Odessa or Excelsior Springs in a Class 3 sectional match at 6:30.
A state tournament match at Springer Gymnasium is sure to be a raucous environment. Though, both fan bases had Savannah's gym bursting at the seams for most of Monday evening.
"Whenever you have a south end district championship, everyone shows up and is ready to play," Doolan said. "Half of them are my family over there. So, they know how to cheer and celebrate in the south end for sure. It was awesome. We have great fans, so (Thursday) will be an exciting night for us."
An exciting week for Benton volleyball that could be the start of an exciting run long-term. The Cardinals will say goodbye to senior libero Berlin Smith at the end of the year, but every other player on the roster is set to come back.
"I am amazed we have come this far as a team," Peters said. "I am so glad we'll have this team next year. We're losing Berlin and I am so sad about that, but I am glad that we have close to the same team that we can bring in next year."
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.