By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
After winning 24 games in the regular season last fall, it didn't set well with Bishop LeBlond when they lost in the first round of districts to West Platte to end the 2022 campaign.
That angst carried over into 2023, as LeBlond came out and swept the St. Joseph city jamboree on Tuesday at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
"Coming off of last year's loss to West Platte early in the season, it feels good to regroup and come back and get it done," said senior Maddie Sego.
LeBlond breezed by Lafayette in their first match of the night, beating the Irish 15-5 and 15-7.
They turned in a scrappy effort against Central in the very next match, beating the Indians 15-13 and 15-11.
Sego was especially on against Central, turning in four kills, three aces and 3.5 blocks in that match.
"I thought our team played really, really well," LeBlond head coach Kimberly Huss said. "When someone made a mistake, somebody else picked them up and got us a point. So, I was really pleased with the team effort tonight."
There were six total matches in Tuesday's jamboree. Each match was two sets long. The sets were decided by whoever scored 15 points first.
The fifth match of the night was the decisive one, as LeBlond faced Benton - last year's jamboree winner.
The first set of the fifth match was back and forth, with no team ever leading by more than three points. With the first set tied at 14, sophomore Rilyn Conard scored the winning kill to give the Eagles a 15-14 win over the Cardinals in set one.
The second set stayed close for awhile, but LeBlond went up 12-7 and won it 15-11 to clinch a sweep in the jamboree.
"It's a little bit of a pride point, who can win the jamboree," Huss said. "But, we also know that what we're looking for and our goals are about the end of October."
LeBlond has won 10 district titles in the last 13 seasons. They finished second at state in 2021, and have enjoyed 20-30+ win seasons for about the last 15 or so years.
With seven seniors on this year's varsity roster, Huss called this summer "one of the most joyful" summers of volleyball she's had in her storied coaching career.
The Eagles are just hoping that fun and excitement can help fuel some big results in 2023.
"We're just relishing in the fun we're having every single day with this group," Huss said, "and they're bringing along the young kids really, really well. So, it's kind of exciting."
Other results Tuesday
Benton and Central tied in the first match of the night Tuesday. Central beat the Cardinals 15-8 in set one, but Benton won set two 15-11.
Benton had no troubles against Lafayette in set four of the jamboree, beating the Irish 15-7 and 15-8 respectively.
Lafayette scored their only set victory of the night on Monday when they beat Central 15-10 in the first set of the sixth and final match, but the Indians came back with a vengeance and downed the Irish 15-1, yes 15-1, in the final set of the jamboree.
Benton finished the night at 1-1-1, Central was 0-1-2, while Lafayette went 0-3.
Benton opens their season Saturday in the Tarkio tournament. LeBlond opens the season at Rock Port on August 28. Lafayette is home to Mid-Buchanan on September 5 and Central is home to Excelsior Springs on August 29.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.