By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Savannah volleyball team rallied after getting dominated in the first set, but the Savages got off to a slow start in the fifth set and No. 1 seed Smithville (26-5-5) topped Savannah 3-2 in the Class 4 District 16 championship at Benton High School Tuesday.
Obviously not the desired outcome for No. 2 seed Savannah, but the Savages can look back on this season with their heads held high, getting the most wins in a single season since 2015.
"It's awesome that they stuck around," said first-year Savannah head coach Marina Atkins said. "Everyone bought in and this is what happened. So, it's a huge accomplishment. Tough loss, it is a tough loss, but I couldn't have done it without our four seniors. They led well, and they worked well together as a team, and they set that tone for the program."
Smithville, which won its first district title in volleyball since 2018, raced out to a 6-1 start in the first set, and never trailed, winning 25-15 to lead off.
Savannah (22-11-2) returned the favor in the second set, getting off to a 6-1 start themselves and weathering a late run from the Warriors to take the second 25-21.
The third set was back and forth throughout, but it was Smithville that went on a 4-0 run to end the set, breaking a 21-21 tie to win the third, 25-21.
Once again, the Savages hit back. Savannah took a 19-12 lead in the fourth, thanks to a 7-0 run, and they tied the match 2-2 with a 25-17 victory.
Smithville set the tone right away in the fifth, jumping out to a 6-2 lead. Savannah narrowed the gap, trailing 8-7 and forcing a Warriors timeout, but that's as close as the Savages would come in the fifth, as Smithville closed it out 15-9.
"Honestly, we kind of got stuck in a hole," Atkins said of the final set. "Then, we couldn't quite get out of it. But, the girls worked hard. We did. We battled back, we worked hard. It's just...sometimes you get stuck in a hole and a little rut and it's hard to get out of that. As young players, that's just something that comes with experience."
Sophomore outside hitter Rhyan Schrick led the Savages with 11 kills, while senior outside hitter Alexcia Jones finished an outstanding season with 10 kills.
Sophomore Addy Minton came off the bench and had a solid match, finishing with nine kills. Junior Sailor Bodenhausen finished with seven kills and two blocks.
Senior middle Isabella Reynolds was at times dominant for Smithville, knocking down a match-high 16 kills while also getting six blocks.
The Warriors came up with 12 blocks compared to Savannah's five. Smithville also had seven ace serves compared to just two by the Savages.
Again, not the desired outcome, but after getting swept by Smithville to open the season on August 30, Coach Atkins was happy to give one of the best teams in Class 4 a run for their money in the district title.
"They come out here and at least make them work for this, I couldn't have asked for a better type of loss," Atkins said. "Rather than coming out and just handing it to them. They had to at least work for it."
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