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Sports

Angels Set to Defend State Volleyball Championship

Villa Duchesne also has state aspirations.

The destination of the state volleyball tournament has changed through the recent years moving from Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg to Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City and starting this year and running through at least 2014 to the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

The sites may change but the teams sometimes don't as has been the case in the last nine years for St. Joseph's Academy which has made seven final fours in that time. And the Angels have won two state titles in the last three years, including the Class 4 championship last fall.

"Last year was especially exciting and rewarding because everyone expected us to win," Angels coach Karen Davis said. "It is often hard to win with those kinds of expectations and the season featured one injury after another."

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But the Angels were basically healthy for the final four and finished out a 31-7-2 season with an exciting 25-19, 31-29 victory over Lee's Summit West in the championship match.

St. Joe's had an amazing senior class with five seniors moving on to play in college, including two in the ultra competitive Southeast Conference. Helen Boyle is attending LSU and Taylor Masterson is at Alabama. Cat McGrath (Emory), Krista Menghini (SIU-Carbondale) and Emily Jaeger (University of Missouri S&T) were other key senior contributors.

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Davis realized that this year was going to be somewhat of a rebuilding one and the Angels got some tough news early on as junior Lauren Gresham, who was the top returning offensive threat, tore her ACL at a camp at Ohio State and will be lost for the season. Gresham had been named an All-American over the summer.

The cupboard is not entirely bare though as junior Alyssa Jensen, who has committed to the University of California, returns as starting setter. Because of injuries a number of other underclassmen earned extensive playing time on varsity last year. That group includes: junior lobero Anna Reichert; junior right side hitter Natalie Gower; senior outside hitter Carly Ochs; senior middle blocker Elise Ames; senior defensive specialist Molly Keeven; junior defensive specialist Courtney Meek.

"The goal is the same every year and that is to get to state and win state," Davis said. "We will be competitive."

Villa Duchesne is another team with its sites on Cape Girardeau this fall.

The Saints, who were coming off a second place finish at state in 2009, had an outstanding regular season last year with a 26-8-1 mark, including an undefeated MWAA Red Conference finish.

But Villa lost a heart-breaking match three-game match to Westminster Christian Academy in the district finals.

The Saints were dominated by underclassmen last year. They return six seniors, some of whom have been together on varsity since they were freshmen.

"I have been here four years and this is the best class I have had," Villa coach Shane Weber said. "They have done their work in the off-season and have come in even more focused this year. They are going to do whatever it takes to get back to the state tournament."

The senior group includes middle hitter Meg Peterson, setter Faith Rolwes, defensive specialist Emma Lombardo and outside hitter Bridget Boyle.

Sophomore outside hitter Maggie Schroeder also returns. She had over 200 kills last year as did Peterson and Boyle. Rolwes, who has set on varsity since she was a freshman, had over 800 assists.

"A lot of these girls got a taste of state when they got to the finals (losing to O'Hara) two years ago," Weber said. "Their ultimate goal is to get back to that situation and then win that final match."

Villa joins that new Metro League this fall along with area teams MICDS and John Burroughs.

The Rams and Bombers are coming off tough 2010 seasons. Neither team won a league match, MICDS playing the MWAA Red and Burroughs in the MWAA Blue.

MICDS was beset by key injuries last season. Its key senior, Delaney Hobbs, missed the entire season while Haley Prior missed much of the season.

Pryor, a senior middle hitter, returns this year as do senior setter Jessie Brown, senior middle hitter Sophie Critchfield-Jain, senior right side hitter Josalynn Smith and sophomore outside hitter Gabby Putnam.

"I like the enthusiam and passion for the sport that this group shows," MICDS coach Rachael Maurer said. "A lot of these girls have been playing together for a while and they are a scrappy bunch."

John Burroughs also joins the new league. The Bombers come off an 8-12-0 season in 2010.

Ladue hopes to build on a strong finish from last year. The Rams struggled badly at the start of the season, losing 12 of their first 13 matches. But they came back to win eight of their last 14 and finished above .500 in the Suburban East Conference.

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