Mt. Vernon volleyball snags state silver

Lady Mt’neers fight way to championship, season comes to a close in weekend finale in St. Joseph
 
The Mt. Vernon volleyball team has earned the title of Missouri Class 3 state runner-up following a tournament run that finished with a championship loss Saturday in St. Joseph against Helias Catholic. The Lady Mt’neers have been hot all season, finishing with a record of 26-8-2.
Mt. Vernon only had two seniors going into the year, having lost four last season. According to head coach Bridgett Schmutz, this had a noticeable effect on the program, but luckily the team had returned many of its key players from last year’s district champion team that would help them make it even further this year.

Early groundwork
The beginning of the season for the Mt. Vernon volleyball team was as good as one could ask for, with the team posting a record of 7-2-1 from Aug. 30 to Sept. 11. After that, the team slumped, recording nearly as many losses as wins the rest of the month. This would all turn around in October, however, which would see the Lady Mt’neers put on a display of dominance at their hometown tournament. Throughout the Mt. Vernon Varsity Tournament, the volleyball squad did not drop a single set, racking up wins against Aurora, Parkview, Glendale, Branson and Rogers, Ark., all in one day. This victorious run would play a hand in the Lady Mt’neers recording a 12-game win streak from Sept. 25 to Oct. 14. This is all thanks to training, both mental and physical, starting in the offseason, said Schmutz.
“Obviously, we show up every day, starting in the summer, lift, condition, practice; but we also put a lot of emphasis on the mental training for the game. We have a weekly focus and in the postseason we do a lot of visualization,” said Schmutz. “The girls call it our pregame ritual but we do some breathing exercises and then visually see ourselves playing the game before we ever even step out on the court. It has been something that I believe has helped settle our nerves and relieves some stress and anxiety ... especially when playing in games like the final four, that you’ve never experienced before."
Playoffs begin
The Lady Mt’neers played their first game of the district tournament on Oct. 23, beating Cassville 3-0. Next they played Monett, also winning with a score of 3-0 and being crowned district champs.
“We knew that we could make a run at another district championship and we felt like our experience of making it to the quarterfinals the year before would help us in postseason play,” said Schmutz.
And help them it did, as they would go on to post three 3-0 wins in a row before finally coming up against powerhouse Helias Catholic, who boasts an incredible 36-1-1 record on the season. According to Schmutz, in the past, Helias had been categorized as a Class 4 or 5 team. Despite another hot streak by the Mt’neers, their season would end against the Catholic school, taking home second-place medals after a 3-0 loss. This was not something to be ashamed of, though, said Schmutz.
“I’m extremely proud of our players and coaches. We had to play a lot of great teams to get to the final four and to lose to a program that has been Class 4 or Class 5 for the past six seasons...I don’t think we have a single thing to hang our heads about. We are a legit Class 3 team and we proved ourselves in the state tournament and throughout the season,” she said.
Seniors leaving
The Lady Mt’neers will lose two seniors after the end of the season, but there is hope that their winning ways will continue into next year with continued preparation. Though Schmutz only has one more year coaching her daughter, Ziah Schmutz.
“I had someone say to me that ‘I get another year’ [of my daughter playing for me] but I don’t ever take anything for granted ... over my coaching career I’ve had too many things happen to know better than that,” said Bridgett Schmutz. “I think at this current moment we have the talent to make another run but anything can happen. There are a lot of good teams that don’t make it to the postseason, let alone the final four. We will get back in the gym next summer; train, develop, and work like we do every season to replace the amazing players that graduate and to continue to raise the level of our program. We talked in the locker room about the legacy that our seniors, Camryn [Cornell] and Averee [Swillum], have helped to build; they are amazing players and we will have to work hard to fill their roles, but I think that time and time again, we’ve seen players rise to the challenge. I think Cam and Ave will be pulling for us to be right back in this position a year from now.”