Dexter, Missouri – It was a nail biter from beginning to end, but the Lady ‘Cats of Dexter pulled out a District Title win, the first in 14 years. The Lady ‘Cats (29-3-1) won 10 straight District Titles from 1991 – 2000 and on Wednesday night they claimed their 21st District Championship in school history. The Dexter community is extremely proud of the girls and how well they conquered their fears and drove home a win in front of a packed Bearcat Event Center!
After losing the first set 21-25, the girls knew they needed to pull it together if they wanted to win. Dexter’s volleyball coach Carmen Morgan said, “I tell my players rhythm is your friend in volleyball and hesitation is your enemy.” And they did just that, got into the rhythm and won the next two sets 25-19, 25-23.
When asked how the ‘Cats regrouped after the first set. “Everybody took a deep breath in the huddle and relaxed,” stated Dexter senior hitter Jessica Lindsey. “We started playing in rhythm like we should have the whole game. I am so happy with the way we played!”
It was definitely a night to remember! Dexter’s quest for a District title came down to the wire with neither team leading in the 3rd set by more than 2 points until Krysten Garrison (She’s a Freshman!) put the ‘Cats out on top 19-16 and forced Perryville to call a timeout.
“The last timeout when we were in the huddle I felt confident with the girls,” stated Morgan. “We began to settle down. We were way too tight that first set and honestly, we haven’t lost very many first games, but that first game we were way too tight. I felt like confidence was on our side during the last timeout.”
Senior Jessica Lyndsey led the Bearcats with 15 digs and tallied 13 kills. Senior Shyann Jines tallied 11 digs and led the Bearcats with 15 kills.
“Those two are our seniors and those two will always leave it on the floor and we know that about them,” commented Coach Morgan. “I kept saying you have got to hit the ball. We wanted Perryville to have to play our game and we didn’t want to have to play Perryville’s game. “
“We had trouble tonight on pulling our double block over,” stated Shyann Jines. “#2 (Perryville) kept swinging across her body and we thought she was going to go the other way…Just getting a touch on any ball is better than nothing, so that’s what I kept in my head.”
Kristen Garrison tallied 7 kills and led the team with 13 assists. Shyann Jines tallied 4 of the teams 7 blocks.
“Our game is a hard-hitting style coming at you,” Morgan said. “We know Perryville is a good defensive team, but we also know they can hit so we didn’t want them to have the opportunity to get the ball up and hit at us, and they did some. Perryville is also the tip queens. They will drop the ball in on you and they do it very well. They are a good team.”
Shyann Jines had 8 assists and Julia Hahn tallied 7 assists. Lexie Barnes served Dexter’s only ace of the night.
“Actually our defense was better tonight than our offense and that’s usually not the case,” continued Morgan. “Perryville is a very good defensive team as well. You cannot ever put a ball down and think it is down because they will pick it up. We had to scramble a little bit, but at the end I felt like we began to power them down a little bit and wear them down.”
Dexter will host the Class 3 sectionals and quarterfinal on Saturday afternoon beginning at 3:00 p.m. They will play Bishop DuBourg first. The other sectional game is between Millar Career Academy and St. Pius at 4:30 p.m.
When asked about how it felt to win the Districts….Coach Morgan said, “It’s HUGE! I told the girls tonight that DEXTER is here to stay. We are sending a loud, clear message to people we are her to stay. TAKE NOTE! We are not going anywhere. We are going to be up there and we are going to be coming at people.”
“I think Dexter had to get over that hump,” she continued. “There is a little hump there. Perryville is used to winning districts and they have got that on their side a bit. When you win a district it’s always good for your young kids to see that. We had a good group of young kids sitting there and it’s good for them to see that they can do it. It’s a trickle-down effect. We needed to get over that hump and we did that tonight!”
Coach Morgan added, “We appreciate all the support from the fans, the Dexter School, and the community during our tournament. It’s a joy having the students cheering for us as well.”
