A year removed from the devastating district semifinal loss at the hands of rival Hannibal, the Lady Bruins volleyball team found themselves further in the playoffs than anyone had expected. Fighting for an elusive spot in the state Final Four, Rock Bridge also found themselves further than any other team in the school’s 40-year history, and even further than they themselves had hoped: the state quarterfinals.

“We set two goals at the beginning of the season,” senior Jessica Lambert said. “We even laminated them so we could bring them with us to every game. The goals were to keep every team under 17 points and to win districts.”

Perhaps just a hopeful aspiration, the thought of even advancing to the Cape wasn’t the focus of the Lady Bruins throughout the season. Yet, as each round of the playoffs passed and the RB volleyball season elongated, the goal of going all the way seemed much more obtainable.

Coming off a regular season in which the Lady Bruins posted an impressive 29-2 record, RBHS plowed through the district tournament, toppling Wentzville Holt and Sedalia Smith-Cotton en route to a rematch against mid-Missouri foe, Helias Catholic. On Oct. 3, the Lady Crusaders downed RBHS in Jefferson City, 25-12 and 25-22 to hand the Bruins only their second loss of the year.

While Helias quickly overtook the Bruins in the minimum two games earlier in the month, with the District Championship on the line, RBHS dug in and easily won the first game 25-21. Following a back and forth dogfight in the second set, the Lady Bruins were victorious 26-24.

“The high point [of the season] was definitely beating Helias,” senior Hannah Krogman said. “That game was one of the most fun games we had, especially since we lost to them in the beginning of the year.”

After three days to rest and, more importantly, prepare for the next opponent, Republic High School, the Bruins traveled south toward Springfield for the sectional championship. After jumping out to the early lead and taking the first set 25-20, the Lady Bruins seemed sluggish, finding themselves down early in the second set, 7-3. After a RB rally to tie the game at 17, the Lady Tigers pulled away to tie up the match by winning 25-21.

“The first game was stressful since we took it to three games,” Krogman said, “but I think we did a good job pulling through and playing like the team we really are. Republic was a good team, but we out-performed them.”

Having exerted much of their energy attempting to tie up the match and keep their season alive, Republic did not have much left and the Lady Bruins easily took the game 25-14 and the sectional match, setting up a meeting with Ozark.

“We were all a little nervous before the Republic game,” Lambert said. “We came out strong in the first set and won. The second set we relaxed and lost, but in the third game we easily won. At that point I realized we had a shot at going to state.”

With not much rest in between matches, the Bruins were quickly back on the court to take on another team of Tigers — this time Ozark High School.

“The Ozark game was very emotional. We lost the first set 25-17, “ Lambert said. “We were shocked after the first set but our coach got our heads on straight. She told us that we need to compete and if we gave it our all we could win.”

Halfway through the second set it seemed all but over as Ozark consistently held the lead over RBHS. Yet in a season where the Lady Bruins had consistently been resilient, this game proved to be the same. Battling back, RB held off a late rally and forced a third game, winning the second 25-23.

“That was a fun and stressful game,” Krogman said. “We competed back and forth for the whole match and it had all the girls on a bit of a roller coaster of emotions, but we stayed together and performed well mentally and physically.”

The outstanding performance continued deep into the third set. The two clubs constantly exchanged leads, yet ultimately Ozark would hold on 25-23 and advance to the state semifinals. For the Lady Bruins it was a tough end to a successful season.

“Everyone was upset since we didn’t want it to be over,” Krogman said. “We all love each other and it’s hard to just accept that the season is over. But we performed well and really fought in the last game. We may not have made it to state, but we we got farther than any Rock Bridge volleyball team and that is something to be proud of.”

To say this season was something to be proud of is an understatement. On the surface, the team accomplished their goals: holding many teams under 17 points and winning their district. They put up a 33-3 record, the most wins in school history, en route to the sectional title and a state quarterfinalist, the deepest any team in school history has traveled. While the close defeat at the hands of Ozark was bitter, the season as a whole resonates with pride inside the team and its members.

“The walk back to the locker room was full of tears and silence,” Lambert said. “Coach Sherman told us while crying how proud she was of us and that the game was some of the best volleyball she had ever seen. Even today it hurts to talk out this loss. It hurts worse because we were so close to going to state. I am very proud to have been a part of the RBHS Volleyball team this year. We have accomplished things that other volleyball teams have never come close to at Rock Bridge. It hurts now but in the future we will be proud and nothing can take that pride away.”

 By Brayden Parker