Tara Fish knew what was coming.
The head coach of Jefferson’s volleyball team anticipated a grinding, marathon match when her host Blue Jays took on Saxony Lutheran in the Class 2 state quarterfinals Saturday.
“I told the parents, ‘You’re getting your $8 worth tonight.’”
Jefferson was one point away from elimination but crawled back from the brink by taking three of the last five points in the fifth set to win and advance to the state final four this weekend at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.
It’s the second straight trip to Cape for the Blue Jays (30-5-1), who also nailed down their second consecutive 30-win season. Two more victories and Fish’s squad would take home the school’s first-ever state championship.
“The girls worked hard and played well together, which we usually do,” Fish said. “We had some serving errors, but we served a ton. One of our goals was to eliminate those errors.
“We’ve practiced coming back from behind. I put them through that pressure in practice and that’s not something a lot of teams can do.”
After the Crusaders (26-9-3) won the first set 25-23, Jefferson returned the favor by the same score in set two. The Blue Jays won the third set 25-17 and had the momentum. But Saxony seized it back, taking the fourth set 25-23 to send the match to a decisive fifth set, which goes to the first team to score 15 points with at least a two-point margin.
The Crusaders shot to an 8-3 lead and were one point from winning the match at 14-12 before Jefferson overhauled them to win 17-15.
The Blue Jays take on East Buchanan (31-5-1) at 6 p.m. Friday. Defending and 15-time state champion Hermann (30-9-1) faces Strafford (26-8-1) in the other semifinal at 6 p.m. The state championship is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday.
Fish’s expectation of a long match with Saxony Lutheran was well justified because the teams had previously battled through five sets at Saxony just 11 days earlier, with Jefferson prevailing in comeback fashion, 25-19, 20-25, 17-25, 25-17, 16-14.
In Saturday’s rematch, Jefferson served 112 times. Senior setter Paige Siebert had 52 assists running the Blue Jays’ 5-1 offense and now has more than 2,500 assists in her career. Senior outside hitter Emma Breier piled up 24 kills and is two away from 1,000 in her career. Senior hitter Kirstyn Loyd had 12 kills, adding to the more than 1,000 in her career.
“These seniors work hard and are great role models,” Fish said. “They work hard all year long and that makes a difference. Getting stronger and faster is a game changer.
“When Emma’s on the front row, Paige finds her and we have Loyd opposite of her. We’re fortunate to have several hitters.”
State success has bred excitement not only among the leaders of the team, but also the rest of the squad who help pump the energy onto the court. Even R-7 Superintendent Clint Johnston joined the fun by wearing a red “Rambo” headband, like those the team hands out to top performers.
“Our bench is so loud and excited for what’s happening,” Fish said.
Last season the Blue Jays met Hermann in the semifinals and lost in four sets. This time they’re on opposite sides of the bracket. Fish downplayed the importance of not having to face the Bearcats until the final.
“A team that goes to the final four deserves to be there,” she said. “Last year, we saw them first. We’ve got three other teams that are competing to win a state championship.”
Jefferson recently has come close to winning a team title in several sports. The softball team finished third in the state (Class 2) in 2016. The girls track and field teams placed second in the state from 2017 through 2019, also in Class 2. The football team made it to the Class 2 state semifinals in 2020. And the baseball team finished third in the state (Class 3) in 2021.