Lutheran St. Charles falls in five sets to Jefferson City in Class 4 state semifinal

CAPE GIRARDEAU — Lutheran St. Charles seniors Katelyn Diani-O'Day and Lacey Zumbehl went down swinging.

The duo led a dramatic fourth set comeback, but the Cougars still fell to Jefferson City 15-25, 25-16, 25-13, 24-26, 15-11 in a thrilling Class 4 girls volleyball state semifinal Thursday at Show Me Center.

Jefferson City (27-7) will play St. Pius X (36-2-1) in the championship match at 4 p.m. Thursday.

"We left our hearts on the floor," Lutheran St. Charles coach Rachel Versemann said. "We stayed aggressive, and that's how we win ball games."

Zumbehl had 18 kills, Kennedy Brown had eight and Aubrey Roshek added seven more for Lutheran St. Charles (23-14). Diani-O'Day had 33 assists.

Nola Borgmeyer had 10 kills and Maddie Mitchell recorded 28 assists for Jefferson City.

A Zumbehl kill and an Aubrey Goellner block gave Lutheran St. Charles a 9-8 lead in the fifth set. But a backrow smash from Borgmeyer helped give the Jays a 12-10 lead.

Brown answered with a kill for the Cougars, but Jefferson City finished the 1-hour, 51-minute match with an ace from Ella Showers and a Borgmeyer finish on a free ball.

"It's a whole new atmosphere for us," Versemann said. "We came in excited. We're glad we had some time on the practice court before the game to get warmed up and to come into the gym and just see that it's a normal court, just like the courts we play on all season."

Cougars pounce early

Lutheran St. Charles jumped out to a 9-3 lead and never trailed in the first set. Goellner set the tone with a block and Roshek had a kill for the Cougars.

Brown had a pair of kills and Zumbehl had an ace and a kill to clinch the opener.

Turning the tables

Jefferson City flipped the script in the second set by taking its own big lead and not looking back. Borgmeyer led the way with a couple of kills, an ace and a block, Sandra Ingram had two kills down the stretch and a Lydia Gudde kill evened the match at a set apiece.

The Jays took a 2-1 lead by winning the final 11 points in the third set. Leah Heisler put down four straight aces and a Mitchell block ended the frame.

"That first game, we were ready to go, and then we let up a little bit in the next two sets, played a little bit too safe," Versemann said.

Zumbehl comes up big

Lutheran St. Charles rallied from a 21-18 deficit in the fourth set. Zumbehl got the rally started with the first of her four kills down the stretch.

"It was Lacey time," Diani-O'Day said. "They had a split in their block because our middles were loud, and they ran either behind me or close to me, so that drew their middle over. So that's why Lacey had a split, and she was able to go to town on that."

Zumbehl also put down an ace and her kill from the back row gave the Cougars a 25-24 advantage. Diani-O'Day then fed Roshek for a kill to extend the match to a fifth set.

"I just said, 'Hey guys, we are playing for an opportunity to play in the state championship,' " Versemann said. "They're not going to give it to us. We need to go after it. We need to take it from them."

Playoff picture

St. Pius, No. 1 in the STLhighschoolsports.com small school rankings, swept Jefferson City on September 14. It is also a rematch of last season's semifinal in which the Lancers edged the Jays in five sets.

Lutheran St. Charles will play Platte County (22-12-1) in the third-place match at 2 p.m.

"We just have to stay on our toes and stay level and stay calm and play aggressive," Diani-O'Day said.