JACKSON — The Saxony Lutheran Lady Crusaders earned their first-ever trip to the state finals Saturday by topping Lutheran South 3-0.
The quarterfinal victory came on the heels of a 3-0 sectional win over Potosi just days after securing their fourth district title in the past 5 years with a 3-1 victory over Kennett in the Class 3, District 1 tournament.
In the Class 3, District 1 tournament, second-seeded Saxony Lutheran, which received a first-round bye, beat third-seeded Kennett 3-0 in the semifinal round, then beat top-seeded Kennett 3-0 for the district championship.
In sectional play on Oct. 30, the Lady Crusaders (18- 19) knocked off Potosi (28- 5-2) to advance to the quarterfinals, where they faced Lutheran South (8-20-3).
“We came in off that exciting match against Potosi,” said Saxony Lutheran coach Dawn Ozark, “and we had a practice the day before and we were kind of able to review some from some footage of Lutheran South playing. We felt very confident coming into that game. We were excited to be there.”
Saxony won 25-17, 25- 20, 25-14, and according to Ozark, was never really in trouble.
“We played hard,” Ozark said. “[Lutheran South] is a great team. To make it that far, they have to be successful, but I felt like we really did well and did what we need to do to come out with a win.”
Full statistics for Saturday’s game weren’t available as of Monday, but Ozark said it would be hard to put direct praise on any individual players.
“It would be tough because we’re a bit of a smaller team,” Ozark said. “We have 11 athletes, and each and every one of our athletes has participated in the district games up to this point. It would be very difficult to shout out just one athlete. I am truly blessed that each of them plays a major part in this team and in doing what we need to do to help us be successful, each one pulling for each other.”
Up next for the Lady Crusaders will be a semifinal-round matchup with Mt. Vernon (25-7-2) on Friday for the chance to face the winner of the other semifinal between Oak Grove (35-0-1) and Helias Catholic (34-1-1). Saxony’s semifinal game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., followed by the Oak Grove/Helias Catholic match at 4 p.m. at the St. Joseph Civic Center in St. Joseph.
