POTOSI — Saxony Lutheran’s volleyball season came to an end in the sectional round of the class 3 state tournament against Potosi.
The Crusaders took one set from the dominant Trojan team in their own gym, something head coach Dawn Ozark was proud of despite the loss.
“One of the messages I shared with our athletes is that when you can say you left it all out there, that’s where you want to be, even if that means it’s a loss,” Ozark said. “I definitely feel that we did just that. I think being able to take a set from Potosi in an extremely active environment, I think was a huge goal for us to go in there and to not have them sweep us in three. I think that was a huge opportunity for us to kind of learn and grow and know what we need to do next year. That way when we’re back in that same spot, then we can be successful and kind of move forward. Those sets were close, and still being able to take one I think really showcases how hardworking we really are.”
The Crusaders had a lot of success in the conference and in the regular season, winning their second consecutive conference championship, winning the Pony Express Tournament, and finishing runner up in the Dig for Life and SEMO conference tournaments.
I would consider it to be an extremely successful year for our team,” Ozark said. “Coming off of a visit to the state final four, I think when you have that kind of success, the next season comes with its own different challenges that I think that we met and were able to be successful at. Our record was vastly improved from the previous year, up 10 wins. To finish 26-9-1 I think is a huge accomplishment, especially considering we are a young team.”
Ozark said the team was able to perform so well because of the work they have put in to stay healthy and fight through injuries all year.
“Last year we really struggled in that middle stretch to stay healthy and be able to be competitive and have our team on the court,” she said. “So I think that was a huge advantage for us this year and I think showcases the work we put in in the pre-season, having ourselves in the weight room, agility training, making sure nutrition-wise that we were just kind of stepping up our game to make sure that for our athletes that their bodies could be ready to go all season long.”
Other highlights of the year included a 4-0 record against rivals Notre Dame, including in the district final which went 5 sets, as well as wins against St. Vincent, Woodland, Oak Ridge, Cape Central, Winona and Portageville, all teams the Crusaders lost to last season.
“I think when any team has to meet a team that many times during the season and then that continues into the postseason, that presents a huge challenge in and of itself,” Ozark said. Going 4-0 against Notre Dame is a huge success. And a mark for our season.”
Ozark said she was impressed by the production of the younger players on the team including freshman Libero Emmie Debrower, who finished the year with 27 aces and more than 500 digs, and juniors Kendall McDowell and Kinley Couch, who both passed the 500 career kill mark.
The 26 wins for the Crusaders is the most for the program since 2022.
