The seventh-grade Lady Mustangs’ outstanding season came to an end Monday night with a loss to a strong Mackinaw-Dee Mack team in the Farmington Sectional.
In the first game, CJH struggled to make passes on offense to ensure scoring opportunities.
Despite the great net play from Hannah Scherer, the team lost, 25-12.
In the second game, CJH and Mackinaw-Dee Mack played evenly matched and the score was tight heading into the final points.
In the end, the Mustangs were not able to rally and fell, 25-20.
The Lady Mustangs end the season with a 24-1 record.
After an undefeated regular season, the team recently added the Regional title to their season total.
The girls won the Dunlap Middle School Regional Thursday night by beating Dunlap Valley Middle School in two games.
“The girls had to work hard to get the win,” coach Sara Kinney said.
Shayna VanOstrand helped the team get off to a 5-2 lead by slinging hard serves at the Spartans.
A kill by Scherer put the girls up 10-5, and a service ace by Scherer gave the Mustangs a 13-5 lead.
After CJH took a 17-10 lead, the Spartans fought their way back to cut the lead to 19-18.
After trading points, the teams found themselves tied at 20.
CJH took a 21-20 lead and then a 22-21 lead on a Spartan error.
A service ace by Courtney Roberts put the Mustangs up 23-21.
The Spartans would get one more point, but CJH took the ball back and, with Caitlin Duhs serving, the Mustangs won, 25-22.
“The girls missed too many serves and spiking attempts in the first set and Dunlap Valley played very well,” Kinney said.
With VanOstrand again serving first, the Mustangs took a quick 5-0 lead in the second match.
The Spartans scored, but CJH took a 7-1 lead on a thunderous block from Scherer.
A service ace launched by Hailey Coats put the Mustangs up, 8-1, and Duhs stretched it to an 11-1 advantage.
Dunlap’s offense made several moves and was able to score a few points after being shut out, but the Mustangs held a dominating 21-10 lead and a Regional title in sight.
Coats blasted a service ace past the Spartans to take a 23-10 lead and then used another good serve to force game point.
With Duhs serving, the Mustangs again won on a Spartan error, 25-11.
To get to the championship game, the Mustangs beat Creve Coeur Parkview in two games March 2.
“The girls served the ball well and made few errors in this match,” Kinney said.
With good serving and passing by Briana Gray, the Mustangs dominated the first game for a 25-8 victory.
The hustle and heads-up play by Tara Puterbaugh helped CJH claim its place in the title game with a 25-9 victory.
