The top seeded Chillicothe Lady Hornets met 4th seed Maryville in the Class 3 District 16 semifinal game at Cameron High School on Thursday. Chillicothe and Maryville had just played a 5 set thriller on the Lady Hornets senior night a week before, so Coach Lanie Beetsma and Chillicothe knew it would take another major effort to beat the Spoofhounds again.
The Lady Hornets started strong, setting Ava Leamer often in the first set and the Lady Hornets won the opening set comfortably 25-16. In the 2nd, Chillicothe held the advantage early but a run in the middle portion put Maryville in control. The Spoofhounds were ahead and had multiple set points at 24, but Chillicothe rallied to tie, and take the lead, giving the Lady Hornets a set point. However, Maryville responded and won the extended 2nd set by a score of 28-26.
In the 3rd, both teams traded the lead throughout, but late it was Maryville ahead 24-21 giving the Spoofhounds multiple chances to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The match flipped courtesy of a five point run for Chillicothe to come from behind and close out the 3rd set with a 26-24 victory. The Lady Hornets had several strong attacks from Lyla Beetsma, Liz Oliver, Emerson Staton, and Leamer in the comeback 3rd set triumph.
To begin the 4th set, Maryville was on the front foot early, but Chillicothe answered every move, including multiple marathon rallies featuring excellent defense from the Lady Hornets backline. For the 3rd straight set, Maryville won the race to 20 points, and the Lady Hornets, down 19-21, put on their rally caps again to go ahead 24-22. On Chillicothe’s 2nd match point Carmen Woodworth set Beetsma for the game winning kill as Chillicothe claimed a 25-23 victory in the 4th.
The Lady Hornets after the 25-16, 26-28, 26-24, 25-23 semifinal win, are now 23-3 on the season and will play either Benton or Savannah in the District Championship game at Cameron on Monday night.
