Lady Mt’neers win streak up to six

What a turnaround it has been for the Lady Mt’neers already. After dropping their first six games of the year and tying game No. 7, Mt. Vernon has rattled off six straight wins after defeating East Newton on Monday, in straight sets.
“It has been fun," said head coach Bridgette Schmutz. "Those first six games were games that we were in and they were against some veteran teams and that has paid off for us. We have put our best foot forward and keep learning and growing and we can attribute that to winning now.”
The week began Tuesday in Anderson, as the Lady Mt’neers took on McDonald County. Sophomore Cheyenne Bieber was on another level as she was a force at the net, accumulating 20 kills on 46 attempts. Mt. Vernon took the opening set 25-17. The Lady Mustangs struck back tying the match with a 25-21 set two win. However, the Lady Mt’neers proved to be too much, taking the third set, 25-15, and the fourth and decisive set, 25-21.
The girls continued the road trip Thursday, as they were in Wildcat country down in Cassville. However, the Wildcats offered little resistance, as a balanced attack led by Bieber and freshman Camryn Cornell rolled the Cats with eight kills each. The defense was the story, however, as Cassville managed only 16 kills as a team in three sets, as Mt. Vernon dominated 25-15, 25-15, 15-12.
The dominance continued into Monday, as the team returned home to take on East Newton. The Lady Mt’neers fell behind early in the first set, but quickly rallied and defeated the Lady Patriots, three sets to none.
“These last six games have been great," Bieber said after the game Monday. "We struggled early in the year, but now we have won six straight and I am hoping that we can keep it going, and the young girls keep playing well.”
The more inexperienced players have started coming into their own as of late and have led to the recent success.
“The freshman have been playing really well," Bieber said. "Cameryn (Cornell) and Hali (Stokes) are two of the freshman who have really stepped up recently and have played a lot better. It’s been tough because they are still learning just as much as me and Payge (Evans) are, as well. We are all still learning and its going to take some time to get where some of these other more experienced teams are.”
Mt. Vernon moves to 6-6-1 for the season and they will be back in action Thursday, as they travel to Hollister before prepping for the Strafford Volleyfest, Saturday.