Lady Mt’neers dominate Monett for title

It had been a two-year drought between district championships for the Lady Mt’neers volleyballers before Mt. Vernon defeated Nevada last year to win the district title. Mt. Vernon made it two in a row last Saturday with a convincing 3-0 victory over the Monett Cubs in the 2024 Class 3 District 12 tournament championship game.
The Lady Mt’neers earned the top seed in the district tournament after ending the regular season with just three losses in the final 16 games. They challenged the fourth seeded East Newton Lady Patriots in the semifinal match after receiving a first round bye. The Lady Mt’neers proved that they were the rightful owners of the top seed in the district as they dominated all three sets 25-14, 25-12, 25-11 for a three set sweep.
The win set up a district championship game against Monett, Saturday afternoon. It was a homecoming of sorts as members of that 2020 Lady Mt’neer district championship team Cameryn Cassity was in the house and on the bench as an assistant coach for Monett coaching against her former coach (Bridgett Schmutz) and teammate and Mt. Vernon assistant coach Solai Pham. The Cubs came out hot as they were wanting to pull the upset for coach Cassity, but Mt. Vernon ultimately came out on top in the first set 25-22. The Lady Mt’neers used the tight opening set as a wake-up call, as the second and third set were dominated by the Lady Mt’neers. Mt. Vernon cruised to back-to-back 25-11 set victories for the 3-0 match victory and more importantly their second straight district championship.
The Lady Mt’neers improve to 18-12-2 for the season and now only have three losses in their last 18 games. The Lady Mt’neers advance to the sectional round Halloween night at 6 p.m. against Mountain Grove. This will be a rematch from last year’s sectional game where the Lady Panthers ended the Lady Mt’neers season in three sets in Mountain Grove. This year’s showdown will be played in Mt. Vernon.