Lady ‘Cats go 1-3 in Branson

A five-game win streak for the Cassville softball team (8-8) came to an end on Friday. Following w.ins over Nevada, 14-0; Seneca, 3-0; Carthage, 9-2; Monett, 20-2; and Glendale, 10-2, Cassville fell to Poplar Bluff, 3-2; Bixby (Okla.), 5-3; and Dale (Okla.), 8-0. The last four games were played Friday ands Saturday at the Branson Festival. The Lady Wildcats have seven contests remaining and only two at home, Thursday against Nevada and Oct. 2 against Monett. Cassville will also host the Class 3, District 6 Tournament, which runs Oct. 15-20.

Wildcats’ schedule ramping up

The Cassville boys soccer team (2-5) picked up its second victory of the season last week with a 2-1 win over Parkview. The Wildcats fell to Monett on the following day, at home, 4-0. “It is always a great building block and sign when you face adversity, like going down by a goal early, then fight back and win a close match [over Parkview],” said Curtis Ray, Cassville boys soccer coach. “[Against Monett], after missing a great chance off of a header early, we pretty much went to sleep the entire rest of the first half, giving up 3 goals. We did respond with better intensity in the second half, but it was too late.” This week, Cassville faced Crocker on Monday and McDonald County on Tuesday, with results not available at presstime. The Wildcats travel to Thomas Jefferson on Thursday, and they play in the Greenwood Classic this weekend. “TJ has only played three games this season, and two of them were versus junior varsity squads,” Ray said.  “This could be a trap game if we are not careful. [In the Greenwood Tournament], we play a rematch against Lighthouse Christian Academy. We lost 1-0 the first game of the year, but feel that we are playing better every day. Depending on the outcome, we will face Greenwood or Ewing Kauffman. All in all, this team is figuring out their identity. The more they play with skill and patience, the better they are. They just need to continue, as my assistant coach Luis Vail has said, to, ‘Play their style with confidence.’” After the Greenwood Tournament, Cassville has four straight home games Sept. 30 to Oct. 9.

Cassville volleyball picks up wins

The Cassville volleyball team (6-6) has matched its 2024 win total. Last week, the Lady Wildcats went 5-2 with wins over besting Berryville (Ark.), Seneca (21-25, 25-16, 12-25, 25-21, 15-5) and Reeds Spring (25-21, 25-20, 25-19). Cassville then split wins and losses a the Buffalo Lady Bison Invitational, defeating Gloria Deo Academy (25-9, 25-11) and Stockton (25-18, 27-25) before falling to Buffalo (13-25, 20-25) and Ash Grove (19-25, 25-18, 23-25). Cassville faced Diamond on the road Monday and hosted Nevada on Tuesday, with results not available at presstime. Cassville travels to Lamar on Thursday and plays in the Mustang Volleyball Classic on Saturday. “[Berryville] beat us in 3 sets last season, so this was a a great start and set the standard for our week,” said Paige Huddleston, Cassville volleyball coach. “Tuesday we traveled to Seneca for our first Big 8 battle of the season. The years we travel to them, it seems to always be a good game, and sure enough it was. We fought to win in 5 sets and that seemed to fuel our fire. We hosted a strong Reeds Spring team on Thursday, sweeping in 3 sets. I am so proud of how the girls came out and just left it all on the floor for every point. Saturday, we traveled North of Springfield to Buffalo for our first varsity tournament of the season. We played some great volleyball all day, beating Gloria Deo Academy and Stockton in pool play, and we played hard with a tough Buffalo team, coming up short. In bracket play, we had a very tight 3-set battle with a really tough Ash Grove team, falling just short in the third set. I’ve been impressed and proud of what we brought to the court this whole week,. We have some big games this upcoming week with two more conference battles and another tournament on Saturday, but these girls just never quit so we will fight with everything we’ve got. I’m blessed to be coaching these amazing young ladies.”

Cassville XC competes in Monett, Willard

The Cassville boys and girls cross country teams ran in Monett and Willard last week. In Monett, the boys varsity and middle school teams each took fourth, and the girls varsity finished third. Full results include:

Varsity girls: 3.1 miles, 52 total runners

Kayli Anderson, 25:44, 11th

Lydia Cupps, 26:31, 17th

Claire Reuter, 28:02, 25th

Molly Cox, 28:26, 27th

Leah Walker, 36:00, 47th

Varsity boys: 3.1 miles, 85 total runners

Trever Garnett, 19:37, 9th

Jacob Hudson, 19:48 14th

Donavon Mikesh, 22:33, 32nd

Peyton Anderson, 22:51, 39th

Daniel Sledden, 24:27, 53rd

Jarrett Paul, 25:15, 64th

JV boys: 2.2 miles, top 20 medal

Vincent Buttram, 20:11, 14th

Clay Williamson, 20:20, 15th

Middle school girls: 1.88 miles, 100 runners total

Hattie Lyons, 13:33, 2nd

Blakely Johnson, 17:05, 48th

Isabella Cota, 20:25, 82nd

Middle school boys: 1.88 miles, 100 total runners

Nathan Lyons, 11:39, 3rd

Jaxen Anderson, 11:47, 6th

Dexter Beyer, 13:26, 47th

Aiden Harris, 14:10, 68th 

Calvin Moore, 14:18, 72nd

In Willard, the boys took fourth and girls took third. Those results include:

Boys varsity: 3.1 miles, 91 total runners

Trever Garnett, 17:45, 9th 

Jacob Hudson, 18:29, 14th

Donovan Mikesh, 20:50, 36th

Peyton Anderson, 21:07, 42nd

Jarrett Paul, 22:13, 57th

Daniel Sledden, 24:18, 72nd

JV boys: 3.21mi/71 total runners

Vincent Buttram, 24:09, 45th

Clay Williamson, 25:07, 54th

Varsity Girls: 3.1 miles, 66 total runners

Kayli Anderson, 23:01, 11th

Lydia Cupps, 24:11, 21st

Claire Reuter, 25:55, 27th

Molly Cox, 25:55, 28th

Leah Walker, 30:50, 53rd

Middle School boys: 1.6 miles, 285 total runners

Jaxen Anderson, 9:30, 5th

Nathan Lyons, 9:56, 18th

Aiden Harris, 11:24, 97th

Dexter Beyer, 11:26, 102nd

Calvin Moore, 11:31, 108th

Middle School girls: 1.6 miles, 253 total runners

Hattie Lyons, 11:07, 13th

Blakely Johnson, 13:39, 119th

Isabella Cota, 17:15, 221st

Lady Wildcats competing on course

The Cassville girls golf team has competed in four events in September, including two scrambles, a tournament in Marshfield and a junior varsity tournament. At the Reeds Spring JV Tournament on Sept. 2, Anabele Mills led with a 48, Taylor Yarnall shot a 55, Abbi Yarnall scored a 60 and Molly Pickett shot a 63. Mills was 10th overall. At the Cassville team scramble the following day, Cassville shot a 40, with Seneca scoring a 39, Monett 38 and Mt. Vernon 36. The Lady Wildcats were third in the Mt. Vernon scramble, shooting a 38 to Monett’s 37 and Mt. Vernon’s 31. At the Marshfield Tournament, Cassville did not have a team score. Taylor Yarnall shot a 107, Gwen Harmon a 105 and Julie Gregory a 121. The Lady Wildcats’ home tournament is on Thursday

Southwest Hosts 42nd Volleyfest on Oct. 4

The 42nd annual Volleyfest is Oct. 4 at Southwest High School in Washburn. Nine schools will begin pool play at 8 a.m. Pierce City has won the title two years in a row. Besides the defending champ Eagles and Lady Trojans, teams from Crane, Exeter, Golden City, Purdy, Thomas Jefferson and Verona are entered. Bracket play starts at 1:30 p.m., with the 3 and 4 seeds battling for 5th and 7th place. Semifinals and championship are scheduled for 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Coaches will vote for an event MVP and a 6-player all-tournament team.