California bumps Stover in district final

COLE CAMP — A strong start was not enough for the Stover Lady Bulldogs in the title game of the Class 2 District 13 championship game on Tuesday night. Stover’s quick start was erased by the California Lady Pintos, and California claimed the district title with a 25-22, 25-13 win.

Stover (20-10-1) used the strong net play of Erin Eckhoff to grab an 11-4 lead in the first game, but the Lady Bulldog defense faltered. California took advantage, climbing back into game one and racing to a huge lead in game two.

“Defense just self-destructed,” said Stover coach Carrie Myears. “We got lazy, we weren’t moving our feet, reaching for balls, and just letting balls drop.”

The Lady Bulldogs used the strength of Eckhoff and Kaylee Uptegrove as they kept California on its heels. With Eckhoff’s fifth kill of the first game, Stover had built a sizable lead.

“Erin was just unstoppable up there, banging away. We were making good passes, and then we just kind of let up and got content with how we were playing, instead of finishing and putting teams away,” Myears said.

The early Stover run ended with a missed serve, and the Lady Pintos began their comeback. California (20-10-3) began to play better defense and bolstered that defensive
improvement with an offensive push.

A Stover error made it a 13-13 game, but the Lady Bulldogs recovered and looked to be back in control when a California error gave Stover a 20-16 lead.

Once again, California answered the Stover push. With the Lady Bulldogs struggling to serve receive and pass, the Lady Pintos began to attack at the net. California’s Callie Fletcher had a pair of kills to put her team back in front at 21-20.

California took advantage of several more Stover errors, and then Kelci Dampf finished off the game one win with a kill.

The Lady Pintos used the momentum from the first game to grab a 12-1 lead. Fletcher did most of the damage for the Lady Pintos, delivering three kills during that stretch.

With the Stover defense scrambling, it was difficult for Lady Bulldog setter Kristin Wilson to get balls that she could set for her hitters.

“She was all over the place,” said Myears of Wilson. “I don’t even know how she got to some of the balls. We rely on our big hitters and we couldn’t get the ball to Erin (Eckhoff) and Kaylee (Uptegrove), and it just kind of fell apart.”

The Lady Pintos kept the pressure on Stover, and despite kills from Eckhoff, Uptegrove and Ellie Denker, the Lady Bulldogs could not get back into the game. Fletcher finished her big night with a kill that completed the win and the district title.

Despite the loss, Stover took a big step with its volleyball program in reaching the district final. Since the team has no seniors, Myears knows that the Lady Bulldogs should be able to make another run next year.

“I get everybody back for next year, so I’m happy with it,” she said.