A total of 11 area players were selected to the Missouri High School Volleyball Coaches Association all-state team earlier this month. The Jefferson City Lady Jays and the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons each had three all-state honorees. Helias, California, Eldon, Southern Boone and Versailles each had one player named to the all-state team.
The Blair Oaks volleyball program has been talented for several years. For years, 20-win seasons, and even 30-win seasons, have been the norm for the Lady Falcons. Winning conference championships one year after another were practically a given. Those are all nice and well, but those aren’t at the very top of the list of the team’s season goals each season. Winning district championships, getting to the Final Four, those were the ultimate goals.
The Blair Oaks volleyball dynasty wouldn’t be complete without the greatest comeback in program history. So the Lady Falcons decided to rewrite history themselves. Blair Oaks rallied from a two-set deficit Friday morning, completing its three-peat with a 19-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-18, 15-8 comeback victory against the Ursuline Academy Bears in the Class 3 state championship match at the Show Me Center.
The Blair Oaks Lady Falcons came up just short against the Clayton Lady Greyhounds, forcing a fifth and deciding set for the last spot in the Class 3 state semifinals. Clayton should have had the momentum at that point. The Lady Greyhounds were one set from reaching their first Final Four. But when the Lady Falcons broke their huddle at the end of the three-minute break before they started the fifth set, they were the more upbeat team, as if they had won the fourth set. The enthusiasm was contagious, and it helped the Lady Falcons get back to the Final Four.
For the first time in five years, the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons and the Fulton Lady Hornets will meet on the volleyball court. And the stakes couldn’t be any higher. Blair Oaks will continue its push for a third consecutive state championship tonight in a Class 3 state sectional matchup at Fulton. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.