WEBB CITY, Mo. — Webb City has won three consecutive district titles on the volleyball court and will try for a fourth in 2024. The Cardinals will be leaning on the strength of junior Jaeli Rutledge’s hitting.
Rutledge will pose a threat to all opponents at the net. The 6-foot-1 hitter registered 344 kills last year to lead the team in that category. She was just ahead of all-state outside hitter Aubree Lassiter with 309.
Lassiter, along with Sophia Crane, graduated in 2023 and leave the Cardinals down two all-state caliber players. Overall, there were four consistent varsity players who graduated from last year’s team. “Replacing two all-state players is never going to be easy,” head coach Rhonda Lawrence said.
“Lassiter brings an energy and enthusiasm on the floor that’s going to be hard to replace. Her hitting, of course, also makes that difficult. “Sophia Crane’s ball control is probably going to be the hardest to replace just because if you can’t pass, you’re not going to get to hit anyway.
” The Cardinals begin their season on Tuesday with a jamboree at 5 p.m. at home.
The regular season opens on Tuesday, Sept. 3, at Clever. The offense will often fall on the shoulders of Rutledge, a University of Kansas commit.
But that defense of digging up the ball and passing it to the setter is something Lawrence is still figuring out. Webb City has been focusing on ball control in practices and trying to figure out exactly who will step into the roll of playing libero and trying to collect most of the digs for the team. Jaylee van Becelaere and Avery Gardner will be taking turns early in the season playing the libero spot until coach finds out which one is a better fit for the rotation she has.
Van Becelaere stepped up with some solid serves in crunch time last year as a freshman and could provide a spark for the Cardinals in that area as well as potentially becoming the libero. Lawrence noted she may end up using her sophomore in all six spots on the floor if Gardner turns out to be the libero. “It really depends on if van Becelaere ends up being a libero or an outside hitter as a six-rotation player.
I have not made that decision yet. It will probably be a game day decision and it will probably change from game to game,” Lawrence said. Webb City also has three seniors in Mia Lenker, Kirra Long and Alix Davis.
Lenker and Long have experience as varsity players while Davis looks to take on a larger role this year as an outside hitter off the bench. Davis, Long and Lenker will be offensive threats when opponents are focusing on Rutledge’s attacks. “That’s going to be the beauty of it.
They’re going to have to focus on Jaeli (Rutledge), especially when she’s on the front row,” Lawrence said. “They’re going to have to respect the other swings as well. If you completely commit to Jaeli, you’re going to be in trouble.
” Other names to watch for in varsity games are Adalyn, Kaelyn and Jocelyn Maxwell. Coach Lawrence noted that Adalyn has really added some speed and power to her swing, giving her a good chance to get varsity reps throughout the season. Webb City finished 27-7 last year and lost in the first round of state in five sets to Jefferson City.
“We’re always excited to get started — and the excitement of seeing these kids blend together and the new look. Each year, we have to make an adjustment. Then you also have that comfort of some of the kids that have played together,” Lawrence said.
“It’s still going to be a Webb City-style volleyball and we’re going to come at you big and hard and fast and try to dig up everything to keep us alive.”.
