CAPE GIRARDEAU — Ozark couldn’t contain Vanderbilt commit Maya Witherspoon while falling to Lafayette 26-24, 25-13, 25-13 in the Class 5 State final Thursday.
With the 5-foot-11 Witherspoon collecting 18 kills, the Lady Tigers (38-4) were swept in a best-of-5 match for the first time all season.
Lafayette (32-5), the reigning three-time state champs, posted 39 kills to Ozark’s 23.
The Lady Tigers managed only a .029 kill percentage and were guilty of 20 errors on kill attempts.
Tara Venable topped Ozark with 13 kills in 44 attempts. Skylar Hilton had six kills in 16 attempts.
After netting nine aces in a semifinal win against Francis Howell, the Lady Tigers’ only aces against Lafayette came from Bradie Solomon and Macy Humble.
Reece Cook contributed 24 assists and Humble had 13 digs.
Ozark has made 11 trips to State. This was the program’s first Class 5 Final Four berth. The Lady Tigers have one championship, two runner-up finishes, seven third-place finishes and one fourth-place finish.
