MHS Round-up: Lady Owls claim NCMC golf title

Enjoying the Lady Owls' NCMC Tournament championship are (from left) head coach John Weaver and golfers Payton Ehrhardt, Marti Coldiron, Jade Jenkins and Morgan Lamberson. (Photo contributed) [Click to enlarge]

MOBERLY -- Junior Morgan Lamberson birdied the final three holes Tuesday at Moberly Country Club to lead the Marshall girls' golf team to the NCMC Tournament championship.

Lamberson trailed Moberly sophomore Alyson Mongler by two strokes at the turn, but then zipped through the back nine with a one-under-par 34. She birdied holes 13, 16, 17 and 18 and had two pars and three bogeys coming in.

Lamberson, third a year ago, finished with a two-over 72 -- five strokes ahead of Mongler -- while senior Jade Jenkins had six pars to fire an 86 for fourth place as the Lady Owls knocked off defending champion Kirksville by a margin of 371 to 383 points.

Marshall only had four entries, freshman Payton Ehrhardt posting a 104 and junior Marti Coldiron 109 for 11th and 12th places, respectively.

Lamberson -- tied for 12th in the state last year -- and Jenkins will continue their seasons at the MSHSAA Class 1 Championships, Monday and Tuesday at Nixa.

Girls' Tennis
Marshall 5, Grain Valley 1

The Marshall girls' tennis team won five of six singles matches Tuesday to advance to the sectional round of the MSHSAA Class 1 Team Championships.

The Lady Owls defeated Grain Valley for the second time this season, 5-1, in the Team District at MHS. While it was the first time the Lady Eagles (13-4) had reached the playoffs, it was Marshall's state-record 22nd straight appearance.

The program has made it into the post-season every year since the current format was instituted in 1987.

Junior Virginia Hutcherson got things going for the Lady Owls with a 6-4, 6-4 victory at No. 1 singles against sophomore Katelyn Barr, the district finalist whom Hutcherson had beaten in a two-hour marathon Sept. 20 in the Marshall Tournament.

Junior No. 2 Kara Ward (6-2, 6-1), freshman No. 3 Haley Evans (6-0, 6-0) and senior No. 5 Olivia Butler (6-0, 6-2) cruised to victory, but senior Kim Van lost a tough 6-4, 6-4 decision at No. 4 to sophomore Leanna Meredith.

While freshman Amy Van was locked in a struggle at No. 6 against junior Kaylynn McClain, the top two doubles teams took the court.

Hutcherson and Evans, Marshall's state-qualifying duo, were leading 6-3, 4-1 and Kim Van and Butler won their first set, 6-0, but before either of those tilts were completed Amy Van pulled out a match-ending 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2) tiebreaker.

The Lady Owls (13-2) will go to St. Joseph for the sectional Saturday, meeting District 8 champion Bishop LeBlond -- a 6-2 winner over Kearney -- in the first round.

Boys' Soccer
Marshall 8, Boonville 0

Senior Chris McCoy and junior Alex Tapia each scored three goals Tuesday as the Marshall boys' soccer team blew out visiting Boonville, 8-0, for an NCMC home win.

Tapia found the lower right corner of the net three minutes into the match, hitting the same spot again eight minutes later. Sophomore Jon Najera made it 3-0 in the 11th minute.

The Owls added a lot of distance in a short time late in the first half, scoring four times in a four-minute span. Najera set up McCoy for a flick shot and then converted on a corner kick from senior Carl Engstrand.

McCoy then connected twice to boost his scoring total to 27 goals this season.

Marshall, which out-shot the Pirates (1-16, 0-8 NCMC) by a whopping 22-1 margin, tacked on a second half goal when Tapia lofted a pass from junior Josh Toliver over the goalkeeper's head.

Senior Steven Skogsberg's lone save was good enough for his fifth shutout of the season, and ninth for the Owls (13-4, 6-2).

Marshall, which is 11th in the MHSSCA's Class 2 state rankings, hosts No. 7 Helias for a non-conference match Thursday.

Volleyball
Boonville 2, Marshall 0

BOONVILLE -- The Marshall volleyball team dropped its fourth straight NCMC match Tuesday during a 25-19, 25-19 contest at previously state-ranked Boonville.

Senior Maddy Keller led the Lady Owls with five kills and five digs, with sophomore Becca Keller putting down four shots and pulling up four.

Senior Allison Thomas and junior Morgan Ryther each had three kills, with Thomas contributing five saves and Ryther -- along with senior Cassie Hayes -- coming up with a pair of blocks.

The Lady Pirates (15-7, 5-1 NCMC) were paced by the Banks sisters, senior Tara and sophomore Taylor, who combined for 15 spikes. Boonville had to come back from a 9-1 deficit in the first set, but led most of the second frame.

Marshall (9-11-3, 1-5) will be at home Thursday against Mexico, the only team its beaten in league play this season.