Anna Prenger News Today

With the calendar turning the page to the month of October, it very much felt like postseason volleyball Tuesday night at Blair Oaks High School. In a match that was a constant back-and-forth battle, the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons had the final run that secured a 25-19, 24-26, 25-21, 29-27 victory against the Helias Lady Crusaders.

Another year, another Tri-County Conference championship for the Blair Oaks volleyball team. The Lady Falcons clinched at least a share of their 13th consecutive conference title Thursday night, sweeping the Hallsville Lady Indians 25-6, 25-17, 25-14 at Blair Oaks High School.

It was Maddie Mitchell’s world Tuesday night, and everyone else was living in it. The Jefferson City junior right-side hitter/setter nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 13 kills, 11 assists and nine digs to lead the Lady Jays to a 25-22, 25-15, 25-23 sweep of the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons at Blair Oaks High School.

WARDSVILLE — For the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons, the road to a Tri-County Conference volleyball championship has had to go through the California Lady Pintos for the past several seasons. After Thursday night, that road to a title became much shorter.

It wasn’t a win, but the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons saw tough competition Thursday night, which is the point of playing the Rock Bridge Bruins as the regular season winds down.

Blair Oaks’ second-set run changed all the momentum. After falling behind, the Lady Falcons won three consecutive sets to take a 21-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-16 highly ranked, non-conference win Tuesday against the Helias Lady Crusaders at Helias Gym. The Lady Falcons came into the match ranked No. 2 in Class 3, while the Lady Crusaders were No. 3 in Class 4 according to MaxPreps.

Blair Oaks senior middle hitter Anna Wekenborg was in the fourth grade the last time the Lady Falcons lost a Tri-County Conference volleyball match. The last time Blair Oaks didn’t win a Tri-County volleyball title, Wekenborg had just started kindergarten. “That’s kind of crazy to me,” Wekenborg said Tuesday after Blair Oaks swept the Versailles Lady Tigers 25-23, 25-20, 25-13 for another conference title.

It was a special night for Blair Oaks junior outside hitter Autamn Bax, as she was recognized for breaking the Falcons’ career kills record with 716 before Tuesday’s match with the Eldon Lady Mustangs. Bax responded by collecting a game-high 16 kills to lead Blair Oaks to a 25-11, 25-19, 25-16 victory in the Tri-County Conference matchup.

Tuesday night is what the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons envisioned when they added the Hermann Lady Bearcats to their schedule last season. The fact it was a matchup between two defending state champions was a huge bonus. “Having a matchup like this really shows us where we’re at,” Blair Oaks coach Megan Distler said after the Lady Falcons earned their first-ever win against the Lady Bearcats by a score of 25-16, 26-28, 25-14, 25-23.