For the first time since 2018, Cuba High School’s volleyball team are Gasconade Valley Conference (GVC) Champions. The Lady Cats claimed the throne Oct. 1 after defeating Steelville in a highly contested matchup on the road to move to 4-0 on the season in GVC play.

Cuba beat Belle, Steelville and Bourbon twice so the Black and Gold were technically 7-0, but tournament play doesn’t count towards its GVC record and only the first matchup between conference teams counts towards its conference record as well.

The Lady Wildcats won 12 out of 13 sets in GVC play and its only loss came in its last GVC matchup against Steelville. Cuba also defeated St. James Sept. 29 and is now 14-6-1 heading into the home stretch of the regular season.

Cuba’s junior varsity team competed in the Oct. 3 Lady Rebel JV Volleyball Tournament in Park Hills. The Lady Wildcats played against West County, North County, Valle Catholic and Potosi throughout the afternoon and finished with a 3-5 record on the day. The Black and Gold split sets versus West County, defeated North County in both sets before dropping both sets to Valle Catholic and Potosi. Cuba’s junior varsity squad is now 18-4-2 on the season heading into its final five matches. 

The Lady Cats played in Sullivan Oct. 5 and in Viburnum Oct. 6, which will be detailed in next week’s edition. Cuba will host Grandview (Hillsboro) Oct. 8 and compete in the Oct. 10 Belle Varsity Volleyball Tournament. The Black and Gold will then have its senior night Sept. 12 against Steelville before playing its final regular season game of the season Sept. 15 at home against Licking. 

Sept. 29 vs. St. James

The Lady Wildcats traveled to St. James, taming both the Lady Tigers’ teams throughout the afternoon. Cuba’s junior varsity team played first, earning a sweep in straight sets with 25-8 and 25-10 wins in a dominant 50-18 overall score between the two sets. The Lady Cats junior varsity team moved to an exceptional 16-2-1 on the season.

Addison McGinnis led Cuba with nine digs, eight kills, six receptions and two service aces. Kam Peters had four kills, four digs and four service aces. Claire Echols tallied a team-high seven assists and Payton Rhoades chipped in eight digs. 

Cuba’s varsity team also handled business, winning 25-7, 25-11 and 25-12 in straight sets to move to 13-6-1 on the season. St. James fell to 3-10 with the loss.

Jaylen Haffer did a little bit of everything for the Lady Wildcats, recording nine kills, six blocks, six digs, six receptions and four service aces.

Jerzey Bright had six digs, six receptions and three service aces. Brooke Echols tallied a game-high 12 assists and chipped in three service aces. Justice Evrard recorded four kills, four digs and four receptions. Harley Pilkenton had five kills and two digs and Allison Heads added six assists and two digs. 

Oct. 1 vs. Steelville

Cuba took the short drive down Highway 19 to take on its GVC foe, Steelville. Emotions were high on Pink Out Night, where the Lady Cardinals raised funds for a community member’s battle with cancer. Before the match started, both teams locked arms while Steelville senior Jazmyn Hurd read a prayer for those who are battling cancer.

The match itself was highly contested as neither team won a set by more than five points. Cuba led 18-17 in a first set that could’ve gone either way. The Lady Cats then scored five out of six points to take a 23-18 lead. After each team traded points, Cuba emerged with a 25-20 victory to win the first set.

The second set was a story of resilience for the Lady Wildcats. Steelville led 21-11 and appeared to be headed towards an easy set victory. But Cuba didn’t waver and went on a 12-2 run to tie the score at 23. Tensions heighted as the score rose past 25, as neither team seemed to be able to string two points together in a row to win by two. Despite being a point away from defeat multiple times, Cuba received back-to-back kills from Haffer and Evrard to win 29-27 and take a 2-0 set lead.

Despite the deflating loss, Steelville bounced back to win a close third set 25-23 to extend the match. Undeterred, the Lady Wildcats willed their way to a 25-21 victory in the fourth set to earn the match victory and an outright GVC championship.

Haffer registered 22 receptions, 14 kills, nine digs and three service aces. Evrard tallied 13 digs, 10 receptions, 10 blocks, five kills and three service aces. Bright had 20 receptions and 19 digs. Heads recorded 12 assists and nine digs. Brooke Echols added eight assists and six digs. Brooklyn Tate chipped in six blocks and six receptions. Leah Schmidt had five digs, three receptions and two kills and Pilkenton tallied seven kills, five digs and three receptions.

Cuba’s junior varsity team also picked up the match victory after winning 25-23 and 25-16 in straight sets. The Lady Cats’ junior varsity moved to a dominant 17-2-1 record with the win.

McGinnis led Cuba with nine digs, eight receptions, four kills, three blocks and three service aces. Rhoades had a game-high 10 receptions, Claire Echols added six digs and three assists and Peters chipped in nine digs.