Mineral Area shuts down West Plains attack for Region 16 title
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The Mineral Area volleyball team is shown after defeating MSU-West Plains in four games to capture the NJCAA Divsion I Region 16 championship on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in West Plains, Mo. (Submitted Photo, MAC Athletics)
WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Six sophomore members of the regular Mineral Area volleyball lineup waited a full year for redemption after falling to MSU-West Plains in a five-set trophy match.
After dropping a subpar opening game Saturday afternoon, the Cardinals refocused and never turned back as relentless net defense stamped a second road victory this fall against the rival Grizzlies.
A wide disparity in attacking efficiency further propelled Mineral Area to the Region 16 championship – its sixth under Coach of the Year Tim Copeland – in a 20-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-14 triumph.
Mineral Area (25-2) executed 18 blocks, including six while slamming the door in game four. Sara Pjevic delivered five solos from the middle while sharing four doubles.
Gabrielle Damborowiski notched a sparking .441 outside hitting percentage, and compiled a team-high 19 kills on 34 attacks plus nine digs and two blocks.
Duda Passos knocked down 11 kills and Lara Gilardi added 10 more with five total blocks. The 16th-ranked Cardinals also avenged a five-set home loss from last month in style.
Game four saw setter Belen Ferrufino briefly stay down after a bad landing on her ankle. She finished the match following a timeout to recover with a commanding 16-7 lead.
Defensive specialist Katie Nichols then borrowed a shoe from teammate Courtney Tatum when hers came apart guiding a relatively routine pass along the back line.
But nothing could derail the Cardinals during their emphatic home stretch. Pjevic and Passos combined on a booming stuff to make it 19-11.
Sophomore middle Olivia Shaw joined Ferrufino for another block at 23-13, then sealed the victory with her third solo. Shaw posted a superb .583 percentage with eight kills on 12 attacks.
Mineral Area (25-2) will host the 6-team Midwest B District playoff bracket this weekend, first facing either Vincennes or Frontier in a semifinal match on Saturday at 3 p.m.. The last team standing after Sunday earns an automatic bid to the NJCAA tournament.
The Cardinals collectively hit .288 compared to just .109 by MSU-West Plains (13-19) on its home floor, giving Copeland his 561st career win and another coveted circular plaque.
Victoria Antia made 11 digs and equaled Nycole Barboza with a team-high 10 kills for the Grizzlies, but was also saddled by 10 hitting errors.
Ava Penuel ended with 16 digs, including a brilliant read on a dive in the front row when West Plains double blocked a clearing play by Ferrufino, who reacted to an errant reception pass.
She also covered a second-ball swing to help earn another point in the pivotal third set. Damborowiski rejected a spike and rifled a strong ensuing kill off a defender for a modest 15-12 advantage.
Barboza brought West Plains within 17-16 on a block of her own, but Passos answered with angled power before combining with Pjevic to send another one back.
MAC punctuated the stanza on a 4-0 spurt. Damborowiski belted two straight kills – with a lunging stop by Gilardi in between – and spiked set point following a Shaw block.
Nichols chipped in six digs and picked up her second ace during a 6-1 start to game four, as Gilardi hammered a right-side kill and Pjevic roofed a middle swing.
Shaw capped perhaps the most intense rally of the match on a perfect slide transition after Damborowiski and Penuel of the Cardinals traded multiple digs with barboza and Isabella Calle at 12-6.
Penuel supplied an ace three points later after a her previous serve created an overpass termination for Passos. Ferrufino anchored the offensive success with 45 assists.
Gilardi was selected as Region 16 Player of the Year. Damborowiski and Ferrufino accompanied her on the First Team while Shaw and Penuel made the Second Team.
Ericka Gaspard collected four blocks and equaled Violeta Bachvarova with seven kills each. West Plains capitalized on early Mineral Area miscues to build a 16-9 lead in game one.
Pjevic starred with consecutive blocks ahead of a Ferrufino ace that spurred the Cardinals to a 17-8 separation in game two. Damborowiski squared the match on a back-row smash.
Prairie Vaughn had 19 assists and three aces while Mariana Franco netted 16 assists and four kills as setters for MSU-West Plains. Calle finished with 12 digs.
