After playing outside hitter for the last three years, Montgomery County senior Sarah Cluver was switched to a new position this fall – libero.

“Coach (Rachel Leu) said that she wanted me in this position,” Cluver said. “I was confident of what she wanted to do. You’ve just got to trust the coach of what she’s doing and trust the process.”

It turned out to be a good move for Cluver and the Wildcats. Cluver is the Wildcats’ leader in digs with 205 and service points with 139. Her efforts helped her team celebrate its fourth straight Eastern Missouri Conference championship.

MCHS finished 8-0 in league play after defeating the St. Louis Intensity 26-24, 25-21, 25-20 in its final home regular season match of the season on Oct. 14 at Ballew & Snell Court. The Wildcats extended their conference winning streak to 35 matches.

“It’s pretty good for us as a team to come together and work together,” Cluver said. “We set goals, we achieve our goals as a team and get to our next goal, like the coach tells us.”

Before their match with the Intensity, the Wildcats received their conference championship plaque. They clinched the league title with a three-game win over Wright City on Oct. 12 at home.

“It’s exciting,” Leu said. “In the past, we kind of had some easier runs at it. We had a couple of close ones throughout the season. So I’m really excited for the girls to stick with it, accomplish this and come out with wins when the matches were close and tough. They played with everything they had and gave it their best. I felt like they did that this season in conference play.”

The Wildcats, who took a 10-12-3 mark into their regular season finale at Battle on Oct. 18, will play Centralia at 7 p.m. on Oct. 25 in a Class 3, District 7 tournament semifinal match at MCHS. Centralia defeated MCHS in three games in the last meeting on Oct. 5.

“Whenever you get to play at home, that’s great,” Leu said. “Now, we’ve just got to make sure we can focus on the pressure of the situation with this being districts and this being a team we lost to before and really make sure that we stay confident and come out from the gate and not give them any momentum without earning it.”

MCHS celebrated senior night in its match against Intensity. Cluver and seniors Makayla Beaver, Ella Cobb and Trinity Fenimore were recognized before the contest.

“The seniors are small, but mighty,” Leu said. “They just know what to do. They just keep plugging away and they find ways to win. Honestly, that’s all you can ask for any player. They did a really good job of stepping up this year and fulfilling those leadership roles that we were asking to do in the beginning of the season.”

Cluver, Beaver and Cobb played all four years with the Wildcats’ program. Leu said she was happy to have all three seniors play on a conference championship team every year.

“They were around when it first started, and they became a part of it when they got to play JV,” Leu said. “Now, they’re leaving that legacy behind, building that tradition and kind of setting the bar high.”

Cluver enjoyed an outstanding season last year that included her first all-EMO award. She earned second team honors.

“I was beyond happy,” Cluver said. “It made my parents proud. They’re just proud that I worked hard on and off the court.”

This fall, Cluver turned in several strong efforts that included a 19-dig performance against Bowling Green on Oct. 7 and an eight-kill performance against Union on Sept. 14.
Cluver came into this season with libero experience. She played the position with a select team called the Wentzville Heat earlier in the year.

“It took a little while to get used to it in high school because club ball is different,” Cluver said. “I’m starting to get the hang of it now. I’m really liking it.”

Leu said one of the reasons Cluver won a spot as the Wildcats’ libero this year is her consistency on defense.

“I feel like that’s kind of her home and she has really embraced it,” the MCHS coach said. “We’re definitely going to miss having her back there next year, for sure.”