Leon Jewett Overpowers George West, 15-6, 15-8

Leon Jewett, making its 18th appearance at the state tournament, used a significant height advantage to overpower George West and advance to the 2A finals on Saturday.

The Cougars, led by 6'0" middle sophomore middle Haley Thomas and 5'11" junior middle Julie Jensen, along with the outside attack of Lauren Jones and Kendra Bates, were too strong up front for the smaller Longhorns, whose tallest player was 5'9".

Jones and Bates led Leon with 7 kills each while Haley added 5 kills and a block. Jordan Helmcamp ran the Leon offense almost to perfection, ending with 23 assists. Kayla Stewart led George West with 5 kills.

"I think our height and reach gave us an advantage," said coach Teresa Sitton. "We hadn't seen them play and I thought our girls did a good job of adjusting to what they did."

Jewett, which won the title two years ago, lost in a dramatic 16-14, 6-15, 17-15 battle with Pattonville Prairiland last year.

"We definitely have some unfinished business," added Sitton. "And the closer we got to the state meet this yar, that became more important for us."

In addition to its power up front, Leon Jewett's back row attack also played an important role.

"We practice the back row attack and we are comfortable going to the back row," said Sitton. "We just try to throw everything we can at them."

"We came up short last year and it wasn't a good feeling," said Helmcamp. "We've been ready for this moment and now that we are here we want to take advantage of it."

Leon played a tough schedule, including matches against teams like 4A power Longview Pine Tree. "That helped," said Helmcamp. "When you play big teams it gives you a feel for what it's like to play good competition, even when you lose."

"I have yet to see them back down from a challenge," said Sitton. "We've played some top teams to get here and we have one more to go."

"I think we were a little nervous. The girls hadn't been here before and we were playing a team with tremendous tradition. But I told the girls we should be proud of what we accomplished," said George West coach Cathy Taylor."We worked really hard this year. I told the girls not to hang their head. Only four teams in 2A made it this far and this was a great accomplishment."

Statistical leaders

Jewett Leon
Kills - Lauren Jones and Kendra Bates 7, Haley Thomas 5, Julie Jensen 3, Lisa White 2, Jordan Helmcamp 1
Blocks - Julie Jensen 1S, 1A; Haley Thomas 1S; Lisa White 1A
Assists - Jordan Helmcamp 23

George West
Kills - Kayla Stewart 5, Katie Schorp 3, Melissa Lewis and Carly McCumber 2, Ashley Dupnik 1
Blocks - Katie Schorp 3S, 4A; Carly McCumber 2A; Kayla Stewart, Lucy Blevins, Melissa Lewis, Ashley Dupnik 1
Assists - Melissa Lewis 9