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Bloomfield, Twin Rivers volleyball fall in Class 2 sectional
HILLSBORO, Mo. -- After watching St. Pius X roll to a district championship three days prior, the Bloomfield volleyball team knew exactly what to expect during its upcoming sectional meeting with the high-powered Lancers.
The Wildcats went from expecting to experiencing as a bevy of thunderous hitters led St. Pius X to an overpowering two-set win Saturday during a Class 2 sectional at Hillsboro High School.
Bloomfield was blitzed 25-5 in the first set before putting up much more of a fight during an eventual 25-21 loss in the second to end their season.
"We've seen them play but it's just a completely different thing when you're on the opposite side of the court as them," Bloomfield coach Sherilyn Johnson said. "We went up against a really hard offense and I don't think they were really, truly expecting that."
Bloomfield was the second southeast Missouri team to face a sectional demise in Hillsboro as Twin Rivers started the afternoon with a three-set loss to Metro Academic and Classical High School.
St. Pius X (32-4) went on to win its quarterfinal match against Metro, 25-5, 25-15, later that day to advance to the Class 2 state tournament Friday at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Right from the start the Lancers set the tone.
A powerful swing from 5-10 senior Jena Otec, who burned the Wildcats with 14 kills, put St. Pius out in front and that's where they would stay for good.
The Wildcats simply could not handle Otec and others like her, who pounded through Bloomfield's typically stout defense. The Lancers peppered Bloomfield with four quick points and eventually a 5-2 lead, but that was nearly the start of St. Pius' dominant, first set effort.
The Lancers ran off a string of 16 straight points leading to a 21-2 advantage. Otec had four kills and Carley Nicholson added five aces during that stretch.
"We played pretty crisp, pretty well," St. Pius coach Dustin Cutts said about the first set. "I think [Bloomfield] was probably a little nervous."
Volleyball's at high speed may have had something to do with that.
Bloomfield struggled with much of what St. Pius threw at them around the net, but that overflowed into serve-receive. Which, throughout most of the season, hasn't been an issue for the Wildcats.
"I'm really disappointed in our serve-receive that first set," Johnson said. "Not necessarily our defense because we knew St. Pius was going to get kills on us, but we could have been more aware on serve-receive. We didn't get nearly as many swings as we needed to in that first set. We got stuck in two rotations and couldn't get out of it."
A serve from Nicholson that sailed out of bounds ended St. Pius' commanding run, but the Lancers still sat comfortably with a 21-3 lead.
Bloomfield's lone kill in the first set came from junior Jewel Chism which made it 23-5. The set ended two points later.
Though the second set started much like the first with an 8-1 Lancer lead, the Wildcats showed some moxie to make the final set a more competitive one.
With a change in their rotation to help with blocking came a kill then an ace from Chism, who sparked life into Bloomfield. The Wildcats cut St. Pius' lead in half before climbing to within three points of last year's Class 3 runner-up.
Chism, a 5-4 outside hitter who's accuracy is deadlier than her might, again was the catalyst for Bloomfield's rise going for back to back kills to make the second set 12-9. The junior finished with five kills and one ace in the second set while mostly aiming for the left side and hitting her mark each time.
"She was hitting that line every single time and they just couldn't get there," Johnson said.
Helping with Bloomfield's renewed showing was 5-9 sophomore Bailey Below.
As one of Bloomfield's taller players, Below offered a chance at thwarting some of St. Pius' attacks away. After no blocks in the first set, Below had three that went for kills as well in the second and forced several other Lancer hits the other way.
Bailey's good at bouncing back," Johnson said. "I knew if we could just get out of that first set she could reset and get us going again. With her blocking, every time she gets a block she is fired up and that gets the rest of the team fired up."
A kill from 5-11 junior Emma Grimshaw gave the Lancers a 20-14 lead before the Wildcats made its final push as a more relaxed, unafraid squad.
"I think part of the second set is they didn't expect to win anymore so now it didn't matter," Johnson said about her team's second set rise. "They could just play and relax and get more than five points. Sure enough, we did."
A block/kill from Below sparked a small run to bring Bloomfield to within three. Below had another block that resulted in a double hit on St. Pius to make it 22-19 and then the Lancers were called for four hits to make it 22-20.
"They definitely played well the second game," Cutts said about Bloomfield. "They dug a lot of balls and gave us a challenge that second game."
But waiting in the wings for St. Pius was Otec. The Lancers went to the senior four straight times and Otec delivered three kills while going out of bounds on the other to end the match.
Otec had nine kills, including St. Pius' last four, in the second set alone.
"She's been pretty consistent all year," said Cutts.
Bloomfield ends the season with a 21-8-5 record after winning it's third district in a row and beating a lot of teams, Johnson said, they weren't expected to beat.
"We beat Notre Dame, took a set from Dexter, we had a lot of game plans that were executed and if we lost to a team we turned around and beat them the next time like with Notre Dame and Advance," Johnson said. "We were able to bounce back and learn from those past games. I can see us developing mentally."
Bloomfield will return everyone to a team that starts three juniors, two sophomores and a freshman.
Metro 2, Twin Rivers 1
In the first match of the day, Twin Rivers did nearly everything but win its sectional.
The Royals found themselves tied at 24-all in each of the first and third sets but came up short.
"It was ours to win," Twin Rivers coach Whitney Stanford said. "It's almost a confusing loss. We did not take advantage of the opportunities when we had them."
The Panthers (30-4) trotted out 6-4 junior Brooke Flowers, who was an imposing figure at the net defensively, but wasn't much of an offensive threat outside of quick tips she plucked from the air.
The Royals looked to find ways around Flowers when all Stanford wanted her team to do was push through. Diverting away from the middle of the net cramped Twin Rivers' passing.
"It was our passing and trying to find holes that got us and trying to outsmart them when that wasn't necessary," Stanford said. "We could have powered through them."
Twin Rivers' big hitter, 5-11 senior Emily Joiner, showed her prowess with 14 kills, five blocks and an ace in the match, but remained limited. The Royals' rotation kept Joiner from doing even more damage.
"It seemed like on her rotation we rotated very quickly," Stanford said. "She didn't stay in as long as we usually want her to stay in."
Twin Rivers held a 24-23 lead in the first set thanks to a Metro player stepping over the center line.
Twin Rivers hit the next two balls out of bounds and into the net to give Metro (30-4) a 25-24 lead. Metro's Haley Jones tipped the next return that was hit by Twin Rivers but fell out of bounds to end the first set.
"That first set we were very nervous," Stanford said. "It was unexpected because we had no idea about Metro when we came in. We didn't know what to expect as far as how to play them."
Anything that seemed to hurt Twin Rivers in the first set reversed in the second.
The Royals scored the first five points to open the second set leading to a decisive 25-11 win.
Joiner had five kills and two blocks, Hannah Finley added three kills and Brooke Blume chipped in three aces and two kills in a set that Twin Rivers led easily from wire-to-wire.
"That second set we were using common sense," Stanford said. "They were doing things that they know how to do."
The biggest deficit in the third and deciding set was five points when Metro's Jones sent an emphatic swing to make it 8-3 and signal at Twin Rivers timeout. The Royals answered with five straight points to tie the game and the set stayed nip and tuck the rest of the way.
Metro went ahead 15-11 before Twin Rivers rattled off an 8-4 run to tie it at 19-all. The Royals stormed back again from a 23-20 deficit to tie it at 23.
A serve that stretched out of bounds gave Metro a 24-23 lead. The Panthers allowed another tie on the very next point when a hit sailed out of play.
Twin Rivers hit the net on their return during the next point and a tip from Flowers was hit once, then again by the Royals, but eventually wasn't handled to end the match.
"Metro stepped up that third set," Stanford said. "They wanted the win just as bad as we did. But if we had played the way that I know we can in that first set, I don't think the third set would have even happened. We let it happen."
The Royals will say goodbye to Joiner and three other seniors after finishing the season at 25-10.
"Right now we're disappointed and right now it feels like a shame because we know we just lost a really big opportunity that was well within our reach," Stanford said. "I hope they get the opportunity again next year and I hope they seize it and they don't let it slip through their fingers."