Advance downs Dexter in straight sets to win SCAA Tournament

The top seeded Advance Lady Hornets defeated the second seeded Dexter Lady Bearcats at Richland High School in straight sets to win the Stoddard County Volleyball Tournament Friday evening.

“Both teams are very talented teams,” said Advance coach Erin Hoffman. “I knew we were going to have to take charge of each set when they started because if we let Dexter start off taking charge its hard to get them to give up that charge.”

As Hoffman stated Dexter did not give up the charge easy in the first set. Advance jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead on the strength of two kills by senior Lexi Hoffman. Dexter kept pace and the teams exchanged a flurry of points. The Lady Bearcats took their first lead at 10-9. The Hornets tied the set at 10 and an exchange of points tied the set again at 11. The Bearcats then took a 14-12 lead causing Hoffman to take a timeout.

The Hornets went on a 5-2 run after the timeout capped with an ace by Emma Ellers and a kill by Hoffman to take a 17-16 lead. Dexter coach Haylee Orf then called a timeout to gather her team. The Hornets went on a 5-1 run after the timeout to extend the lead to 22-17 and Orf took another timeout.

Advance then stretched to 24-17 but Dexter was not going down quietly. The Bearcats went on a 5-0 run to close the gap to 24-22 before Advance was able to close the set.

In the second set the Hornets kept up the pressure jumping out to a quick 5-2 lead. A kill by Dexter's Macy Templemire kept it close at 5-3. Advance extended the lead to 9-4 and Orf took a timeout. After the timeout Dexter's Klaire Essner recorded a kill to cut the lead to 9-5. Dexter then trimmed the lead to 9-6.

The Hornets then took control with a 6-1 run to extend the lead to 15-7. Orf took another timeout to try and break the Hornet's momentum. Advance proved to much finishing the set on a 10-3 run to win 25-10.

The third set looked like it would go the same way with Advance building a 23-11 lead but the Bearcuts dug deep and went on a furious rally. Dexter embarked on a 10-1 run and cut the lead to 24-21 causing Hoffman to take a timeout.

“We relaxed too much and we started making errors,” said Hoffman of the third set. “We got to excited maybe and started making a lot of unforced errors.”

After the timeout the Hornets were finally able to finish the match and secure the tournament title.

“We have been having a lot of progress with mental toughness and keeping our clarity on plain with more strategies and emotion,” said Orf. “After that first set the girls were fired up and believing in themselves. Advance started jumping quick on the second set and then forward I had several key players not carrying their head like they normally do and I think they started beating themselves a little bit.”

“I feel like we still have seen a ton of progress but Advance isn't slowing down either, so I'm proud of my girls for battling,” said Orf. “I think they battled regardless and held their selves a lot better than we have. Looking back at the summer and beginning of the season we are getting a lot more mentally tough. But when it comes to games like this I think we have got to keep our calm and block out the chaos and believe in ourselves a little more than some of us are. I am proud of them, our locker room talk was positive. We have got continue to see our progress and see how far we have come and use these moments to see how we can grow from here.”

“We need to make sure to keep our heads on straight,” said Hoffman about moving forward toward districts. “We still have plenty of room for improvement.”

Both teams have a busy schedule ahead. Dexter will celebrate senior night on Monday hosting Perryville. The Bearcats will then host Notre Dame Tuesday night before starting district play in Dexter on Thursday.

The Hornets will also celebrate senior night on Monday hosting Scott City. Advance will then begin district play on October 23 at Zalma.

Third Place

The Bell City Cubs secured a third place finish defeating Woodland in straight sets 25-20, 25-16 and 25-10. On the junior varsity side Dexter defeated Bernie in straight sets 25-12, 28-26 to win the third place plaque.

Junior Varsity Championship

The second seeded Bell City Cubs defeated the upset minded Advance Hornets, who were seeded fourth. Advance, who upset top seeded Dexter to reach the championship game, won the first set 25-11. The Cubs then rebounded winning the next two sets 25-19 and 15-9 to secure the championship.