Advance volleyball team topples Woodland in three sets

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Advance coach Erin Hoffman knows her team has struggled to find consistency this season, so with the regular season winding down, she challenged her team to play every point to the end.

The Hornets answered the call in three sets, defeating Woodland 25-20, 18-25, 25-13 in a Stoddard County Athletics Association Conference showdown Tuesday at Woodland High School.

"I wanted to see a team," Hoffman said. "We've been struggling with that a lot lately, and I just wanted to see them together tonight. And they did that."

After falling behind 6-4 early in the third set, Advance (17-10-2, 3-3 SCAA) got a kill from Brylee Morse that sparked an 18-4 run, during which the Hornets scored eight straight points to take a 22-10 lead. The match ended with back-to-back kills by Megan Lee.

Advance sophomore outside hitter Alanis Below said she expected plenty of fight from the Cardinals, who dropped a 2-0 decision Monday on the road against conference rival Bernie.

"We heard that Bernie beat Woodland last night, and we knew we had to come out and play," Below said. "In that third set, we just took control and did our job."

A kill by Morse gave Advance its largest lead of the first set at 12-7, but Woodland (18-9-2, 2-4) responded with a 6-1 run that tied the game at 13-all. Below provided a kill for the Hornets that tied the set for the ninth and final time at 16-16 before Advance used a 9-4 spurt to conclude the set. Below provided the set-ending point on a kill.

Cardinals coach Kacie Patton said she wants her players to add more mental toughness to their game.

"Sometimes I think they play scared. I think they play not to lose, but I also have to remember we are very young," Patton said. "The majority of the girls on that court are sophomores. ... I just have to keep that in mind. Getting in positions like that in a high-intensity game, they haven't seen it before.

Woodland fell behind 6-1 in the second set but went on a 9-4 run of its own to force a 10-10 tie. Krista Rhodes provided a kill that gave Woodland a 16-10, and the Cardinals never fell behind by more than five points for the remainder of the set, which ended on a kill by Mackenzie Altenthal.

"In the second set, I felt like they were determined to say, 'No, this is our house,'" Patton said. "They were going to protect their court, and that's really what they did."

Rhodes led the way for the Cardinals with a team-high 14 kills and also had three blocks and three aces. Altenthal added seven kills and a block, Chelsea Cureton contributed 29 digs, Madison Cover added six digs and seven assists, Emma Rinacke had three blocks and seven assists, Kandyce Mifflin had 11 digs and Whitney Lincoln contributed eight assists for Woodland.

Patton, a graduate of Advance, had nothing but respect for the Hornets' effort on Tuesday.

"They never give up, and they flat-out hustle for every ball," Patton said about Advance. "You can best believe that if something happens or the ball didn't just go right, there are girls on the floor because they want to win."

While Morse and Below demand attention on the outside, Hoffman said she's been focusing on improving the versatility of freshman setter Addison Curtis and believes she's becoming more unpredictable to opposing defenses.

"Good teams are going to start to figure out, 'Hey, we're going to set them on the outside,' so we've been working on her to be a smarter setter," Hoffman said. "We need some of our other hitters to get some confidence, and I think she spread it around pretty good tonight."

Hoffman said she hopes the conference victory can spark some much-needed confidence into her squad as the Hornets conclude their regular season Thursday at home against Bell City.

"I really enjoyed it because this has been a long time coming," Hoffman said. "I was just hoping for them to play every point."

JV -- Advance won 17-25, 25-14, 25-18