BELL CITY TOPS BERNIE IN CLASH OF STATE CHAMPS

BELL CITY -- Last season, Bell City made its list.

Now it has checked it twice.

The Lady Cubs applied the first check mark to their wish list after winning the Class 1A state volleyball championship last year.

Then Thursday night came mark No. 2: Bell City beat visiting archrival Bernie, last year's 2A state champion and the 1A title winner the two years seasons before that, in straight games, 15-11, 15-13.

Bell City went 33-3-2 last season; all three losses came against Bernie, which went 38-1-1 last year. Bernie had a 20-match win streak erased Thursday and lost its first Stoddard County Athletic Association match in four years.

The Lady Cubs moved to 3-0 on the year, dropping Bernie to 3-1.

Although the win perhaps ranks a bit below last season's state title, the post-game jubilation of players and fans alike made it apparent that it was a close second.

"I hate Bernie. (This was) probably the biggest game of the (regular) season," said Bell City's superb senior hitter April Jackson, a first-team all-district selection last year who led the Lady Cubs with eight kills against Bernie.

Leslie Lee, Bell City's senior first-team all-state setter, considered by some the best player in southeast Missouri, engineered the Lady Cubs' victory by handing out a team-leading 18 assists.

Said Lee: "I've wanted to beat Bernie for three years . . . (and) I think we were all ready. I think we played pretty well, but we can do better."

Bell City never trailed in the first game, and its experience (four starters returned this year) aided in a comeback from a quick 6-0 deficit in the second.

"We had everything going for us pretty good tonight," said Bell City coach Carl Ritter. "This is our first win against Bernie for years and years and years. It's a big win for our program."

While Bell City is very experienced, Bernie has almost none this season. Junior Erin Moore, one of the area's top hitters, is the only Lady Mule who played on the varsity team last year.

Bernie coach Bill Zoll said that although Moore "held her own," some of her teammates had a sub-par night.

"Our serve-receive killed us tonight. But overall I was pleased with the way we played." he said.

In the first game, Bell City gained an 8-2 lead, but Bernie later closed to within two points, 11-9. A service ace by Bell City's Jessica Shelby, who had six kills, sandwiched between two Bernie errors made the score 14-9.

Bernie made it 14-11 before another hitting error ended the game.

Bell City had trouble hitting the ball early in the second game and the Lady Mules took the 6-0 lead. The Lady Cubs stormed back and regained the lead 7-6 behind three aces by Shelby, a sophomore. Bell City pushed its lead to 12-7 before two kills by Moore brought the Lady Mules within two, 12-10.

A block by Jackson gave the Lady Cubs a 14-12 lead before another kill by Moore made it 14-13. Bell City won when the Lady Mules hit Laura Spears' serve into the ceiling.