Bernie VB in search of 'mental toughness' in quest for another winning season

There have been certain things that people in Stoddard County can always rely on through the years, such as getting stopped by a train in Dexter, being swarmed by snow geese in February out at Otter Slough, and the Bernie High School volleyball team having a winning season.

For 13 consecutive seasons, which is longer than the current Mule roster has even been in school, Bernie has somehow found a way to win more matches than it has lost each fall. However, after dropping three of their past five matches entering Monday’s road test at Poplar Bluff, the Mules (8-6-1) are perilously close to the .500 mark.

“We need to fix our mental toughness,” Mule coach Rachel Vernon said of her team recently.

The Mules dropped a recent 3-1 match to an ever-improving Dexter squad, and the fortitude of the Mules varied from set to set.

After allowing the Bearcats to cruise to an opening 25-12-win, Vernon’s message finally reached her group.

“We’ve got to play with heart,” Vernon stressed.

The Mules battled the Bearcats to a 25-22 loss in the second set before beating Dexter 27-25 in the third.

“We finally played with heart in that second and third set,” Vernon said.

Like all of the Bernie girl athletic squads, the Mules rely on youth to a large degree.

Vernon has four seniors (Piper Winstead, Larissa Throckmorton, Abby Powell, and Jae Freeman), but only Powell starts.

Bernie gets a lot of play from sophomores Mikalyn Kirkwood, Lexi Dillinger, and Blair Pleimling, as well as juniors Macie Botsch and Kealea Powell. Vernon said in matches that her team has struggled, the consistency of having everyone play well at the same time has been missing.

“We need all six on the floor to play 100 percent,” Vernon said.

Prior to the loss to Dexter, Bernie had won five of its previous six matches, with wins over Kingston (2-0), Woodland (2-0), and Kennett (2-1) in the Dig For Life Tournament in Cape Girardeau, as well as regular-season matches over Cape Central (2-1) and Scott City (2-1).

“It was our mental toughness,” Vernon said of that streak. “We were on a roll.”

Following the Mule vs. Mule match-up on Monday, Bernie will host Puxico on Thursday and Woodland on Friday, with 7:30 p.m. starts for both matches.