Bernie volleyball team topples Advance in straight sets

ADVANCE, Mo. -- In his first season as a high school volleyball coach, Bernie coach Jason Long got one of his first looks at what a conference volleyball rivalry looks like in Stoddard County.

The Mules defeated host Advance 25-23, 25-11 in straight sets Tuesday, but Long believes the two teams are closer than what the match indicated.

"Don't be fooled by the second set. We're even," Long said. "Both of these teams, I feel like, play on the same level, and they could very easily do the same thing to us.

"We have to keep working. It feels good to win. It feels good to play well, but we've got to keep working."

Bernie's Cymber Arnold attempts to hit the ball past Advance's Megan Lee during a match, Tuesday, September 8, 2015, in Advance, Missouri. (Trent Singer)

Bernie (4-1, 2-0 Stoddard County Athletics Association) fell behind early in the first set after the Hornets used a 7-1 run to build a 13-7 lead, but the Mules countered with a 10-4 burst that was capped by a kill from Mabree Stone, tying the set at 17-17. An unforced error led to Bernie's first lead of the game at 19-18.

"You can't give up. You've got to fight, especially when you're down seven points in a set," Long said. "It takes a lot of energy to come back, so I was definitely proud of that."

Advance (7-2-2, 0-1 SCAA) regained the lead at 22-21 before the Mules closed the set with a 4-1 run.

First-year Hornets coach Erin Hoffman believes her players are still trying to find comfortability in her system.

"I've changed a lot of things. I'm very big on fundamentals, and when you work on something of that detail, it's really easy to fluctuate back and forth," Hoffman said. "I saw a lot of the old team tonight, then the new team and back and forth. ... Our passing was not there at all tonight. That's the biggest thing right now is fluctuating, but I see it. It's there. They're trying, and when you can't pass, you've got your setter running everywhere and can't set up your hitters."

Bernie scored the first five points of the second set and extended its lead to 15-1. Long said serving was the key to finding a way to pull away early in the second set.

Advance's India Phillips returns a shot against Bernie during a match, Tuesday, September 8, 2015, in Advance, Missouri. (Trent Singer)

"We did a good job of serving and keeping the ball in, and then we were able to get some good passes and were fortunate enough to get some of our hitters going," Long said. "It was just one of those things where it was kind of going our way, and we were able to take advantage of it."

Thanks to several kills from Alanis Below, the Hornets responded with a 9-1 run that cut their deficit to 16-10, but a kill from Bernie's Cymber Arnold sparked a 9-1 run to conclude the match.

"I was pleased with the fighting back," Hoffman said. "One of the big things we need to work on is unforced errors. When we did get that pass or that set, we'd hit it out of bounds or that sort of thing, so we just need to get more repetition done and keep going, going and going."

Stone, Arnold, Kayli Tanner and Adesyn Shelton were among the bright spots for the Mules, according to Long.

"People tend to talk about our middle, but we're trying to be well-rounded. We've been challenging our outside hitters to step up and play better," Long said. "Mabree Stone played really well tonight. She put some good swings on the ball, and then [Adesyn Shelton], she's just all over the place. She's our leader. She plays so stinkin' hard.

Bernie's Mabree Stone hits the ball while Advance's Brylee Morse and Addison Curtis attempt to block during a match, Tuesday, September 8, 2015, in Advance, Missouri. (Trent Singer)

"It just feels good to play well, win and beat a quality opponent."

Hoffman said she was most pleased with the performance from her setter, Addison Curtis.

"I felt like our serving was pretty aggressive, especially my setter," Hoffman said. "... They're excited to get back to practice. I made them realize what we've been working towards and how we didn't use any of that tonight, so they were able to figure that out."

Both teams met in the Class 1 District 2 championship last season as the Mules won a 2-0 decision, claiming their fourth consecutive district title, and Long understands the two teams could meet in the postseason again.

"They're only going to get better. We know that about Advance," Long said. "We've got to understand that it feels good to win against a quality opponent, but now we've got Dexter coming to Bernie on Thursday night. So you wake up tomorrow morning, and you've got to start thinking about that because it's no secret that they're really good."

JV -- Advance won 25-19, 25-18