Cubs clear first hurdle to repeat

Bell City and Advance have had their share of marquee matchups in volleyball and basketball over the past few years.

On Tuesday at Bell City, the Cubs and Hornets played for the Class 1 District 2 volleyball title in front of a raucous crowd.

The Cubs, Class 1 defending state champions, kept their hopes of a repeat alive with a 25-21, 25-14 win.

Bell City coach Erin Hoffman said she was pleasantly surprised by the strong fan support.

"Especially with the Cardinals game," she noted. "I'm happy with the amount of people that showed up."

Bell City will play Leopold in the sectional Saturday at Advance. Leopold defeated Zalma in the final of the District 3 tournament at Zalma.

Hoffman said after some struggles throughout the season her team is playing some of its best ball.

"Now's the time to peak," she said.

The first game lived up to the rivalry billing, with neither team building more than a six-point lead. Advance took the early lead, jumping ahead 6-2. Bell City tied the score at 7-7, 10-10, 11-11 and 13-13 before finally grabbing its first lead at 14-13.

A poor bump by Advance led to Andreia Wondel's kill and an Advance timeout with the score 15-13. Advance had to call another timeout after a kill from Rachel Spears put the Cubs ahead 21-17. Spears followed with another kill to move the score to 22-17, and Bell City held off a late charge to win the first game.

"The game was a really close game, back and forth until the end," Hoffman said.

Advance coach Kimberly Aggertt-Smith said she thought both teams were a little flat, just letting the play go back and forth in the opening game.

"Watching the first game, I didn't think either team was real quick with the ball," she said.

While last year's district final between Bell City and Advance went three games, the Cubs made sure to avoid any drama on Tuesday. Bell City broke open a close game by scoring 13 of the final 16 points to run away with the second game.

"I can finally breathe, and a lot of the girls can finally breathe," Hoffman said.

Spears led Bell City's balanced attack with eight kills and added nine assists. Emily Burch and Megan Slagley added six kills apiece for the Cubs.

"There wasn't any one player that stood out. Everyone contributed and they all had good games," Hoffman said.

Angela Broshuis led the Hornets with seven kills. Leslie Rainey added two aces and nine digs, Kacie Ritter had six assists and Alicia Broshuis had seven assists.

An emotional Aggertt-Smith said she was just sad to see the seniors and their families go.

"I'm proud of my kids," she said.