Final four starts on rough note for Cubs

~ Bell City dropped its first five matches and will play in the third-place game today.

The Bell City volleyball team fell in its first two matches in round-robin play Friday in the Class 1 state final four in Warrensburg, Mo., and had to settle for a spot in today's third-place match.

The Cubs (34-3-1) lost their first five sets of the day before salvaging their sixth and final game. Bell City's 1-5 mark Friday set up a third-place match at 9 a.m. today against Osceola, which also won just one of six games.

Winona (32-3-5) will face Santa Fe (33-1-3) in the championship match.

Following a third-place finish last season, Bell City entered the state final four riding a 31-match winning streak. But things could not have started worse for the Cubs, who were routed 25-7, 25-10 in their opening match against Winona, a team Bell City beat in three games in the third-place match last year.

In the second match, Bell City fell 26-24, 25-21 to Santa Fe.

Osceola (25-6-5), the lone newcomer in the final four this year, beat Bell City 25-13 in the opening game of their match. Bell City bounced back to win 25-10 in the final game of the day.