Johnson leads Bell City to district crown

BELL CITY -- Jasmine Johnson pounded down a powerful kill almost every time the Cubs were in desperate need of one against Bernie in the Class 1 District 2 title match Tuesday.

Johnson, a freshman middle blocker, recorded 21 kills, 32 digs and four service aces to help Bell City beat Bernie 25-22, 22-25, 25-20.

The Cubs now have won six straight district titles, but almost nothing was simple for them Tuesday evening.

The Cubs (23-7-2) fell behind by nine points in the first game before rallying back to win. After dropping the second game, Bell City was ahead in the third game 20-9. But Bernie went on an 11-3 run late to bring the score to 23-20. In the end, Bell City had enough to hold off the Mules.

And Johnson, a Class 1 District 2 first-team selection, was a big reason why.

"She is not really a talkative leader, maybe I guess because she's a freshman," senior setter Codie Lancaster said. "She's more timid and quiet, but we always know if we're down we can give it to her and she will get the job done. I know she's going to get the kill if I just give it to her. I tell her what to run and she does it."

Bell City was behind 13-5 in the first game when Johnson smashed a kill to make it 13-6. Someone from the Cubs' cheering section yelled "Give it to Jasmine every time."

Lancaster, who recorded 32 assists, did a nice job of finding Johnson, who had four of her team's next five points to inch the Cubs closer in the first game.

"I'm not really surprised," Lancaster said about Johnson's play this season. "When she was in junior high and stuff, I kind of knew she was who I was going to be playing with when I was a senior. I knew she'd be coming up as a freshman. Coach told me we had to get in there and work with her and it's not just her. All the seniors and juniors have a part, too. Tonight, Alex [Eakin], she's only a sophomore, she got the job done when nobody else would, too, so it's like a team thing."

Johnson has posted impressive statistics throughout the season. Bell City coach Erin Hoffman said Johnson has more than 350 kills and close to 500 digs.

"She caught on pretty fast," Lancaster said about Johnson. "She's only a freshman and for her to pick up things that fast, it's really good and she's helping our team."

Johnson also played strong in the third game, when her team was having trouble finishing off the match.

With Bernie on a 4-0 run to bring the score to 22-17, Johnson had an important kill to make it 23-17. She also tapped the final point over the net for the 25-20 victory.

"Anytime you're down and you can get a player to hit the ball good and hard, it's going to get your team fired up," Hoffman said. "It just happens that she is the one who does it most of the time."

Johnson said whenever her team was losing, she and her teammates remained confident. She knew she needed to produce big kills to motivate her team, and she thinks hitting is the strongest aspect of her game.

"I'm really excited," Johnson said about winning the district title. "I'm really happy because this is my first time."

Hoffman said Johnson was ready physically to play varsity when she was in junior high, but the freshman still had room to improve this fall.

"She's really worked hard at the beginning of this year and throughout this year to be where she is at," Hoffman said of Johnson. "Does it surprise me? No. That's what I expect out of her. And I'm going to expect more and more out of her every year. I'm not going to be satisfied with the way she plays."

Senior libero Sherilyn Long added 32 digs. Eakin collected five kills.

Bell City advanced to play in the sectionals Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Bell City High School. The Cubs play the District 4 champion, who still is to be determined.

"I was not happy with this game at all," Hoffman said. "But it's a win. And it moves us on. Our motto for the past two weeks is that we just have to do everything right. So that's what I told them. We have to go out there Saturday and we're just going to have to do everything right."

Johnson said she and her teammates must play better early in games to be successful Saturday.

"We need to go out playing hard and have a good offense at first because at some points we don't have good offense," Johnson said. "But we have good passes and stuff, so we just need to go out and win. ... I have to go out and play my best for them [the seniors]."