Rams defeat Bloomfield, repeat as district champs

Scott City's first-year volleyball coach Carl Ritter Jr. had last coached in 1992, when his Zalma squad made its third of three straight state final four appearances.

Postseason success has once again found Ritter, as Scott City claimed its second straight district title with a 25-17, 25-16 victory over Class 2 District 2 host Bloomfield on Tuesday.

Top-seeded Scott City (25-7-2) advances to face Crystal City at 3 p.m. Saturday in sectional play at Bloomfield. The winner advances to quarterfinal play at 6 p.m.

The Lady Rams have won back-to-back district titles and three in the last four seasons.

"This was a rebuilding season. We only returned the setter," Ritter said. "We don't have many with varsity experience but we've had a good season."

The loss ends second-seeded Bloomfield's season at 15-14-2.

Bloomfield took a 9-8 lead on an ace by Krystal Vandiver in the first game. Scott City quickly tied the game on a serving error, before taking the lead for good on a kill by Kacie Ritter. In all, the Lady Rams put together a 13-2 run to go up 21-11, forcing a timeout.

The Lady Wildcats caught a spark and behind a block by Erin Durham narrowed the margin to 21-16. Again, Scott City answered and behind another kill by Ritter put the game away.

"I was very pleased," Ritter said of the first game. "We came out last night and played really tight the first eight points but came out tonight and pretty much dominated the match."

Ritter and Whitney Tapley paced Scott City with six kills each. Lindsey Amick led with 12 assists while Kelley Hicks added four blocks. Hicks had seven service points in the opening game and three aces. In the second game, Valerie Gibbons had seven service points and two aces.

-- Steve Frey

Class 1 District 3

Leopold claimed its fourth straight district title with a 25-17, 25-22 win over host Meadow Heights at the Class 1 District 3 tournament.

The top-seeded Wildcats defeated No. 4 Oak Ridge 25-10, 25-18 in the semifinals. Second-seeded Meadow Heights defeated No. 3 Zalma 25-23, 25-13 in the other semifinal.

Leopold will play the winner of District 1 in a sectional match at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at Advance.

Class 2 District 3

Third-seeded St. Vincent upset No. 1 Bismarck 25-23, 25-21 in the championship match of the Class 2 District 3 tournament at West County.

The Squaws defeated No. 2 Arcadia Valley 19-25, 25-19, 25-16 in the semifinal round.

St. Vincent will take on the Class 2 District 1 winner at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Bloomfield.

Class 4 District 1

Jackson topped No. 2 Hillsboro in the semifinal round but fell to top-seeded Farmington in the Class 4 District 1 championship at Hillsboro.

The No. 3 Indians won 25-19, 25-22 in their first match, then lost 25-16, 25-15 in the title game.

Class 3 District 1

Second-seeded Dexter handed Notre Dame a season-ending 20-25, 25-10, 25-20 loss in the semifinal round of the Class 3 District 1 tournament at Dexter.

The No. 3 Bulldogs (14-13-3), winners of five straight district titles, won the first game but couldn't recover from a lopsided loss in the second game.

"We played really close in the first and third games," Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup said. "We had a good season."

Kaitlyn Scheeter had nine kills and six digs for the Bulldogs, and Ashley Nenninger added 14 kills. Meridith Medlin had 19 assists and Destiny Dirnberger had six digs.

Perryville lost to Kennett in the other semifinal match.

-- From staff reports