Scott City, St. Vincent ousted from playoffs

Scott City and St. Vincent ended their volleyball seasons Saturday with losses in the Class 2 sectional round at Bloomfield.

Scott City fell to Crystal City 25-16, 25-15, and Caruthersville edged St. Vincent 26-24, 25-22.

Crystal City (19-7-2) defeated Caruthersville 25-27, 25-21, 25-12 in the quarterfinal match to earn a trip to Saturday's state semifinal round.

The Rams (25-8-2), who have never won a sectional match, led 2-0 early in the first game, but that was the last time they saw a lead. Crystal City gained a 23-15 lead after a four-point run put the game out of reach.

Scott City led early in the second game, but Crystal City took the lead and never surrendered it. The Rams pulled within two before Crystal City rattled off seven points for a 22-13 lead.

"We had a major passing slump there for a little bit," Scott City coach Carl Ritter Jr. said. "They're just too good of a ballclub to get a seven-point run on you like that."

The Rams tallied 16 kills in the match, including five from Whitney Tapley and four from Kacie Ritter. Brittany Licare had 11 digs and Lindsey Amick added 14 assists.

"We played pretty good, but Crystal City is a good team that starts four seniors," Ritter Jr. said. "I'm very proud of the kids, and we're very optimistic about next year."

St. Vincent (24-11-2) led 21-13 in the first set against Caruthers-ville (26-3-2), but the Tigers went on a 13-3 run to claim the first set.

"We just never could get any momentum going in the second set," St. Vincent coach Mary Rosenquist said.

Brooke Brown had six digs and five ace serves for St. Vincent. Sara Moll had 11 digs, Kelsey Kutz had six digs and five kills and Brooke Hayden had six kills. Alina Ernst had six digs and Lacey Siegmund contributed 10 assists.

"We just were not at the top of our game," Rosenquist said. "I can't explain it, the kids can't explain it other than it just wasn't meant to be tonight for us. It was very close, but we were not sharp at all tonight. It was pretty tough."