Top-ranked Rams sweep to title

~ Scott City improved to 32-2 with a victory against Bloomfield

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Scott City senior Katie Diebold might have said it best when she described the Rams' play as, "Good pass, good set and just kill it."

The Rams did plenty of killing it on their way to a 25-23, 25-15 victory over Bloomfield in the Class 2 District 2 championship match at Bloomfield High School.

Brooke Simpson and Katie Hogan both had 12 kills to lead Scott City (32-2) to the title.

"Our offensive is what was getting us the most points," Simpson said. "As long as we had a good pass and set, our kills were getting us the points."

Scott City players celebrate after winning the Class 2 District 2 title Tuesday in Bloomfield, Mo. (ROB TATE ~ Daily American Republic)

The win did not come easily for the top-ranked team in Class 2.

Six errant serves helped Bloomfield gain momentum during the first game.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 3-1 lead and stayed out front until Scott City gained its first advantage at 12-11 on a kill by Hogan.

"The girls were really excited," Bloomfield coach Starla Pulley said. "They came out with the attitude that they had nothing to lose. They knew that Scott City was the one that really had to show they were the No. 1 seed. They went out and they gave it their all and played really hard. I was proud of them."

Neither team led by more than a two points until the Rams took a 19-16 lead.

With Scott City leading 18-16, Diebold made a diving dig to keep the point alive and Scott City rallied to score to go up three.

The Rams held a 22-20 lead when Bloomfield called a timeout.

After the timeout, the Rams' Mikah Simpson and Hogan each hit long and the Wildcats pulled even at 23-23.

Scott City coach Haley Jennings then used her first timeout to regroup her team. The Rams responded by taking the next two points, ending the game with an emphatic kill by Brooke Simpson.

"She's [Brooke Simpson] an amazing hitter," Pulley said. "You're going to have to really get up there to block her and shut her down, and tonight we weren't able to do that."

"Everything that we did that first game was crucial," Brooke Simpson said. "When we made a mistake, we had to pick it back up. Every point we needed to earn."

The Rams made sure the second game wasn't as close.

Scott City used a 5-0 run to take a 6-1 lead and settle in.

"They mixed up their offense more the second game," Pulley said. "They have some really aggressive hitters, some of the best in the state. Our girls just got behind, and with a team like that, if you get four or five points behind, it's going to be really hard to catch back up."

Bloomfield used a 3-0 run to close the gap to 10-8, but Scott City responded with a 5-1 run that stretched the lead to 15-9.

The Rams coasted from there.

"We were just out to kill the second game," Brooke Simpson said.

Diebold paced the offense with 22 assists and added six digs on defense.

"She's very well with placement," Jennings said of Diebold. "She just has a good ability of taking a not-so-great pass and getting it up on the net for our hitters to hit."

Mikah Simpson tallied 16 digs, Brooke Simpson had seven and Hogan added five. All three were named to the all-district first team, which also included Diebold. The Rams' Stephanie Essner and Jordan McFall, as well as Woodland's Kaitlin McCormick, made the second team.

The district title was just the first step for the Rams, who will play in the sectional round Saturday at Clearwater High School.

"We have to work on everything," Brooke Simpson said. "All the way around. It only gets tougher from here on out."