Menu
Early deficits prove to be too much for Portageville to overcome in C2D1 championship loss to Malden
MALDEN, Mo. — Energy and emotion was not the problem for the Portageville volleyball team in Wednesday’s Class 2, District 1 championship match against Malden.
It was more so that the Bulldogs were continuing to fight out of deficits that eventually led to them losing in straight sets to the host-Green Wave.
“Like we talked last night, we’re a very emotional team,” Barry Branscum said. “I thought we had it all night really. Even when we got down, we kept trying to fight back. We didn’t give up; we didn’t quit, we didn’t do any of that stuff. I was frustrated with our performance last night; I was not frustrated at all tonight. I think we showed up to play in a big environment against a really good team who — to their credit — has beaten us three times this year.
“They deserved that, and we didn’t get any wins in that situation, but I couldn’t be prouder of the way we came into this environment tonight, especially when we got down in the first set. How we fought back and gave ourselves a chance. But, you can’t dig yourselves those big holes and fight out of them every time.”
Malden was able to utilize home court advantage very well, feeding off the energy of the crowd en route to a 25-23, 25-14 victory.
In the first set, Portageville jumped out to the early advantage, leading 12-10 before a called timeout.
Malden, though, was never out of it and eventually retook the lead, at 18-16, forcing Portageville head coach Barry Branscum to talk it over with his squad. The talk, though, did not necessarily help matters, as the Green Wave added on three more points — outscoring the Bulldogs 3-1 after the initial timeout — to move to within four points of closing out the set.
The never-say-die attitude of Portageville was able to keep them within striking distance of the lead; the Bulldogs scored six straight points toward the end of the set — making it a one-point contest — at 24-23.
Malden was able to put away the Bulldogs after a valiant effort, winning the set 25-23.
Already playing a pair of three-set matches earlier in the season, Malden head coach Brittany Crane said that she knew she needed her team to win the second set.
“This is the third time we’ve played Portageville,” Crane said. “We’ve played them three sets the times before and we really needed, we knew we needed, to win the second set to have the momentum and just take off. So, we watched game film of playing Portageville, we tried to hit more than them, and our defense has just been really great this year. Our senior Anna Belcher does not let a ball hit the floor and so, she just really helps our defense. I feel like we had a strong defense tonight.”
After escaping the first set, Malden looked like a whole new team once the second set rolled around.
The Green Wave only allowed 14 points, cruising to a 25-14 victory over the Bulldogs to capture their second-consecutive district title.
Getting into a rut has not seemed to bother the Bulldogs all that much this season, but on Wednesday, with the atmosphere that they were playing in, made the task much more difficult.
“When you dig a big hole like that, I mean we went on like a 7-1 run,” Branscum said. “Any other night, that’s fantastic. But, when you’re down, 23 or 24 to whatever, one little error and that’s the end of the match basically, when you’ve used all your energy. It’s different if it’s 10-3 and you’re fighting back; one error’s not going to affect the outcome of the game. I mean, we were with them up until late, they went on a run, and then we went on a run to come back. Just, I think they had a ball that rolled over the top of the net, and that was the end of it for us. But, you know what, they earned it. We should have not made quite as many mistakes earlier on.”
Capitalizing on mistakes and taking advantage of holding onto leads is where Crane said her team excels.
“We played Portageville quite a bit this year, and in the past, we know that if we can get a lead, the odds are really in our favor to just take off,” Crane said. “So, we really wanted a six-point lead, and that would give us our comfortability back, so we could hit harder, and not play so safe. I feel like we didn’t play safe and we hit.”
A solid performance from Gracie Thomas also helped matters.
Thomas finished with a team-high six kills on the match. She added one of the two aces as well.
“Gracie Thomas is one of a kind,” Crane said. “We love having her. She brings a lot of momentum to the team, and when she hits that ball, it starts a fire in us. The other girls read off that, they feel it, and hitters like Nia Walker, Onerica Reed, Maddie Saulsbery, they come in, and they feel off of that, and they really use Gracie’s hits. It just ignites the whole team.”
Altogether the Green Wave finished with 16 kills. Walker added three, while Reed and Mackenzie Minnifield added two themselves.
Attacking Portageville, early and often, in the second set allowed Malden to take full control. They were able to find the spots on the floor, and deliver.
For Branscum, though, it was more so that his team wasn’t getting as many swings in on the ball.
“The biggest thing is that we need to get swings,” Branscum said. “We didn’t get a lot of swings at times, which allowed them to have easier passes and sets to their hitters, and that just really was a huge difference right there. You can’t do that, but that doesn’t take away from my kids. I’m extremely proud of my team. I’ve coached for quite a few years and this team, you know, they got the second most wins in school history, so I have nothing to be disappointed about tonight.”