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Bloomfield volleyball proves doubters wrong, wins sixth straight district title
The Twin Rivers volleyball team was coming off a one-win season but returned almost everyone.
The Bloomfield Wildcats won their fifth straight district championship last season but lost four seniors, including all-stater Bailey Below.
Uncertainty surrounded both teams entering the season, but both finished strong to win district championships.
The fourth-seeded Wildcats captured their sixth straight district championship with a 25-23, 25-13 upset win over second-seeded Campbell to win the Class 1 District 2 championship Tuesday night at Bloomfield.
Second-seeded Twin Rivers beat fifth-seeded Senath-Hornersville 25-19, 25-22 to win the Class 2 District 1 championship Wednesday night at Malden.
The Royals (11-15-2) will face St. Pius X (20-6-2) in a sectional match at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Woodland High School near Marble Hill. The winner will face the Woodland-Valle Catholic winner in a quarterfinal at 6 p.m. Saturday.
“We are excited,” Twin Rivers coach Whitney Edington told the Delta Dunklin Democrat after the title match. “We know moving forward will not be easy. The competition increases 150 percent when you go up north and we know that. But winning the district was our goal. Moving forward we want to continue to work hard and try to get as far as we can, but also be proud of what we have accomplished.”
The Royals went 1-23-2 last season and had to practice off campus because of water damage to the high school court. They won their fourth district championship since 2008, also winning in 2012 and 2016. They lost in the sectional round each time.
The Wildcats (14-15-1) will meet defending state champion Advance (32-2) at 3 p.m. Saturday at Bloomfield High School. The winner will meet the Holcomb-Crystal City winner in a quarterfinal at 6 p.m.
Facing adversity
While Twin Rivers couldn’t practice on its home court last season, the Wildcats played only three home matches this season because of construction at the high school gymnasium.
“It was a little challenging,” said senior Eva Hester, who led the Wildcats with 185 kills. “I think it got some of us down a little bit because we really wanted a home game. We were really excited to have a home game. Going away all the time was tiring.”
The team’s other senior, Natalie Powell, said the added travel provided a silver lining.
“I would’ve rather had more home games than away games, but I think it was good for us to travel,” she said. “We had more team bonding on the bus since we’re all forced to be together.”
Resurgent Wildcats
The Wildcats started the season 6-13-1 before winning eight of their last 10 games.
The team began to turn its season around with the return of middle hitter Melanie Phillips, who missed almost half the season with a shoulder injury.
Bloomfield coach Haley Silman said her return helped “lots.”
“It gave us another hitting option,” Silman said. “It gave us a big blocking option. She’s got a good serve. It helped us out tremendously.”
Despite missing nine matches, she finished second to Hester in kills (140), led the team with 3.3 kills a set and was second in total blocks with 32.
The improving play of freshman hitter Mallory Hawkins helped the team down the stretch.
“When you play up with the older girls and they’re swinging hard every time and they’re hustling, it makes you do the same and that’s just helped her tremendously get more aggressive and more confident,” Silman said. “She’s really stepped up in the last few weeks.”
Hawkins was fourth on the team with 101 kills and led the team with 40 total blocks.
Silman said the return of Phillips helped the team turn the corner, but a three-set loss to Bernie in the SCAA tournament seemed to be a turning point.
“We had a lot of people who didn’t think we were going to win districts,” Silman said. “A lot of people didn’t think we were going to beat Bernie. My dad and I have always said, ‘it’s hard to beat a team three times.’ And that’s what I told the girls. … They were ready (at districts). Ever since we played them and went three sets with them at county, they were we’re ready.”
Ready to repeat
The Hornets, who lost only one starter from last year’s squad, won the Perryville, SCAA and district tournaments this season.
Class 4 schools, Jackson and Lindbergh, were responsible for the Hornets’ losses. Jackson won in four sets, and Lindbergh three.
Advance defeated Bloomfield 25-16. 25-11 during the regular season.
"Once you get to postseason," Advance coach Erin Hoffman told the Southeast Missourian, "it's anybody's ballgame. You don't want to take anybody lightly."