Semoball

Bloomfield controls net, sweeps Malden volleyball in regular-season finale

Malden’s Madi Saulsbery (left) passes away from Bloomfield blocker Melanie Phillips (4) during the first set Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020, at Malden High School.
DEXTER STATESMAN/Kyle Smith

MALDEN — The Bloomfield volleyball team executed its block to the satisfaction of coach Hannah Dement and held off a late charge by the Green Wave to earn a sweep Thursday night at Malden High School.

The Wildcats held the Malden attack in check for most of the match en route to a 25-18, 25-11, 25-22 victory to end the regular season with an 11-13-1 record. Malden fell to 11-14-1.

While the Wildcats only produced two points on blocks, they kept Malden’s attack grounded for much of the night.

“Our blocks just haven’t been there and I think that’s one of our main problems against these tough teams,” Dement said. “Most of our practices have consisted of a lot of blocking, especially our last practice, and I really saw a difference tonight. They are all doing very, very well.”

Malden coach Alex Glover said her team’s inconsistent passing made hitting difficult.

“I think our biggest thing is passing,” Glover said. “That second set, especially, we missed too many up on the net. With (the Wildcats) being tall, we gave them free opportunities to kill the ball. The first and third sets, we did a lot better keeping it off the net. The third set, we did even better at giving a settable ball, so we could actually do something with it on the offense side.”

The Green Wave made a run in the third set, producing eight kills after accumulating only nine in the first two games.

Bloomfield built a 15-8 lead, but the Green Wave began producing points at the net, slicing their deficit to a point (23-22) on a kill by Alissa Olsen.

Malden didn’t produce a kill in the third set until Madi Saulsbery landed one to start a 5-1 rally. She produced three during the run and Olsen served an ace, cutting the lead to 16-13.

A kill by Rosa Hester and a service ace by Molly Below extended the lead to 19-13.

Saulsbery’s kill on a free ball and a kill by Olsen sliced the lead to 19-16.

Saulsbery paced Malden with nine kills and Olsen had six.

The Green Wave cut the deficit to three points twice more (22-19 and 23-20) before climbing to within one point.

Mallory Hawkins gave the Wildcats match point with a kill and they clinched the victory on a center-line violation by Malden.

“They just played a tough game and they pulled it out,” Dement said of her team.

The Wildcats held a 28-17 advantage in kills. Melanie Phillips led them with nine kills, Hawkins had seven and Shilynn Bader had four.

Malden took a 5-1 lead in the first set, but the Wildcats battled back and took their first lead (9-8) on a kill by Below.

The Green Wave tied the score at 11 on a kill by Olsen, but Bloomfield responded with a 9-1 run to take control. Phillips produced a pair of kills and Below served an ace during a rally that included six errors by Malden.

The Wildcats closed out the set on a kill by Hawkins.

Malden committed 12 errors in the opening game but stayed close early because the Wildcats made seven errors in the home team’s first nine points.

The Wildcats cut down on their errors in the second set, while Malden committed 11 more. They strung together runs of 4-0, 6-1, 5-0 and 6-0 to end the set. Ashton Bell recorded her 1,000th career assist during the game-ending run.

Bloomfield served four aces in the second set two by Abigail Connor and two by Hawkins.

The Wildcats finished with 12 service aces with Hawkins recording a team-high four and Below producing three.

Bloomfield begins play in the Class 2 District 2 tournament against Clearwater at 6 p.m. Monday at Marble Hill.

Malden opens Class 2 District 1 play against Caruthersville at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Malden High School.

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