Bernie sweeps Royals on Pink-Out night

Bernie's Piper Schoemehl jumps for a pass against Twin Rivers on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Bernie, Mo.

DAILY AMERICAN REPUBLIC/Scott Borkgren

BERNIE — The Bernie volleyball team was in the gym at 2:15 p.m. to get ready for its matchup against Twin Rivers.

The Mules weren’t practicing. They were decorating for their Pink-Out game nearly to the junior varsity start at 5:30 p.m. Both squads went on to win, with varsity sweeping the Royals 25-14, 25-14, 25-18.

“The girls really went all out. They have a good time with it, and I think, the more, the merrier,” Bernie coach Mackenzie Stevens said.

There was a silent auction with items ranging from a free combo at Sonic to a guided fishing trip on Lake Wappapello. There was a bake sale, posters, pink and white balloons, streamers and a special program that said the night’s match was played in honor of Bernie High School senior Kagean Owens. Proceeds went to the 18 Fore Life foundation.

“Since 18-for-life is so close to home, we felt like our obligation was to go big or go home,” Stevens said. “A lot of schools have Pink Out for big, national foundations, and you really don’t know where the money is going. But 18-for-life is right here, helping families in Stoddard County. We felt like it was really close to our heart, so we went all out.”

Gracie Cluck boosted Bernie in the first game when she got the serve with the Mules leading 15-14. Cluck and the Mules’ defense never let Twin Rivers get the serve back.

She had five aces during a 10-point run with middle hitter Anna Eaton added a kill and a block along the way.

Twin Rivers' Emma Thurman leaps for an attack against Bernie on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Bernie, Mo.

“Serve/receive is usually a strong suit for us. I can say tonight wasn’t our best serve/receive night, statistically. But we are strong defensively,” Stevens said. “In our district, we are outmatched on height by a lot of teams. Anna Eaton, being 5-8, is our tallest middle blocker. So we use defense as our offense.”

Cluck and Courtney Walker teamed up to cause similar problems in the second game. Bernie led 10-5 when Walker hit three aces out of four straight points for the Mules before hitting a serve into the net.

Eaton got one of her 13 kills on the night to get the serve back for Cluck, who got two more aces sandwiched around a kill by Piper Schoemehl to put Bernie ahead 19-6.

The Royals rallied some, cutting the lead to nine points after back-to-back passing errors by the Mules, but Cluck eventually hit a kill off the block to win 25-14 for the second game in a row.

“I don’t feel like they were serving at us differently than most teams serve at us. I honestly don’t know, and I don’t know that they know either. They just weren’t going for it,” Twin Rivers coach Whitney Edington said.

Edington made several substitutions during the night, and during Bernie’s runs in particular, and the Royals were able to take an 8-2 lead to start the third game.

“I feel like Brianna South in the middle helped a little bit because she has a lot of power, and she was also able to get a few blocks. She also makes really good decisions, and she is able to get up high and place the ball very well,” Edington said.

“The reason we don’t have her in the middle is because being on the outside, we kind of pull her back and have her help in the passing more because she is a better passer. We have to weigh our options and pick which one is going to be more important.”

South hitting two kills and the Mules committing five errors to start game 3, and Stevens called a timeout.

“I noticed we weren’t communicating very well. I told them, as a team, even when the gym is quiet, and we don’t have a large pep club, that they have to create their own energy, and that’s what they did,” Stevens said. “Some of the team captains stepped up. I had a couple of juniors step up and really add some energy to the floor. It worked well.”

Members of the baseball team, trickling into the gym after the conclusion of its fall tournament, got the student section on its feet for the first time in the match, and the boosted pep club swelled as Bernie went on a 21-5 run.

“Our girls definitely ride that way of enthusiasm whenever we have a lot of students here. It does help to be on our home floor,” Stevens said.

Cluck hit back-to-back aces to put Bernie ahead 13-12, but she hit her third serve into the net.

Bernie then scored 10 straight points with Sierra Kirkpatrick serving, including a block and a kill by Eaton. Kirkpatrick had two aces before missing a serve wide.

Twin Rivers’ Emma Thurman had an ace, and the Royals cut the score to 24-18 before Eaton had a kill to win the match 25-18.