Semoball

Ignore the (misleading) record, Puxico VB is long on potential, ability

Puxico sophomore Hannah Wilson (22) rises to tip a ball over the block attempt of Bell City freshman Molly Yarbrough (18) at the net on Monday at Bell City High School.
Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

BELL CITY – The first thing that you need to know about the Puxico High School volleyball squad is that its 2-5 record as posted on the MSHSAA website is inaccurate.

The Indians have won more matches this fall than recorded and they are definitely better than a 2-5 mark would indicate.

“We’ve actually done really well,” sixth-year Puxico coach Hannah Douglas said following a tough 3-0 loss at Bell City recently. “We just came out of the (Dig For Life Tournament) and we got first place in our Silver Division.”

In that regional event, the Indians beat an always-tough Bernie team in the championship match, and Puxico’s ability showed against Bell City, which has 15 wins in 17 matches this season.

“We didn’t get outworked,” Douglass said of the loss to the Cubs, “but we got outsmarted on the court. Going back into practice, we need to take into consideration the mental aspect of the game and push forward in that aspect.”

Bell City put on several runs that stretched its margin over the initial two sets, but repeatedly, the precocious Indians would storm back to either tie the match or come close to doing so.

Only in the third and final set did Puxico run out of steam and not threaten the Cubs.

The match showed not only the potential of Puxico, which has just two seniors (Liz King and Chloey Foster), but also that youth.

The Indians rely heavily on two long and athletic sophomores, Laney Porter and Hannah Wilson.

“They both started last year as freshmen,” Douglass said. “They are very young and still have some court knowledge that they need to work on, but overall, they are holding their own on the net and on the floor.”

Porter actually served 20 points in the match against Bell City, while Wilson was a nuisance to the Cubs all night along the net.

“With a little bit of practice,” Douglass continued, “and, again, working on that mental aspect, we will be able to pull it together.”

Puxico has to do so quickly. The Indians host the Mules (8-6-3) tonight at 7:30 p.m., and Bernie is the lone team this season that has beaten Bell City.

“It was a very competitive game,” Douglas said of beating Bernie earlier. “The girls just really worked hard. That is one thing about this team, they really are willing to put the work in to get the job done.

“They don’t really know (yet) just how competitive they truly are.”

Puxico has not only beaten Bernie but topped a six-win Malden squad, as well as took a couple of sets against a nine-win Scott City team.

And you can ignore the 3-0 score against Bell City, the match was very competitive through the first two sets.

“We have very high expectations,” Douglas said, “so as a coach, that is all I can ask. Beating Bernie did give the girls a little bit of confidence.

“One thing that I love about this team is they’re not intimidated. They are willing to go back and work on things.”

The Indians will close this week with a road match at Twin Rivers (1-12-1) on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

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