C1S2 VB: Advance fights off competitive St. Vincent

The Advance High School volleyball squad celebrates winning the MSHSAA Class 1 Sectional 2 championship over St. Vincent on Thursday at Advance High School.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

ADVANCE – There is an adage that history seldom repeats, but it often rhymes. However, in the case of Advance High School volleyball battling St. Vincent in the postseason, it turns out that history does repeat.

For the third time in as many years, the Indians saw a very successful postseason come to a close, as they fell 25-14, 25-212, 25-18 to the Hornets in the MSHSAA Class 1 Sectional 2 match on Thursday at Advance.

“Our senior class had seen these (Advance) girls three years in a row,” third-year St. Vincent coach Darren Verseman said afterward. “They knew exactly what they were up against.”

That recognition of Advance being the supreme Class 1 volleyball program in Missouri didn’t mean that St. Vincent lacked confidence, however.

The Indians (14-14-3), who won the most matches in six seasons, had prepared very well for Thursday’s match, according to Verseman, and it showed.

“The week we had of preparation,” Verseman said, “you would have never known that (Advance) was the best team in the state.”

St. Vincent held leads in each of the three sets before a different Hornet player tore off a mid-set run of successful serves to separate the two teams.

In the opening set, with it tied at eight points apiece, freshman Hornet Olivia Kennedy ran off six consecutive successful serves to put her team up 14-8, a lead that Advance (32-3-3) would never relinquish.

“I think each player has gotten to that point,” veteran Advance coach Erin Hoffman said of her team’s potential being reached, “but I don’t think they have all done it together yet.”

In the second set, the teams were knotted at 11 points apiece, before Advance senior Kaylee Cline hit five consecutive service points for a 16-11 score.

St. Vincent rallied to pull to within one point (19-18), but Kennedy answered again with four straight service points, which ultimately led to the win.

“They didn’t prepare like they were going up against a juggernaut,” Verseman said of his players not being intimidated. “They prepared like they were going against a team, that if we did our job, we could win this thing.”

That belief really showed in the final set.

St. Vincent blazed out to leads of 8-5 and 10-8 before Cline served six straight service points for a 14-10 Hornet advantage. However, the Indians later battled back to a 20-18 Advance margin.

But with the title in sight, Advance junior Addi Carlton hit five consecutive service points to seal the victory.

The Hornets have moved on in their quest for their fourth MSHSAA state championship in the past five seasons.

“We need to be able to communicate better with each other,” Hoffman said of her team still striving for improvement. “We need to play as a team, one whole team.”

Advance will get that opportunity on Saturday, as they travel to Bell City at 3 p.m. in the Class 1 Quarterfinal 1 match.

The Cubs, which lost to the Hornets in September 3-0, swept Holcomb 3-0 on Thursday for the Class 1 Sectional 1 championship.

The victory was the first such title for Bell City since the 2010 season.

Hoffman, who has coached at Advance, Bell City, Scott City, and Bernie led the Cubs to their last MSHSAA Class 1 state championship in 2003.

The Cubs have won 10 of their past 11 matches while Advance has claimed seven consecutive matches.