Poplar Bluff's Kaci Tapp (3) sets in front of teammate Abby Ivie during the second game Monday at Peters Gym. (Brian Rosener/DAR) [Click to enlarge]

By BRIAN ROSENER ~ DAR Sports Editor

The Poplar Bluff volleyball team gave their coach a win on his birthday Monday night at Peters Gym but the Lady Mules may have aged Mike Berry even more in the process.

With 20 hitting errors, the Lady Mules had to fend off Twin Rivers late in each game for a 25-21, 25-21 victory.

"(Twin Rivers) played great, that's about it," Berry said. "(We) did just barely enough to get the win."

A pair of serving aces by Jamie Fritts in the opening game gave Poplar Bluff (12-10-2) a 20-17 lead but Stephanie Jennings pulled the Lady Royals (10-7-3) to within a point. Up 22-21, a quick tip by setter Kaci Tapp fell in and Poplar Bluff was able to close out the first game.

In the second, with the Lady Mules leading 21-20, Madison Gullett the knock out punch with a strong hit down the right side. Tapp followed with an ace and Fritts closed out the match with a kill up the middle and a kill off a block.

"Madison, she slammed the ball," Berry said. "That was a big momentum changer right there. I think it helped our girls get fired up about it and helped push us to the end."

While the Lady Mules were using big hits to get their points, Twin Rivers coach Kelly Null said her team didn't attack hard enough.

"We did learn from it," Null said. "We would come back and attack hard on the next ball but we didn't take advantage of every good pass that we had and attack it hard."

Fritts had 10 of Poplar Bluff's 21 kills to go with three blocks. Blake Talkington and Grace Griffith each had three kills for the Lady Mules, who gave up 17 points off errors.

Torey Davis led Twin Rivers with eight kills while Jennings added four and Mallory Douglas had three.

The Lady Royals had their share of hitting errors which Null said may have had something to do with the atmosphere of the rivalry.

"Their adrenaline takes over and they forget to play strong," Null added. "Things that they did once, they didn't do a second time. They pretty much took care of their mistakes on their own."

The match started with six lead changes and five ties in the first 11 serves until the Lady Mules built a seven-point lead. Twin Rivers rallied on kills by Davis and Jennings before tying the game at 17-17 on a hitting error by Poplar Bluff.

The Lady Mules got the serve back, however, and Fritts got consecutive aces before Jennings' kill to the back corner cut Poplar Bluff's lead to 20-18. After hitting errors by both teams, Jennings hit of Poplar Bluff's block for a kill to pull the Lady Royals to within one.

Tapp found a hole in Twin Rivers' defense with a quick tip to give the Lady Mules a 23-21 advantage.

"You've got to put the ball on the floor -- that's the only thing," Berry said. "They were back ready for us to kill the ball and you've got to change and make them move, change the pace of the ball."

There were 12 lead changes and 11 ties in the second game with Jennings giving the Lady Royals an 18-17 lead with her cross-court kill. Poplar Bluff's Brooke Davis blocked a tip to tie the game before a pair of errors by Twin Rivers gave the Lady Mules the lead.

Cassie Parks got a kill up the middle to pull the Lady Royals to within one but Talkington answered with a kill of her own before Torey Davis' cross-court kill cut Poplar Bluff's lead to 21-20 before the Lady Mules won four of the next five points.

"I'm pleased with them," Null said. "Obviously I'd rather have a win but we have nothing to lose coming into a game against Poplar Bluff.

"We just try to fight, hang in there and play with a lot of heart and I feel like we accomplished that."

Both teams have a full week ahead with the Lady Mules hosting Doniphan on Tuesday and Dexter on Thursday. Twin Rivers hosts Bernie on Tuesday and Puxico on Thursday.

Poplar Bluff won the JV match 25-17, 25-16.