Puxico's Sara Holloway goes for a block of Scott City's Brooke Simpson in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 championship game Tuesday in Bloomfield. (Alex Abate/DAR) [Click to enlarge]

By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer

BLOOMFIELD -- After falling behind midway through the first game of the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 championship game against Puxico, the Scott City Lady Rams called a timeout and hit the floor with a renewed sense of purpose.

They went on an 11-1 run to win the first game before going on to win the district title, 25-17, 25-16.

"For my girls to play like they did, I am proud of them," Puxico coach Karen Hazel said. "I wish there were less moments where we kind of lost control but they did a good job. I don't think we played them any less tough than anybody else has played them around here."

Scott City (33-1-3) took the early lead to open the match thanks to solid net play. Brooke Simpson set the tone with two kills early as Scott City went up 4-2 and later 10-5 following two aces by Katie Diebold. However, Puxico (21-11-2) stormed back to take the lead and force a Lady Rams timeout.

"These girls have got so much heart and so much want that they push themselves very, very hard," Hazel said. "That is something that I am really going to miss."

The break gave the top-ranked Lady Rams a chance to regroup.

"I think they were just nervous, excited, trying too hard," Scott City coach Haley Jennings said. "I called a timeout and told them to take a deep breath and settle down and play."

In the second game, Scott City got off to a large lead again. It went ahead 6-2 and Puxico called a timeout to stop the momentum but it did little as the Lady Rams scored six of the next seven including an ace from Brooke Simpson.

"At the start, I think (the first game carried over)," Hazel said. "And then when we started coming back on them, it kind of got turned around again."

After a Brooke Simpson kill put Scott City ahead 18-7, Puxico rallied off five straight points after a timeout but the Lady Rams won the match with a 7-4 spurt.

"If we have a few bad passes or whatever, they know how to pick themselves up out of it," Jennings said. "I don't really have to call timeouts unless it is a dire situation and that is really good for me because then it saves a timeout if I need it later."

The Lady Rams gave Puxico problems at the net with Brooke Simpson.

"She is pretty much our number one go-to hitter," Jennings said. "She knows the game in and out. She is just a really good all-around player."

Hazel thought her team handled the Lady Rams' net presence well.

"You look at my junior Ashley Hoyer, how many blocks did she have tonight," Hazel said.

"Even in the (semifinal), she was putting the roof on and we got a bunch of touches," Hazel added. "When you look at just (Scott City's) height, that is part of it too."

After winning the semifinal earlier in the night over Bloomfield, Puxico was aware of the task it was up against in the final.

"I knew and the team knew that it was going to be very tough coming into the ballgame," Hazel said. "First of all, to get past Bloomfield we knew it was going to be tough and then Scott City, they have lost what, one match this season?"

As seniors, Puxico's Brittani Little, Lacey Gregory, Jillese Slaughter, Sara Holloway and Nonne Cummins all played their final matches for the Lady Indians. Holloway, a senior captain, will be especially missed.

"She is an extremely terrific leader," Hazel said. "She can really help get the kids up and get their heads set."

Puxico 2, Bloomfield 1 (25-14, 22-25, 25-18) With the match tied at one game each, Bloomfield jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the final game and the outcome looked promising.

However, Puxico battled back and ended the Lady Wildcats' season.

A lack of consistency hurt Bloomfield in the last game.

"Their momentum, that is one of the things they struggled with this year is being consistent and keeping the momentum throughout the games," Bloomfield coach Starla Pulley said.

After Puxico took a 13-11 lead on a Kristen Pratt kill, Bloomfield didn't get closer than two the rest of the way.

"We couldn't get a key pass, set or hit," Starla Pulley said. "They were playing smart and we had a hard time adjusting to some of the hits at key parts."

The team wasn't playing together.

"The third game we kind of struggled, they didn't play as a team quite as well," Starla Pulley said.

Bloomfield took a 3-0 lead in the second game and led throughout, even expanding its lead to six before holding on to win by three.

"The second game, they were really focused and played really hard," Starla Pulley said.

Jessica White is the lone senior for Bloomfield and the rest of the squad will be back next season.

"I feel like we had a really good season this year, we had a strong JV team coming up that was undefeated this year and we had a good record as well," Starla Pulley said. "I look forward to next year, I think that we will be even stronger than we were this year."