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Portageville Bulldogs beat Malden to secure fourth consecutive district volleyball title
MALDEN, Mo. - It was a rematch from last year’s Class 2 District 1 semifinals.
The Malden Green Wave, as the number two seed hosted the Bulldogs from Portageville in the district championship and a chance to advance to the MSHSAA Class 2 State Volleyball Tournament.
Despite their efforts, Malden fell short of this opportunity and Portageville was able to four peat as district champions. The Bulldogs beat Malden in three sets to continue their dance at state.
According to Portageville head coach Sasha Kellam, all of her gratitude for this achievement goes towards her players.
“I am just so incredibly blessed to be here and have this group of girls,” Kellam said. “We have some crazy talented players, so like I said, I was just blessed.”
The first set was all Portageville, as they outscored the Green Wave 25-11.
After dropping the first set, and with a little more motivation, Malden fought to an early lead in the second set. However, they were unable to settle the match as Portageville came back to win the second set 25-20.
Portageville really found their momentum in the final set of play, going up by more than 10 points in the opening rally and leading 11-1. They finally won the set 25-10 to complete the sweep.
Senior Bryleigh Adams helped carry out the final punches for Portageville from the service line. Adams along with Liza Priggel are two seniors who have walked away as district champions all four years of their high school volleyball careers.
“This means so much for them,” Kellam said. “Those girls, they put in four years and worked so hard. They just love volleyball so being able to share this with them is super special.”
Along with their seniors, this match was led by junior Gloriaha Farmer and her hitting efficiency.
She has led the bulldogs with 363 kills this season. She is also one of their top threats from the service line with the most aces this season at 81. Defensively, Farmer also leads the team in digs with 328 total.
While Farmer has led in earning points, junior Mia Scherer and sophomore Lexi Priggel ran their offense this season as the team's primary setters. Scherer leads with 634 assists this season while Lexi has 366.
With only two seniors, Kellam said the younger players on her roster really helped step up throughout the season and especially in the district championship game.
“Those younger players have really just embodied what we are trying to do,” Kellam said. “Early on in the summer, they were working to prepare for this season. They really are a special group, they are all close friends and that makes a difference. It’s been nice to watch them grow and blossom.”
On the other side of play, Malden ended their season with their highest placing at Districts in three years.
Also only having two seniors, the Green Wave team was young this season. They look to come back stronger in 2025.
According to seniors Mikalyn Vipperman and Mariah Loya, they were grateful for the experience of their last ride with their Green Wave family.
“I had fun with the underclassmen this year,” Vipperman said. “They were fun to work with and we worked hard as a team this year.”
Along with Vipperman and Loya, Malden’s underclassmen also stepped up this season.
Junior Hestania Jackson and sophomore Carsyn Cohen have led the team with attacks and kills. Juniors Khyrie Cohen led the team in assists while junior Camryn Ellis has been vital to the team's offense. Freshman Harper Murphy also stepped up in the later half of the season and provided some pivotal points for the Green Wave.
According to Loya, she thinks their team will continue to grow and go far in the near future with these underclassmen.
“We definitely worked pretty hard this year,” Loya said. “I hope they keep working hard. Even if you aren’t out on the floor starting, that doesn’t mean anything. Every single player on that bench is valuable.”
Portageville will continue their season at the state tournament which starts on Thursday, Oct. 31 at Perryville. The Bulldogs will face St. Vincent in the first round at 6:30 p.m.