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New Bloomfield volleyball coach cut her teeth playing, coaching at club level
Bloomfield’s new volleyball coach won’t graduate from college until May but she already has four years of coaching experience.
Hannah Dement coached club volleyball for four years, including the past two as a head coach.
“I have coached many ages in club volleyball,” she said. “I get to see teams from all over the state, get to see different levels of volleyball. Volleyball’s been my life. I’ve even played sand volleyball.”
Dement was hired at the April school board meeting and replaces Haley Silman, who held the position for three years before resigning to take the head coaching job at Cape Central.
The 2016 North County High School graduate is completing her degree in mathematics education at Central Methodist University after spending her first two years at Southeast Missouri State University where she received an education in Bloomfield and SCAA volleyball.
“I lived in Bell City when I went to SEMO,” she said. “I watched my cousin (McKayla Hunt) play for Bell City, and Bloomfield was always a good team to watch. I love that town and everything they put into that school.”
Dement joins a conference that boasts 11 state championship teams: two-time defending Class 1 state champion Advance, five-time state champion Bernie, two-time state champ Bell City, 1994 state champion Woodland and 1992 state champion Bloomfield.
“Volleyball’s a bit different (down here),” Dement said. “They’re tough. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m excited to get up there and work with them.”
The Wildcats have won six straight district championships, including four trips to the state quarterfinals and a fourth-place finish in 2014.
At North County, Dement played middle school and two years of high school volleyball before deciding to play club volleyball year round during her junior and season years.
Dement, who started playing the sport in fifth grade, competed for multiple club teams over the years, but she played mostly for H2, based in St. Louis.
Dement said she began coaching because she didn’t want to leave the sport she loved when her playing career ended.
“I want the girls to have a good time, love the sport and enjoy it like I did when I played,” she said.
In addition to coaching volleyball, she will teach middle school math.
The Wildcats lost seniors hitter Eva Hester and back-row specialist Natalie Powell from last season’s team that rode a strong finish to another district championship. They went 8-3 over their final 11 matches during a trying season.
The Wildcats played only three home matches because of construction at the high school gymnasium.
The team began to turn its season around with the return of junior middle hitter Melanie Phillips, who missed almost half the season with a shoulder injury.
While Hester was the Wildcats’ top hitter, they expect their next three most productive hitters to return: Phillips, sophomore Molly Below and freshman Mallory Hawkins, who began to be a more consistent weapon down the stretch.
Sophomore defensive specialist Karsynn Phillips, who averaged almost eight digs per set, and junior setter Ashton Bell, who averaged 7.7 assists per set, are expected to return.