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Ignore the record, Advance VB is prepared for another strong postseason
The Advance High School volleyball program has averaged over 31 victories during a six-year stretch in which it has won five MSHSAA Class 1 state championships. This season, the Hornets have labored to an 18-11-2 mark, which includes defeats in five of their last eight matches. However, don’t include veteran Advance coach Erin Hoffman among those overly concerned about those numbers as the postseason looms.
“I really like the way that our schedule is set up,” Hoffman told Semoball.com recently.
The Hornets fell on Friday in four sets to Dexter in the championship match of the Stoddard County Athletic Association Tournament, an event that followed Advance going 2-3 in the very, very tough Jackson Invitational.
“… we had the Jackson tournament,” Hoffman explained, “and we knew that we could have possibly lost every game. We knew every game (there) was going to be really tough, and we had to play super hard. And then SCAA is one of the best conferences around, so you know you're going to have a lot of tough games there — (and) I like having those towards the end of the season to help prepare for the postseason.”
If you dismiss the Jackson event, entering Friday’s title game, Advance had won six of its last seven matches. However, Hoffman wouldn’t allow the Jackson Invitational to be cast aside because of its importance to preparing her squad.
“The Jackson Invitational is the tournament that kind of turns us around because every match is tough,” Hoffman said.
In that event, the Hornets got past an 18-win Saxony Lutheran team in two sets, as well as a 14-win Lindbergh group in three sets.
Advance fell to Valle Catholic (20 wins), Incarnate Word Academy (25 wins), and Potosi (21 wins).
“Every game,” Hoffman said, “you have to go hard. Every game, you have to try new things. You have to become a better hitter. You have to be able to pass better on your serve receive, and things like that.
“We could’ve walked out of there with a 0-5 record and I wouldn’t care, because I know that we have to play for every single point.”
The Hornets have worked to improve every match this season, because of their youth.
Outside hitter Addi Carlton is the lone senior on the squad. Hoffman also utilizes four juniors (Brogan Hawkins, Emma Eilers, Kyndall Hitt, and Ava Bowling) and a couple of sophomores (Cashlynn Sturgeon and Olivia Kennedy) regularly.
Carlton, Eilers, Kennedy, Hitt, and Hawkins were in the regular lineup a year ago.
“All of (our players) have had major growth,” Hoffman said of this season. “Even (Carlton), because we did have a very verbally dominant, aggressive group that graduated.”
The Hornets graduated Meg Garner, Abby Kennedy, Kaylee Cline, and Lexi Hoffman from last year’s MSHSAA Class 1 state championship team.
Advance opens the MSHSAA Class 1 District 3 tournament on Monday at 6 p.m. at Zalma High School. The top-seed Hornets will play the winner between No. 4-seed Meadow Heights (16-13-4) and No. 5-seed Oran (7-16), who will battle on Friday at 7 p.m.
No. 2-seed Leopold (21-7-1) will open with No. 7-seed Marquand-Zion (2-16) on Friday at 5 p.m. while No. 3-seed Bell City (17-11-2) will face No. 6-seed Zalma (4-15-1) at 6 p.m. on Friday.
The Hornets have won eight consecutive District tournaments.
“All of (the players),” Hoffman said of the leadership roles this season, “have had to step into those positions. (Carlton) has done a really good job of stepping into more of a leadership role.”