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Bernie VB finding success under pressure as tough postseason nears
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Bernie High School hitter Kerri Botsch hits a shot in a recent match against Bloomfield in the Stoddard County Athletic Association Volleyball Tournament at Woodland High School in Marble Hill.
Tom Davis ~ TDavis@semoball.com
In the MSHSAA volleyball postseason, the margin for errors shrinks dramatically, particularly as the pressure builds for a team.
The Bernie High School volleyball squad has done a nice job of preparing itself for high-pressure moments which are coming by playing very good and competitive volleyball of late.
“We have to focus on being a good teammate,” veteran Mule coach Rachel Vernon said recently. “We have to make sure that we have more control on the court. More control of their passing. More control with their setting, and more consistent is what we need to be.”
The Mules (15-9-3) have won 10 of their last 13 matches with their three defeats coming against a very good 14-win Woodland squad on Monday, a 17-win Bell City team, and a 19-win Gideon group.
“Sometimes on serve receive,” Vernon continued, “there are different rotations that we are weaker in. That is something that we need to be more consistent in.”
The match with the Cardinals was a five-set loss, but twice in the last two weeks, Bernie has survived a five-set test against Bloomfield.
Vernon said her team needs to focus on playing “simple volleyball” at times. In nine of Bernie’s ties or losses, the Mules have won at least one set.
“Instead of trying to do different (or) fancy stuff,” Vernon said, “we have done a lot of trying to be fancy rather than playing simple volleyball.”
Vernon said she has trained her athletes to balance aggressiveness with being smart and keeping things simple.
“We’ll find the holes (in the defense) after a few rallies,” Vernon said. “(Then) We can see where the holes are.”
The Mules run a drill called “buckets” in practice, according to Vernon.
“That helps us find the holes,” Vernon explained, “and we work on them trying to critique that.”
Bernie earned the No. 3 seed in the upcoming MSHSAA Class 1 District 2 Tournament at Clarkton High School. The Mules will open the postseason against No. 6-seed Campbell (16-12-4) on Friday at 6:15 p.m.
Bernie, which hasn’t won a District since 2018, beat the Camels 3-0 earlier this season at Campbell.
The Mules have five seniors this fall, including Bailey Henry, Kerri Botsch, Rylie Powell, Macie Botsch, and Kealea Powell.
Clarkton (26-7-1) is the top seed and will face the winner of No. 4-seed Risco (15-14-1) and No. 5-seed Bloomfield (13-14-1). Those teams will play on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Gideon (19-7) beat Bernie in four sets earlier this year and is the No. 2 seed. The Bulldogs will open the postseason against Richland (Essex) (1-16-1) at 5 p.m. on Friday.
Bell City won this District a year ago with a 3-0 win in the title match over Gideon.
“We are really working on trying to be more of a team together,” Vernon said, “gelling together. That is something that we have had to stay focused on.
“We have to play as a team and not so much having an I in the team.”