The adage is that “Defense wins championships,” and Bloomfield High School volleyball coach Brasley Conner is aware of that.
“We’ve got to do better,” Conner said of her team’s defense following a recent five-set battle with Bernie. “We’re a little bit slow (on defense).”
That area will be a focus in practices this week, as the Wildcats (14-16-1) will face Risco (15-14-1) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the MSHSAA Class 1 District 2 Tournament at Clarkton High School.
Each of the Wildcat athletes will have responsibilities in coverage against the Tigers, but specifically, junior libero Kilee Schott will have to perform to Conner’s expectations.
“She has done extremely well,” Conner said of Schott.
Schott played as a freshman for Bloomfield but sat her sophomore season out. She returned this fall and has helped the Wildcats put together a very solid season.
“It kind of took her a little bit to get going,” Conner continued. “It had been a long time, but she loves the game.
“She was locked in pretty quickly.”
Bloomfield has dropped five of its past six games but had a three-game win streak going prior to that.
The Wildcats beat a 10-win Greenville squad before knocking off a 14-win Woodland team that has caused a lot of teams fits this fall.
Conner’s kids topped Twin Rivers before falling to Advance, Bernie, and Clarkton, three teams that have combined for 59 victories this season.
In the match with the Mules, Bloomfield took Bernie to five sets.
“We have been attacking the ball,” Conner said. “We have really, really hit well this season.”
Conner saw signs of that ability in the off-season and has relied on frontline players including seniors Abbigail Heaton, Kaelynn Conner, and Kamdyn Thomlinson.
Early in the season, the Wildcats took Risco to five sets before falling.
“We have been deliberate with where we are going to swing at,” Conner said of her team’s offensive ability. “(And) with where we’re going to put the ball down.
“We have spent a lot of extra time on that.”
The Tigers are the No. 4 seed while Bloomfield earned the No. 5 seed. The winner of that match will move on to face top-seed Clarkton (26-7-1) on Monday at 6 p.m.
Gideon (19-7) will open play in the District against No. 7-seed Richland (Essex) (1-16-1) at 5 p.m. on Friday. The Bulldogs are the No. 2 seed.
No. 3-seed Bernie (15-9-3) will open against No. 6-seed Campbell (17-12-4) on Friday at 6:15 p.m.
A victory by Bloomfield against Risco will match last season's 15 wins, which were the most by the program since winning 19 games in the 2018 season.
Bell City won this District a year ago with a 3-0 win in the title match over Gideon.
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