Hornets getting defensive as they chase another VB title

Advance High School senior Addi Carlton and a teammate block an Oak Ridge hit on Thursday in the MSHSAA Class 1 Sectional 2 at Oak Ridge.

Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com

The Advance High School volleyball squad still has three more steps to take successfully before it defends its 2023 MSHSAA Class 1 Volleyball state championship. However, the Hornets (21-11-2) are already defending – literally – at a very high level this postseason.

Advance blanked Oak Ridge 3-0 Thursday in the MSHSAA Class 1 Sectional 2 to move on to today’s Quarterfinal against Bernie (19-9-3). The match will be in Advance at 3 p.m.

Following a two-game skid to end its regular season in losses against Dexter (24 wins) and at Scott City (21 wins), the Hornets have dropped just one set in its last three matches, as they have topped Meadow Heights (3-0), Leopold (3-1), and the Bluejays.

“We were pulling stuff out,” veteran Advance coach Erin Hoffman said of her team’s defense after rallying from behind to beat Leopold in the MSHSAA Class 1 District 3 championship match. “I was just like ‘Wow.’”

Of note, the Hornet's lone senior, Addi Carlton, was very active from her back left side spot.

“She can be very quick,” Hoffman said of Carlton.

Carlton also excels on the front left side as an outside hitter, but on defense, she has the agility to cover a lot of ground.

“Her form isn’t necessarily the best,” Hoffman critiqued, “but she can be very quick.”

The Hornets are vying for their sixth state championship in the past seven seasons and will need strong defense up front with its lengthy blockers.

“My blockers,” Hoffman continued, “are the first line of defense. They were able to adjust (to Leopold’s attacks).”

The Hornets graduated Meg Garner, Abby Kennedy, Kaylee Cline, and Lexi Hoffman from last year’s MSHSAA Class 1 state championship team.

Aside from Carlton, Hoffman 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.

“Our word this year was ‘challenged,’” Hoffman told Semoball.com following the win over the Bluejays. “We lost a big part of our team to graduation last year. So, our word this year is ‘challenged’ because they are challenging themselves to continue the legacy that the groups before them have created.”