Bernie VB on history-defying postseason tear

Bernie High School hitter Kerri Botsch *14) receives congratulations after a kill 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

There is little doubt that the athletes on the Bernie High School volleyball squad are true “student-athletes.” However, it appears that the current group cares little about studying history if you assess the Mules’ recent postseason play.

Bernie defied history multiple times in the last week, as it cast aside Campbell (3-2), Gideon (3-0), and Clarkton (3-2) to win the recent MSHSAA Class 1 District 2 Tournament. Veteran coach Rachel Vernon’s kids then kept their positive mojo in rallying to beat Holcomb 3-1 in the MSHSAA Class 1 Sectional 1.

“We are really working on trying to be more of a team together,” Vernon said late in the regular season, “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.”

The Mules (19-9-3) will have another tough task today, as they visit MSHSAA Class 1 defending state champion Advance (21-11-2) in the Class 1 Quarterfinal 1 at 3 p.m.

The District and Sectional titles were the first for the Mules since 2018. That year, Bernie fell in the Quarterfinal to the Hornets 2-0.

Bernie had struggled mightily against Clarkton and Gideon in recent seasons, including this year.

The Mules fell to the Reindeer 3-0 in September and the Bulldogs 3-1 last month.

Bernie had dropped five consecutive matches against both programs and hadn’t beaten Clarkton since September 2021.

At one point this season, Bernie had labored to a 5-6-3 mark but has closed the year by winning 14 of its past 17 matches.

“We have to focus on being a good teammate,” Vernon said after her team finished third in the Stoddard County Athletic Association Tournament. “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.”

Advance also has a dominant history over Bernie, as well as every Class 1 opponent it has faced for the better part of a decade.

The Hornets have won 19 consecutive matches against Bernie dating back to the fall of 2016.

“They actually do really well when people doubt them,” veteran Advance coach Erin Hoffman told Semoball.com on Thursday after beating Oak Ridge in the Sectional. “I think that's been a big thing this year because of the group we lost. And I think they're a group that would like to prove people wrong.

“They self-motivate each other, and they team-motivate each other. I don't have to do any numbers; they take care of that.”