BLOOMFIELD -- The Bloomfield Wildcats volleyball team got a boost from their annual Hits for Hope night and the return of an injured player Monday night.
The Wildcats used an efficient offense to beat SCAA rival Puxico 25-11, 25-8 at the Bloomfield High School gymnasium.
The Wildcats wore pink jerseys as part of the Hits for Hope night that benefitted the 18 for Life Foundation that raises money for local families battling cancer in Southeast Missouri.
"The girls get excited about it," Bloomfield coach Haley Silman said. "I get excited about it. My mom had breast cancer, so it's personal for me. (The girls) look forward to it every year."
The benefit raised at least $1,000, according to Silman.
"We raffled a quilt my mom and my aunt made," Silman said. "There was a swing that one of my players' grandpa made and a wreath that one of my players' grandma made."
Junior middle hitter Eva Hester returned after missing the previous 15 matches because of an injury she suffered in the team's season opener.
"She was ready. She was out for blood, and it showed," Silman said. "She was pumped and ready to go. That just kind of picked everybody else up. We were really talking and playing well as a team."
The Wildcats (9-7-1, 2-1 SCAA) hit .333 as a team with seven players posting a kill. Bailey Below had a team-high five kills, Melanie Phillips had four, Hester had three, Molly Below and Lily Warrick had two each, and Creylee Huddleston and Natalie Powell had one apiece.
The Indians had only eight kills compared to Bloomfield's 18.
"We were lacking a little bit of communication," Puxico coach Hannah Wight said. "Lacking communication means lacking the ability to run plays. It did affect us a little bit tonight, unfortunately. We hope for better days."
Sophia Hancock paced Puxico with five kills.
"She can put the ball away," Wight said. "She has a really solid approach. She has every bit of leadership and teamwork that it takes to get the job done."
The Wildcats used runs of 8-2 and 6-0 to take a 15-6 lead in the first set. Bailey Below and Powell had two aces each during the 8-2 run that gave them a 9-3 lead. Both players finished with four aces to share team-high honors.
Warrick produced two kills in the 6-0 run. Carley Siler put a stop to Bloomfield's run with a pair of aces, slicing the Indians' deficit to 15-9.
The Wildcats closed the set with a 10-2 run that included aces by Huddleston and Warrick, kills by Bailey Below and Hester and a series of errors by Puxico.
Hancock tallied two kills and Siler had another to lead the Indians to a 4-1 lead to start the second set.
Bloomfield answered with runs of 9-0, 7-0 and 5-0 to take a 22-6 lead. Hester ended the match with a kill.
Bailey Below paced the Wildcats with seven assists and eight digs.