PIEDMONT -- Bloomfield can't seem to stop winning when it matters.
Aided by a triple double from senior Bailey Below and 15 kills from sophomore Melanie Phillips -- including three in a row to win the match -- the second-seeded Wildcats staved off every run from top seed Saxony Lutheran on its way to a 2-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-19) win to claim its fifth consecutive MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 Tournament Championship on Tuesday.
Trailing 19-18 in the third set, Bloomfield (18-16-1) hit another gear, scoring eight of the final nine points. During that stretch, Phillips came through in the clutch with five of her kills in that span.
Senior outside hitter Lilly Warrick sparked the run with a kill off the Saxony block.
Phillips followed with a kill of the same variety and a spike down the middle of the defense for a second kill. Freshman Molly Below earned an ace after the ball hit the net and just inched over, throwing the Saxony defense off long enough to find the hardwood. She followed with another ace. Then, Phillips earned back-to-back-to-back kills to ice the match, and Bloomfield erupted -- some with cheers, and some with tears of joy.
"It means the world," Bloomfield coach Haley Silman said as she fought back tears. "We've had a tough year, and this is the way I knew we could play all year. I kept telling them I see greatness in them. ... They stepped up tonight and played better than I've seen them play all year long."
Bailey Below's triple double consisted of 11 kills, 19 assists, 13 digs and four aces.
"This one was so emotional," Bailey said. "I think it was because of (playing with her sister, Molly), and I've been playing with these girls forever. It's just super amazing to have done it four out of four (years). It was just super surreal."
Added Molly, "I think after watching her go through it and play in it -- I've been at every district game she's ever played in -- I think even being with her on the court winning it and seeing her expression, it was just amazing. The best experience ever."
The final two sets of the championship match were anything but easy.
Bloomfield was never pressured in the opening set. The Wildcats earned a wire-to-wire win after jumping out to a 6-1 run. Bailey Below announced her arrival to her fourth consecutive district championship match with a kill to begin the scoring. Junior Eva Hester followed up with a kill of her own, and a pair of errors from Saxony piled on before Bailey Below earned a kill block to cap the run.
Saxony bounced back with a couple of points, but the Wildcats kept scoring points in bunches. With the score at 8-5, Bloomfield rattled off a 6-0 run, and Saxony never got within seven the rest of the way.
After back-to-back aces from Bailey Below, Phillips finished the set strong like she'd done all night with two kills, the latter of which ricocheted off of a defender for the win.
Saxony came out energized and ready to battle in the second set.
The Crusaders opened with a 9-2 run to take control early, helped by two kills and two kill blocks from senior Macy Morehead.
Bloomfield outscored Saxony 15-4 over the next stretch, retaking the lead briefly on a kill from Hester. The Wildcats kept the top seed at bay until a last-gasp effort saved the match for the Crusaders. Trailing 21-18, Saxony got kills from Morehead, senior Sydney Russo and junior Olivia Spanley, as well as help from a pair of errors from Bloomfield to make a 6-1 run and give itself set point. Morehead stepped up and delivered a kill to send the match to a third set.
"We kind of let them come back on us, but the girls just wanted it," Silman said. "We've been saying all day long that we want this. They said all day, 'We've got to let mistakes go.' And they did. They said for every point they score, we're going to score two more."
Saxony (13-17-5) looked to have carried its momentum over to the third set when Spanley sparked a 7-4 start with a kill. Bloomfield -- as it had done for most of the match -- weathered the storm.
Four consecutive attack errors led to an 8-0 run from the Wildcats. Phillips finished the run with a perfectly-placed kill just inside the corner without getting a clean vertical jump to help her attack.
"I'm so proud of Melanie," Silman said. "All season long, I knew she could do it, and she just really stepped up tonight and just started putting the ball away. We were feeding the beast, and she was taking care of it, so I'm just super proud of her."
The set kept going back and forth, though. A 6-1 run from Saxony briefly put the Crusaders back in front 17-16 after three consecutive errors from Bloomfield. That's when the final run came, and the celebration began.
Bloomfield had an unorthodox method inside its huddles during timeouts to get the team going.
"One of our players, Eva, brought peppermint oil, and we gave it to each other every time we went in the huddle," Bailey said. "It wasn't really the words we said. It was keeping each other up all the time, and I guess the peppermint oil works. (Eva) says it's supposed to wake you up and keep you energized, and I guess it works, so I think we're putting a peppermint on our district shirts."
Bloomfield 2, Woodland 0 (25-18, 25-16)
Bloomfield earned its way into the championship by defeating third-seeded Woodland in straight sets just 30 minutes prior to facing Saxony.
In the first set, Bloomfield got off to an 8-3 start with the help of two aces from Molly Below. The Cardinals were able to pull within a point after two kills from Maddison Altenthall and a trio of errors from the Wildcats.Woodland (17-15-3) was never able to take the lead, though. Efficient scoring bursts helped the Wildcats keep the Cardinals at a comfortable distance until Phillips finished off the first set with a kill.
The second set was more lopsided. Bloomfield jumped ahead 9-3 early with the help of two kills from Phillips and one from Bailey Below. Woodland claimed a pair of points before Bailey Below sparked a 6-1 run with two consecutive kills, and Warrick finished the run with two of her own. A few Bloomfield errors helped Woodland put together its own 6-0 run to make things interesting briefly, but the Wildcats closed the match by scoring 10 of the final 14 points. Phillips finished things off with a kill block to send the Wildcats to the championship.
Saxony Lutheran 2, Clearwater 0 (25-18, 25-9)
In the first semifinal of the night, Clearwater wasn't able to string together. It fell behind 6-1 early in the first set. The Tigers were able to respond with a 5-1 run to pull within a point when Elizabeth Gronski, Jaylin Street and Brianna Lawson each earned a kill, but they never led in the set.
Runs of 5-1 and 4-1 allowed the Crusaders to take control the rest of the way, and Morehead finished off the set with the final point for a 25-18 Saxony win.
The Crusaders controlled the second set the entire way. Saxony jumped out to an early 9-4 lead with kills from Morehead, Russo and junior Clara Yokley, as well as a few errors from the Tigers.
Saxony followed up with a 15-3 burst to put itself on match point. Clearwater was called for a lift violation, giving the Crusaders the match with a 25-9 win in the second set.
"I think we were playing hesitant," Clearwater coach Lisa Ayers said. "We passed much better (Monday), and I think we weren't wanting the ball. I guess they were -- being in the semifinals -- a little shell shocked."
Saxony finished with five aces, but Clearwater (15-18) had some trouble receiving serves and setting up good offense throughout the night.
"Serve receive has always been our toughest area, and I just think we didn't have the confidence to take the ball. We'd want someone else to take it," Clearwater senior Faith Hoppe said.