Khelie Spence slammed down a kill for the opening point of the third game Monday night and the Poplar Bluff Mules suddenly had life again.
"That just gives us so much momentum," Mules coach Amanda Lance said. "She had two of those tonight. One of those plays can carry us through. It gets the girls excited and when they're excited and happy, they play better."
The Mules never trailed in the deciding game to beat visiting North County 25-13, 22-25, 25-14 at the Senior High Gym.
"I think they kind of woke up in the second set," Poplar Bluff senior Hannah Vaughn said of the visiting Raiders. "They kind of woke up and we weren't ready for it.
"Third set, we were ready."
Receiving the first serve to start the third, Spence quickly pounded down a spike and the Raiders couldn't return Vaughn's serve for a quick 2-0 lead. North County missed a chance to pull even twice before the Mules pulled away.
Kiley Bess got one of her team-high eight kills in the middle and North County committed consecutive errors to put Poplar Bluff up 9-3. Sophia Rowland capped a 7-1 swing with a kill while Vaughn's dig off a block dropped inside the sideline for a 13-5 advantage.
The Mules led by at least seven and closed out the match with four straight points, starting with a kill by Bess than landed just inside the back line.
"We have good hitters so if we just kind of fix everything else, kind of smooth it all out, I think we'll be okay," Lance said.
Bess had three aces with her eight kills while Doni Everts and Spence each had five kills. Rowland chipped in three kills as Vaughn had 18 assists.
"Passing was on," Vaughn said. "It made it a lot easier to set my hitters. That's why we got a lot more kills than last game."
The Mules also committed more service errors than the season opener, however, they were perfect against Puxico. Poplar Bluff's first serve Monday missed the left line by inches and for the night the team had an 87.3 percent service success rate.
Bess led with three aces, Vaughn had two with Everts while libero Ady Kingree chipped in one.
"It's all about focus," Vaughn said. "If we're not focused we're not going to serve well."
Lance associated serving to a free throw in basketball and using the same routine to stay focused.
"That's one things we can control," Lance said. "No matter what game, no matter who we're playing, that's something we have to learn to control because in a big game, districts, you don't miss your serves."
North County's first three points of the match were on Poplar Bluff service errors but the Mules responded by taking 14 of the next 18 points. Bess started a six-point run with a kill while Vaughn tipped a ball in for a point before Everts got a kill off a free ball on a serve-receive error by the Raiders (0-3).
The Mules closed out the first game with a kill in the middle by Bess and a block for a kill by Everts.
There were five ties in the second game with neither team leading by more than two points until North County scored four straight. Kayleigh Winch broke a 13-all tie with a block for a kill for the Raiders.
Rowland's kill stopped the rally but Winch put up another block for a point and did it again two points later for a 20-15 lead.
Winch led North County with nine kills with four blocks.
"She blocked every one of our hitters," Lance said. "If she didn't stuff it, she touched it. So that's something we do have to improve on all the way across the board, seeing the hitter and finding that ball and getting that touch.
"That's a game-changer."
The Mules got within 21-17 before a serve into the net was followed by an attack into the net. Bess started a five-point run with a kill and Rowland's kill cut North County's lead to a point, 23-22.
But the Raiders forced a third game with consecutive points as Maddi Luck spiked through a block then put down a free ball off a serve-receive dig for game point.
"My girls didn't give up," Lance said. "We started fighting back but it was just too late."
Poplar Bluff hosts Jackson on Tuesday to open SEMO Conference play. Last year the Mules beat Jackson in the district semifinal in three games after losing a three-setter on the road in the regular season and the conference tournament.
North County won the junior varsity match 26-24, 21-25, 25-21. Poplar Bluff's JV team took second at the Bernie JV Tournament over the weekend. The Mules lost to Bloomfield 25-17, 25-15 in the championship match but will face the Wildcats again Thursday at home.