WOODLAND, Mo. -- The Dexter Bearcats went into pool play as the top seed and finished as the top seed, but the rest of Stoddard County made them work for it.
Dexter swept Bloomfield and Advance and split with Woodland to hang on to the No. 1 seed in the Stoddard County Activities Association Tournament heading into Thursday's single-elimination bracket. The top four seeds, who all played in Monday's pool play, kept their starting spots with Advance being second, then Bloomfield and Woodland.
Dexter and Bloomfield kicked off the night and the Bearcats needed a pair of late runs to be able to take the match.
"I just felt like we controlled the flow of the game. Bloomfield has some big hitters, too. They can put the ball away so you have to respect them," Dexter coach Carmen Morgan said. "Hopefully we come out mentally focused and prepared (on Thursday). That has to happen every game. To me, this is a tournament where anybody can beat anybody on any given night. You better be mentally on and ready to outwork somebody."
Hannah Thurmon led Dexter with eight kills, and Blair Rogers got four. Bailey Williams finished with 16 assists and also led the defense with five digs.
In both sets Dexter's biggest lead was never more than five points and the Bearcats led 20-17 before their late run.
In the first set, Bloomfield served into the net and then committed three errors in the closing points. Of Dexter's final five points, Addie Kruse got the team's only kill.
"We just kind of lost our momentum and they just let one mistake roll into three more. But once we started playing good, we started coming back. We dug ourselves into a hole a little too soon and we just couldn't get out of it against a good team," Bloomfield coach Haley Silman said. "Once we start talking, everything else kicks in. I've told the girls all year, we have the best ability, we just have to communicate and work it out. They started talking and we started picking balls up and having a really good offense."
Bloomfield's Nicole Roper had the first kill of the set, which was also Bloomfield's only lead in the set, and the final tie was at nine points.
Rogers put Dexter ahead early in the second set with half her kills in the opening possessions for two of Dexter's first three points. Thurmon was particularly strong in the middle of the set and went on a run with three straight kills for the Bearcats.
Bloomfield led as late as 13-12 in the second set after Bailey Below put down one of her six kills.
The set was tied as late as 14 before Dexter went on a three-point run that included kills from Thurmon and Maycie Martin.
Dexter closed out the match with a 5-1 run that included just one Bearcat kill, this one from Thurmon.
The second half of the county will play Wednesday in pool play, and Dexter will play the No. 8 seed at 4 p.m. Thursday at Woodland High School. Bloomfield will play the No. 6 seed at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The semifinals will also be Thursday at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. with the championship Friday at 8 p.m. and the third-place game at 5:15 p.m. on Friday.
Advance 2, Woodland 0
(25-15, 25-17)
Advance opened with a big run in the first set and closed with a big run in the second.
The Hornets started the match with an 10-1 run that had three kills from Roz Schrader, and the two teams traded points the rest of the set. Schrader opened the second set with back-to-back kills, but the score was tied as late as 13. Advance then pulled away with eight straight points and Schrader capped the burst with an ace. Schrader finished with six kills.
Dexter 1, Woodland 1
(25-20, 24-26)
The Bearcats got a three-point run late to win the opening set, then gave up a five-point run to lose the second.
"When you get on 24, you need to put somebody away. But I give Woodland credit, they kept fighting back and made about three errors right in a row," Morgan said.
Dexter was ahead 22-20 when Kruse put down one of her nine kills in the match to get the serve back. Rogers followed with a kill and Woodland hit an attack wide to close out the set.
Kruse stuffed an overpass in the second set to get Dexter to set point, but then the Bearcats committed four errors and let an ace fall to drop their only set of the night.
Advance 2, Bloomfield 0
(27-26, 25-17)
The Wildcats had Advance on the ropes in the first set with a 24-21 lead, but then committed four straight errors. Below scored a tip to tie the game at 25, then Raylee Metcalf got a kill for Advance before Jewell Chism tied the game again.
Under tournament pool play rules, the first team to reach 27 points wins regardless of whether they are up by two or not.
With the set on the line, Alanis Below hit the winning kill for Advance.
Advance controlled play early in the second set to take a nine point lead and Bloomfield never got within six points late.
Bloomfield 2, Woodland 0
(25-21, 25-18)
Ahead 21-19 in the first set, Below and Lilly Warrick had back-to-back kills for the Wildcats. Setter Nicole Roper scored after sending over an early return and Below hit the set winning kill. Below had four kills and an ace as Bloomfield controlled the second set.
Dexter 2, Advance 0
(25-18, 25-15)
The Bearcats got kills throughout the lineup and needed to sweep the Hornets to hold onto the top seed going into Thursday's single-elimination tournament.
Dexter led 18-15 when Thurmon had two straight kills and then Advance had a passing error. Williams hit over an early return to get Dexter to 23 points and Kruse finished the first set with a kill.
In the second set, the Bearcats separated with a 7-1 run to take an 18-11 lead. Rogers had three straight kills during the streak. Kruse added a kill and a block while Williams and Thurmon each had a kill, too. Advance later committed a pair of errors for Dexter's final two points.