MALDEN -- The Bloomfield Wildcats and Malden Green Wave might meet again.
The Wildcats, seeded second in Class 2 District 2, defeated Malden, the top seed in Class 2 District 1, 25-17, 25-18 Thursday night at Malden High School.
If both teams win their district, they would meet again in a sectional playoff Oct. 27 at Malden High School.
"I was proud of the way we played," Bloomfield coach Haley Silman said. "We kind of did some little silly mistakes, but we like to do just enough to win. I was proud of them. They were talking a little more and kind of moving a little bit better."
Coach Brittany Crane's Malden team played short-handed on senior night.
"We were very low energy for us," Crane said. "Maybe it's all the emotions of senior night. I'm not sure. We're also missing our starting setter (Piper Schameouhl). She's out right now. She'll be back (Friday) for practice. We had to change a few things for this game. I just felt like we could never get a good fire started."
The Wildcats (15-16-1) took a 4-0 lead behind a pair of kills by Bailey Below, and they never trailed in the opening set.
Malden (16-6-1) sliced its deficit to two points twice (6-4, 8-6) and climbed as close as four points (19-15) on a kill and a service ace by Gracie Thomas.
Thomas, a senior middle hitter, finished with five kills, five blocks and two service aces.
"She's been playing varsity since she was a freshman," Crane said. "She can really get things going for us. When she gets on the back row, we do struggle. We kind of have to play catch up when she does get back on the front row. She's a great leader for our team."
The Wildcats closed the first set with a 6-2 run that included kills by Eva Hester and Melanie Phillips and a service ace by Lilly Warrick.
The second set featured five lead changes and the score was tied six times.
The Green Wave opened the set on consecutive aces by Tanner Miller and led by as many as two points on three occasions. A kill by Julianna French gave them a 4-2 lead and three straight blocks by Thomas delivered Malden a 9-7 advantage.
Phillips' kill tied the score at 12, and Creylee Huddleston followed with back-to-back service aces to give Bloomfield the lead for good.
Malden stayed within one or two points of the lead until Below took over for the Wildcats. Below had three kills, including a match-clinching one from the back row, two blocks and s service ace during a 9-3 run. Warrick's kill gave the Wildcats match point.
Below finished with a match-high 11 kills, five assists, four digs, three blocks and two service aces.
"She's such a powerhouse player," Silman said of her senior. "She reads the floor well, and she takes control when she needs to. She did a really good job tonight."
Huddleston finished with a team-high seven assists, and she and Natalie Powell had six digs each.
Bloomfield opens play in the District 2 tournament against Puxico at 6 p.m. Monday at Clearwater High School in Piedmont. Saxony Lutheran is the top seed in that district.
After a first-round bye, the Green Wave begin play in the District 1 tournament against either Senath-Hornersville or New Madrid County Central in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday.