Advance's Audrey Burns makes a diving attempt for the dig during first-round varsity action Monday in the SCAA tournament against Dexter

Bell City, the defending tournament and regular season champions, crushed No. 8 Richland, 25-8, 25-8, in the first game of the tournament, while Dexter again got off to a sluggish start, but rallied for a, 25-20, 25-9, first-round victory over No. 7 Advance.

Tonight's action will feature four games, two each in the varsity and junior varsity brackets. On the varsity side, No. 4 Puxico will take on No. 5 Bloomfield in the evening's first game at 5 p. m., while No. 3 Bernie will clash with No. 6 Woodland at 7 o'clock. On the jayvee side, No. 4 Puxico will battle No. 5 Bernie at 6 p. m., while No. 3 Woodland will lineup against No. 6 Advance in the finale at 8 o'clock.

Lady Bearcat Kayla Joyner (below, left) makes a pass. Dexter, the No. 2 seed, defeated No. 7 Advance, 25-20, 25-9. In the only other first-round game, No. 1 Bell City cruised to a, 25-8, 25-8, decision over No. 8 Richland. Tournament play will continue tonight at Dexter High School.

Bloomfield is the top seed on the jayvee side, while Dexter is No. 2. Both of those teams received a bye because both Bell City and Richland didn't field a junior varsity team for the tournament.

Bell City looked like the volleyball juggernaut we have come to expect in its easy win over Richland Monday, while Dexter continued its trend of starting slow and battling back for the win. Dexter has trailed in its last three matches, but only dropping the first game to Poplar Bluff, before pulling out the win.

The Lady Bearcats are currently riding a six-game win streak, with their last loss coming on the road against Bell City.

"Tonight (Monday) was a nice way to start out the tournament," Dexter coach Kris Vandeven said. " There are several tough teams in our tournament this year. We all seem to bring out the best in each other.

"Bell City is definitely one of the toughest teams in the area, much less in our conference," Vandeven added. "We've wanted another shot at them since we played them in the regular season. Bernie and Woodland both gave us a challenge this season, so Thursday will be a tough match either way."

Dexter is awaiting the winner of tonight's Bernie-Woodland game, while Bell City is lurking ahead for the winner of the Puxico-Bloomfield contest.

On the jayvee side, No. 1 Bloomfield is awaiting the winner of tonight's Puxico-Bernie tilts, while Dexter is looking ahead to the Woodland-Advance winner.

Dexter's varsity team improved to 19-5-3 overall, 6-1 in league play.