Clarke head volleyball coach Lindsay Diehl was impressed with the amount of improvement her team showed from its opening tournament on Aug. 30 to it’s next match on Sept. 2.
The Lady Indians didn’t win a game in losses to Lamoni, Bedford and Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln at the home tournament.
And though they didn’t win a game against Chariton on Sept. 2, Diehl said her team’s competitiveness was much better.
“That was a total flip from what they were Saturday,” Diehl said after her team’s 25-18, 25-20, 25-23 loss to Chariton. “If we would have played like that on Saturday, I think we could have been in the championship at our own tournament.”
Clarke came out with much more intensity against Chariton, taking an 11-10 lead midway through the first game.
Even after falling behind 15-11, the Lady Indians battled back. An Alex Boyce block highlighted a run that tied the match at 15-15.
A Baylie Balcaen kill and a Sara Andrew ace gave Clarke a 17-16 lead.
But, Chariton closed the game on a 9-1 run to win the first game.
The second game went back and forth until Clarke once again took a 17-16 lead. But again, Chariton found a way to go on a run at the end of the game, winning 25-20.
“We set the intensity from the beginning and we kept fighting,” Diehl said. “Last year, we would get down in the first set after we got to about 15 points. We would fight to that and then it would slowly be a downhill slide. But I felt like they fought in all three of those sets. I’m pleased with the way the kids played tonight.”
The Lady Indians came out firing in the third game, as Andrew delivered back-to-back aces to give Clarke a 4-3 lead, and Balcaen served nine straight points, including five aces, giving Clarke a 14-3 lead.
Clarke’s lead eventually reached 17-6, but that’s when Chariton’s Kendall Hardie went on a service string of her own, serving seven straight points, including three aces.
After a LeeAnn Helgevold block gave Clarke a 22-19 lead, Chariton fought back for a 23-22 lead. Clarke tied the game at 23-23, but Taylor Tuley delivered back-to-back kills to end the match.
“That was awesome to see them keep pushing points, just to see them get excited about how they were playing,” Diehl said. “Baylie went on a run there and it was exciting to see the bench get up and get into it and also just believing in themselves.”
Balcaen finished the match with three kills and two total blocks, while serving 15-of-17 with eight aces. Andrew served 6-9 with three aces.
Boyce and Kara Campfield each recorded two kills, while Boyce had two total blocks and served 5-6.
Helgevold assisted on three blocks and had one solo block. Maddi Heath finished with six digs and served 11-12 with two aces. Ally Deutsch set eight assists and recorded a team-high 11 digs, while serving two aces. Sydnee Redman had three digs and served 3-3.
Clarke Triangular
Clarke dropped a pair of matches here on Sept. 4 at its home triangular.
The Lady Indians lost 25-14, 25-10 to Central Decatur and 25-18, 25-14 to Centerville.
In the loss to Central Decatur, Andrew and Chynna Beydler each finished with two kills to lead the team. Campfield had two block assists, while Andrew and Balcaen each finished with one block assist. Boyce recorded one solo block.
Deutsch set seven assists, while Heath had three digs and served two aces.
For Central Decatur, Raegan Boothe had a team-high four kills, while Jentri Hullinger and Hallie Linhart each finished with thre. Boothe and Linhart both finished with four digs, while Hullinger had three.
Brianna Keeney served 10-11 with two aces, while Linhart served 8-9 with five aces. Alex Graham was 9-9 with two aces at the service line and Boothe served 4-5 with two aces.
Lily Simon finished 7-8 serving with one ace and Hullinger was 6-7 with one ace.
In Clarke’s loss to Centerville, Andrew, Boyce and Helgevold all recorded two kills. Deutsch set six assists. Heath finished with seven digs and served 8-10 with one ace. Andrew served 5-7 with one ace.