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Clarke volleyball hosted a triangular meet last Monday with Des Moines North and Saydel, emerging victorious over both teams. Against Saydel, Clarke won 2-1 (25-16, 22-25, 15-10) and took a 2-0 win (25-20, 25-21) over Des Moines North.
Match one
Clarke took an early lead in their game over Saydel that included two ace serves, one by Maddie Youngs and one by Josie Moore. Youngs totaled three ace serves across all three sets while Moore totaled four. Leading at times by as much as nine, Saydel would start to catch up only to be hindered from further point scoring. At 23-15 in Clarke’s favor, use of the net by Moore to tip the ball over put Clarke at match-point. Mylee Miller’s serve resulted in a rally that went in Saydel’s favor as the ball was hit to the back corner. A setup by Miller to Youngs scored the winning point for the first set; Miller made 24 assists across the three sets.
The second set saw Clarke with another early lead, with Saydel picking up points and taking their first lead at 11-10. The two teams traded small leads before Clarke tied the game 19-19. An ace serve by Youngs gave Clakre a one-point lead, but was returned to a tie on the next serve that went too far. The teams tied at 20-20 and 21-21, with Saydel taking a one-point lead 22-21 as Clarke was unable to get the ball over. Clarke caught back up, but Saydel secured their final three points to take the second set.
Looking to gain another win, Clarke kept a narrow lead over Saydel before came within three points 13-10. A point by Youngs brought Clarke into match point and a hit out of bounds won Clarke the set.
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Match two
Against DSM, the teams stayed within a three-point range of one another in game one until Clarke took a five-point lead 15-10. The Lady Polar Bears were quick to close the point gap, but were unable to overtake the lead. Ahead 22-20, a dive by Moore to send the ball over was unable to be returned by DSM. An unreturned serve by Reagan Fry followed by a tip over the net by Youngs cinched the win for the first set.
The second set followed a back-and-forth fashion with DSM taking a temporary short lead over Clarke who were quick to tie the set back up and take a seven-point lead 14-7, then up to nine at two separate points. With Clarke ahead 21-15, DSM put up two quick points before closing the gap to a three point deficit 23-20. A hit out by Emilee Boyd moved DSM to within two points, with a kill attack by Fry earning Clarke a point. On match point, the rally ended as DSM hit the ball into the net on a return attempt.
Over the two sets, Miller made 15 offensive assists and Fry seven kills. Of the team’s 32 total digs, leaders were Moore with nine, Finley Cooper with eight and Fry with seven. The Lady Indians had a 93.9% serve efficiency that included three aces.