Clear Lake was impressive in its home opener against Hampton-Dumont-CAL Tuesday, Sept. 6. The Lions swept the Bulldogs, 3-0. The win evened the Lions’ record in the North Central Conference at 1-1. H-D fell to 0-2.
The Lions wasted no time taking charge of the match. They opened up with a 25-15 win in the first game and continued with 25-18 and 25-13 scores.
“While we struggled at the service line all week, we attacked the ball really well against Hampton,” said Head Coach Heather Johnson.
“As a team, we hit .500 which we have never come close to since I have been coaching,” said Johnson. “I thought senior Ava Richtsmeier served well on the night, racking up a couple aces, and collected five digs while just playing a half rotation in the back court.”
Xada Johnson hit exceptionally, with a .621 efficiency and had 19 kills in just 29 attempts in a three set match. She also had a team high 12 digs.
“It was a good team win and it’s always good to get a home win. We hosted our camp night, where we had the kids that attended our youth camp get into the match for free. It was fun seeing them all there,” added the coach.
CL 2, CC 1
The Lions posted their first win over Charles City since 2007, but dropped an 0-2 decision to Mason City in a triangular played Thursday in Clear Lake’s gymnasium.
“It has been fun seeing the slow, steady progress we have been making the last three years,” said Coach Johnson after her teams’ 2-1 victory over the Comets. “Changing a program’s culture takes time, and this win tonight was a little sign showing us that we have made some steps in the right direction. Despite once again struggling at the service line, we are still working to attack the ball well. We have been talking all season about having the ‘playing to win’ mentality and it is slowly but surely sinking in.”
Senior Hannah Blaha had a strong match, working to get six attacks. She served well from the line with two aces and accumulated two block assists and a solo block.
Xada Johnson had 10 kills, Ava Richtsmeier four and Carsyn Holland three in the match.
Makella Jacobs and Johnson each had 11 digs and Macey Holck had a good defensive night with 10 digs.
MC 2, CL 0
The thrill of victory over the Comets was dampened by an 0-2 loss to Mason City in the other match of the night Thursday. The RiverHawks prevailed, 25-20, 25-20.
“This loss to Mason really stings because it is the worst we have competed all year,” said Coach Johnson. “I keep reminding the kids that I do not care if we win or lose, I care about how we compete. If we do that, the wins will come. For some reason I feel like we have a mental block when we play against Mason City and that is just a thought that we need to get rid of.”
The RiverHawks played with energy and caught the Lions flat-footed. The result was many unforced errors.
Once again Hannah Blaha played solidly, collecting six kills, an ace and three blocks. Xada Johnson led the Lion offense with 10 kills. Macey Holck grabbed another eight digs and served well. She was 14/15 for 93 percent efficiency. Ava Richtsmeier was 7/7 at the line with an ace.
This week the Lions host Crestwood Thursday and will compete in a tournament at Forest City Saturday.
