by Scott Watson
Clear Lake 3, HDC 1
Hampton – The Lions of Clear Lake (6-1) took to the volleyball court on Tuesday, September 5 to play the Hampton-Dumont-CAL Bulldogs (3-5), winning the match three sets to one.
The Bulldogs claimed the first set by a score of 25-22, but from there on it was all Clear Lake as they won three consecutive sets by scores of 25-17, 25-14, and 25-21.
“We came out a little slow to start the match and Hampton did a nice job of attacking corners,” said head coach Heather Johnson. “We couldn’t quite finish at the end and ended up losing set one, 22-25. Our response in sets two and three were great. Although Hampton hung on in the fourth set, we prevailed and secured the win at 21-25!
“I thought Hampton looked stronger this year. It is always good for us when our conference matches challenge us, so it was nice to see,” said coach Johnson.
The Lions tallied 41 assists, 44 kills, 14 blocks, 51 digs, and 10 serve aces.
Xada Johnson paved the way for the win by racking up 28 kills, three assists, 14 digs, two blocks, and five aces. Alivia Paine was instrumental in setting up the kills by totaling 36 assists, getting three kills of her own, 11 digs, and four aces. Rowan O’Keefe added eight kills, four blocks, and four assists.
Madi Ott had three kills, three assists, three blocks, four digs, and four aces. Avery Hegtvedt had a kill, two assists, and nine digs. Ella Landau had an assist and eight digs.
“Our serving was strong all night, hitting over 92 percent as a team and combining for 10 aces. Our net play continues to be tough and as a team, we are hitting over .300.” said coach Johnson.
Mason City Dual
Mason City – On Thursday, September 7, the Clear Lake volleyball team (6-2) traveled to Mason City for a dual meet where they took on the Charles City Comets (11-3) and the Mason City Riverhawks (3-8).
The Lions lost their first match against Charles City in two sets, then won their second match against Mason City in two.
Charles City 2,
Clear Lake 0
Clear Lake took on Charles City, losing the match in two sets by scores of 19-25 and 14-25.
“We did some things well in this match, and at times competed really well against the strong Charles City squad. We just couldn’t get into our offense and struggled defensively against their faster paced offense,” said head coach Heather Johnson.
Xada Johnson paced the team with eight kills, 6/6 serving, six digs, two block assists, and one ace. Rowan O’Keefe had three block assists and three kills. Alivia Paine had 12 assists in the game.
Clear Lake 2
Mason City 0
In match two, Clear Lake defeated Mason City, playing the first set to win points by a score of 28-26. In set two, the Lions won 25-19.
“Although we never really got into our rhythm all night, we came out with the W,” said coach Heather Johnson. “I thought Madi Ott played well this match and came up with some key kills and a block late in the match. Senior Payton McGrath sealed the win with a solo block to end the game.”
Xada Johnson had nine kills and 13 digs. Avery Hegtvedt had 10 digs. Alivia Paine had 15 assists and five kills. Madi Ott had stats of seven kills, two block assists, and one solo block.
“Historically, we have struggled playing against Mason City – before Thursday, we have only beaten them three times since 2007. Throughout the season, you have to find highlights like that to gauge your progress,” said coach Johnson.
The Lions played Humbolt on Tuesday before traveling to Crestwood on Thursday.
The girls will then travel to Forest City for a tournament on Saturday that begins at 9 a.m.
