Winning two and losing two, the seventh-grade girls' match at St. Clair on Tuesday reflected their .500 record.
“Overall we’ve improved a lot over the course of the season,” said coach Cassidy Kopet.
Trailing 23-15 in game one, the Clippers made a valiant comeback but fell 25-21 on a serve that didn’t stay between the lines.
Game two was a slugfest of runs. With four Paisley Janssen ace serves, the Clippers posted six-straight points for a 9-3 advantage.
Hope Roberts’ ace tip put the Clippers in front 22-16, and they scored the next point too on a St. Clair error, but then the Cyclones, serving up five aces, won the following six points to pull within one, 23-22.
From there, the Clippers committed a pair of errors while the Cyclones had three miscues. With a Roberts ace return, the Clippers went ahead by a point, 26-25, and the game ended on the next point when St. Clair’s hit didn’t keep in bounds.
With a couple of Janssen service aces, the Clippers scored the first three points of game three. Evie Remiger served an ace, Roberts tipped over a winner, and after an Amelia Baker ace block, the Clippers led 10-3.
With another Janssen service ace, the Clippers led 12-4, but the Cyclones dispatched seven-ace serves after than during a 10-point surge to lead 14-12. The Clippers deadlocked the game at 16 on a Jessilynn Milnes ace tip, and with a couple of Baker service aces, they led 21-18.
The Cyclones hung around though, scoring the next three points, but the Clippers won 25-22 after a couple of Janssen ace serves and a direct return for a winner.
Including a Joanna Jordan ace serve, the Clippers scored the first four points of game four, but the Cyclones swung the lead their way when they won the next seven possessions.
With a couple of Baker ace serves and a Roberts ace tip the Clippers went in front 8-7, but the Cyclones got ahead 15-10 and kept the lead from there. The game ended 25-21 when a Clipper hit got caught in the mesh.
The last time the seventh graders took on the Cyclones, it was also a 2-2 split. They play four games instead of three because of the large St. Clair roster.
The seventh-grade girls will close out their regular season next Monday when they travel to Madelia.
Above: Paisley Janssen at the net. In back is Alexandria Johns.
Jessilynn Milnes on the serve.
Amelia Baker bumps a return.
Hope Roberts watches her tip glide down the Cyclone side of the net.
Amelia Baker and Evie Remiger ready for a dig.
Maliah Elias on the pass.
Joanna Jordan hoists a Cyclone serve. Backing her is Hope Roberts.