With their offense firing on all six cylinders, the varsity volleyball girls swept host Martin County West in Trimont on Thursday.
Game scores were 25-20, 25-15 and 25-21.
“We passed well. We set well, and our hitters were super aggressive, so it wasn’t just one thing,” said head coach Dave Nixon. “The team as a whole just did a great job. We were in system a lot of the time tonight, and I thought (setter) Jocelyn (Kortuem) (above) played a great match. She really put our hitters in favorable situations where they could be aggressive and take some big swings, and then our hitters did a great job putting the ball away.”
The win was what the Clippers needed after a rather lackluster 4-1 showing in the Class A Showcase in Burnsville the prior weekend.
“We mostly did not play well,” Nixon said. “We played well at times, but we did not play with any consistency, so for us to come out and play like this, that’s a huge bounce back. It's huge for our confidence going forward when we’ve got two conference matches next week.”
In game one, the Clippers deadlocked the score 5-5 on a Taylor McCabe kill. Melia Sathoff followed with a kill, and the Clippers never trailed from there. The game ended when McCabe, poised up front in the middle, took a quick set and laid it down for a kill.
Game two started on a Sathoff kill. From there, McCabe rolled for seven kills, and the Clippers led 11-1. The game ended on a Sathoff soft hit into an open chunk of MCW floor.
Game three started on a Sathoff ace serve. With a Kortuem kill and Sathoff winners, the Clippers led 9-4. Later, the Mavericks scored six of seven points, mostly on Clipper errors, to pull within a point, 15-14.
But McCabe went on the attack from there, and the Clippers went in front 22-15.
Strong down the stretch, the Mavericks spurted for four points, but a Sathoff kill put an end to the uprising. The Game ended on a Sathoff kill.
McCabe finished the match with 22 kills, nine digs, one block assist, four ace serves and one set assist. Sathoff had 18 kills, nine digs and five ace serves. Kortuem had 41 assists, one kill, five digs and one ace serve. Keira Schipper had two kills, one block assist and one set assist. Aubrey Blaskchko had two kills and one dig. Liviana Lee had one kill, one solo ace block and one dig. Delaney Thompson had 26 digs, one ace serve and one set assist. Kaitlyn Flowers had one set assist. Luci Blaschko had five digs. Amelia Chmiel had one dig.
The Clippers missed only one serve. Thompson was nine for nine.
“We served tough, and we defended well, and we blocked well,” Nixon said. “Every aspect of the game we played well tonight.”
Tonight, the Clippers host Mankato Loyola for Dig’N Pink Night. In the Conference, the Crusaders topped Nicollet 3-2 but lost 3-1 to both MCW and Madelia.
The game will set up the typical de facto Valley conference championship when Alden-Conger comes to town on Thursday. Both teams are 4-0. The Clippers will be looking to avenge last year’s 3-2 loss to the host Knights and their 3-1 loss in Cleveland in 2024.
In 2022, the Clippers came back from a game one loss to beat the host Knights 3-1. The year after that, the Clippers lost 3-1 in Cleveland. In 2021, the Clippers fell to the Knights 3-1. The Clippers were dominating, but it all changed when Emily Kern got injured in that game. In the short 2020 season, the Clippers fell in Alden 3-1. With McKenna Robb at the helm, the Clippers did beat the visiting Knights in 2019 and won the conference. The year before that, they pretty much didn’t show up in Alden and fell 3-0.
Melia Sathoff watches her hit slip by an MCW defender.
Taylor McCabe mixes it up at the net.
Keira Schipper watches her hit descend on the MCW side of the court.
Kaitlyn Flowers bumps a pass forward.