McKenna Robb’s career school dig record fell to senior libero Emma Sweere on Saturday, but as an advocate to have Sweere bypass B-squad and go directly to varsity when Sweere was a freshman, no one was more pleased than Robb herself.
“I am super happy for her,” said Robb (CHS 2020), whose 1246 dig record stood for almost three years. “I saw her potential back when she was an eighth grader and knew she was going to be really good. I knew if anyone was going to break my record, it was going to be her. She has worked so hard putting in extra time at the gym, so many long hours. She deserves it so much. We have such a great relationship. If I would want anyone to break it, it would be her.”
Despite only being on the court together for one season, Sweere has never forgotten Robb's influence.
“When I was a freshman, she was the person who picked me up. She was my role model. She was my idol, honestly, in school, in sports, the way she works, the way she lives her life. I still admire her. She is going into physical therapy, and I am going to go into that next year too.”
And Sweere still looks toward Robb when she needs to up her game.
“We text, or I will go the gym with her and if I am struggling with something, we will talk. She is very good at giving advice.”
Sweere needed 20 digs to take over the record when the Clippers came into the Tri-City United tournament on Saturday. After they downed Lester Prairie 25-20, 25-7 in their first round of pool play, Sweere, scooping up a set over, recorded her 1247th dig early in the second game against NRHEG.
Taking a timeout from her busy coursework at GAC, Robb, who still owns the school career kill record (1408), was in the stands watching.
Sweere tied the record in the game before when the Clippers beat the Panthers 25-20. In the second game, Cleveland fell 25-18.
Competition got even tougher after that, and the Clippers lost to Glencoe-Silver Lake 25-16, 25-18.
Their third-place finish in the pool sent them to the consolation bracket, where they beat two local rivals, first 25-12, 25-10 over Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton and then 25-23, 25-18 over Valley Conference foe Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial to win the consolation prize.
In the championship bracket, GSL topped state sixth in class A Kenyon-Wanamingo, a team that beat the Clippers in Burnsville last weekend.
Sweere finished the day with 46 digs, extending the school record to 1,272.
Ava Hahn had 24 kills, six ace serves, 27 digs, one ace block and a pair of set assists. Sarena Remiger had 17 kills, four digs and 11 ace blocks. Lexy Waldron had 17 kills, 1 ace serve, 4 digs & 8 ace blocks. Melia Sathoff had 12 kills, 5 ace serves, 17 digs and four ace blocks. Laci Hollerich had a dozen kills, four digs and two set assists. Harley Connor had eight kills, seven ace serves, three digs, three ace blocks and one set assist.
Greta Hahn had 84 set assists, 11 kills, three ace serves, 18 digs and five ace blocks. Sweere also had two ace serves, one kill and four set assists. Savannah Meyer had 21 digs, three ace serves and one set assist. Chloe Anderson had seven digs and a pair of set assists
The Clippers host Sibley East on Monday before a Valley Conference showdown in Alden on Tuesday.
This Emma Sweere diving dig, which came in the second game against Lester Prairie, included both skill and luck as the ball bounced off her wrist.
The Clippers gather around Emma Sweere.
Ava Hahn on the Phi Slama Jama against LCWM for the consolation championship. Covering are Sarena Remiger and Emma Sweere.
Lexy Waldron throws a block party.