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Clearfield volleyball swept by Brookville
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
By Jon Christoff Sports Writer
HYDE - The opening set of any volleyball match can set the tone for the remainder of the game. For a team that has yet to win a game, it's that much more pivotal to gain some momentum heading forward.
Unfortunately for Clearfield, it lost a heartbreaking first set, 27-25, to Brookville and had a hard time coming back the rest of the night.
The Lady Bisons lost the last two sets 25-17 and 25-15, but it wasn't from a lack of effort. Clearfield had a lead in each of the three sets, only to see the Lady Raiders come back for the win.
"We can't finish and that's our biggest problem," said coach Bob Peters, whose team dipped to 0-9 on the season. "We still had some missed hits or missed serves in critical situations, and they probably got the momentum going the other way."
The opening game went tooth-and-nail until the final point, as neither team was able to gain an advantage.
The Lady Bisons had the lead midway through the set, as Cortney Woodel had a three-point service run to give Clearfield a 13-8 lead.
After a kill by Brookville's Shannon Shaffer gave the Lady Raiders a sideout, Tonya Shaffer had a service run of her own to propel her team into the lead.
With Brookville closing in on the win, Clearfield got a big kill from Samantha Broad, as she tied the match at 24.
Woodel was again serving, but a kill attempt went into the net and gave Brookville the serve, and it was able to close it out with back-to-back kills from Shannon Shaffer.
"It was definitely pivotal," Peters said of the first set. "If we could have gotten on top, then the momentum could have gone our way. We were on top that game, but we let it get away. That's all there is to it."
Woodel led the attack with five service points in the opening game, while Adrienne Stucke added three.
Tonya Shaffer led the Lady Raiders with seven service points, while Shannon Shaffer recorded five kills.
In the second, Clearfield jumped out to a 4-2 lead with an ace from Broad and a tip from Ana Dungan that fell in between a pair of Lady Raider defenders.
With the two-point cushion, Michelle Payonk quickly extended the advantage and put the Lady Bisons in the driver's seat.
When all was said and done, Payonk had reeled off five consecutive points with an ace and Clearfield held a comfortable 9-2 lead.
Unfortunately for the Lady Bisons, Payonk's run ended with a missed serve and Brookville was able to respond and eventually tie the set at 13.
"She had a nice run to get us ahead," said Peters of Payonk, "but we ended up letting it slip away."
The Lady Raiders' rally began with their hitting, which kept getting stronger after it propelled them to the win in the first.
Shannon Shaffer had six more kills in the second, and Brianne Dietrich added three.
Outside of Payonk's run, Clearfield recorded just three service points.
Shannon Shaffer's hitting continued early in the third to give the Lady Raiders a lead, as she added three in a five-point stretch, and the Lady Bisons' mistakes sealed their fate in a 25-15 loss.
Payonk and Broad had two kills apiece for Clearfield, which will try to get on track Thursday at Johnsonburg.
"I told the girls this is the halfway point of our season," Peters said, "and that it's time for us to see how much we've improved."
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