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West Branch volleyball downs Clearfield in three
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
By Jaclyn Yingling Sports Editor
HYDE - The West Branch volleyball team struggled in its opening set against host Clearfield on Monday evening, but rebounded in the next two sets to sweep the Lady Bisons, 25-12, 25-6 and 25-7.
"We were a little shaky early defensively," said Lady Warriors head coach Terry Trude. "We made some unforced errors, like with our serving.
"We've been strong all year serving, so I was a little surprised. It wasn't really characteristic of a West Branch first game. We are usually pretty strong in the first game."
West Branch had four service errors in the first set, as well as three unforced errors on returns. But the Lady Warriors, got some big hits from the front row of Mariah McDowell, Sloan Sample and Melissa Lake, who each had double-digit kills on the night.
McDowell had six of those kills in the first game of the match, while Sample had four.
West Branch led 18-7 at one point, before finishing off the game with three aces out of its last seven points to take the set, 25-12.
The Lady Warriors started out slow in the second set, leading Clearfield 4-3. But a 14-point service run by McDowell, allowed West Branch to extend that advantage to 19-3.
Sample had four kills during the run, which also featured some hard hitting from Lake and Bethany Kopchik.
The Lady Bisons had trouble with the Lady Warriors' size at the net, and were blocked on numerous occasions.
"We just can't compete with their height," said Clearfield head coach Bob Peters.
"They get it up there. We did the best we could. But I'm proud of the effort the girls gave tonight."
West Branch went on to win the set, 25-6.
The third set mirrored the second, as a long service run by Sample and Katelyn Lutz helped put the game away.
The set started off with another long run by McDowell, who added six more points to lead all players with 23 service points on the night.
After going up 11-3, Sample served six straight points before being replaced by Lutz, who added three more points on to the run, giving West Branch a 20-3 lead.
"We played real well the first set, then got down the second two," said Peters. "They (West Branch) are a great team and they are well-coached. I told the girls they have nothing to be ashamed of. They deserve the ranking they have."
A kill by Clearfield's Adrienne Stucke finally ended the run, but the Lady Warriors got the ball right back and finished off the set, 25-7.
"We came back and I thought we hit the ball really well tonight," said Trude. "Mariah really served and hit the ball well tonight. When she put the ball down, she put it straight down."
Sample and Lake finished the game with 11 kills each, while McDowell netted 10. Setter Leann Bell notched 35 assists on the night.
"Leann is one of the best setters in the area, and when the ball is anywhere close to her, she will put it where our hitters will be successful," Trude said.
"That's part of the reason our hitters are hitting at such a high percentage."
West Branch improved to 24-0 overall. The Lady Warriors travel to Williamsburg this evening.
Clearfield fell to 0-14 overall. The Lady Bisons travel to Brockway this evening.
In junior varsity, West Branch defeated Clearfield in three sets.
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