Clovers drop regional opener

Monday, October 30, 2006

MITCHELL -- The Cloverdale High School volleyball team's quest for a Class 2A regional championship came to an end Saturday afternoon as it fell to the Mitchell Bluejackets in five games in the first round of the Mitchell Regional.

The first game's action was a seesaw battle with both teams keeping pace with each other until midway through the contest when Mitchell managed to build an 18-13 lead.

The Clovers dug in and deadlocked the score at 23-all, but a kill from Mitchell's Anne Trevithick and an ace closed the game with a Mitchell victory, 25-23.

The Bluejackets started the second game with a four-point run and lead 9-7 before Cloverdale's Hannah Monnett scored two consecutive points to knot the match at 9-9.

Mitchell built up a 20-16 lead, but a stuff block from Ashley Arnold brought the score to 20-17 and gave possession back to the Clovers.

With Amber Curtis serving, the Clovers gelled as a squad and put together a handful of scoring plays, going on to dominate the Bluejackets down the stretch.

The Clovers used an eight-point run to claim a 25-20 victory in the second game.

The emotional high the Clovers rode to close out the second game seemed to dwindle during the third as Mitchell jumped on the Clovers early and never let up.

CHS got close with an ace from Heather Moon that brought it with in three, 19-16, but Mitchell was too much and the Bluejackets won the game 25-17.

Looking at a 2-1 deficit as the fourth game began, the Clovers' Ashley Koosman, Moon and Arnold provided some much-needed power, as the Clovers built a big 23-14 lead.

But Mitchell stayed strong, scoring the next three points to cut the Cloverdale lead to six.

After a timeout, the Clovers scored twice to take a 25-19 win, bringing up a fifth and decisive game.

With their season on the brink, the Clovers took the court to thunderous cheers from the CHS fans that had made the trek to Mitchell, but the Bluejackets again jumped out to an early lead, taking a 4-0 advantage and forcing a Cloverdale timeout.

The Clovers kept chipping away at the lead until a kill from Kristin McCammon tied the game, and an ace from Monnett gave CHS the lead at 9-8.

The Clovers amassed a 13-10 lead on the strength of a Curtis ace and found themselves just two points away from a win and a ticket to the regional championship match.

But the Clovers' dreams of a victory quickly evaporated as the Bluejackets ran off five unanswered points to take the game, 15-13.

After the match, Cloverdale coach Kathy Moore said the victory could have gone to either side and that scrappy play from both teams resulted in some exciting action.

"I feel bad for my seniors," Coach Moore said, "but they realized one of their goals this season, and that was to win (the) sectional."

Coach Moore also acknowledged the raucous Cloverdale crowd.

"They bled right along with us," Moore said.

Monnett led the Clovers with 20 digs, 11 kills and three aces while Moon had 20 digs and seven kills.

Arnold provided 15 blocks and seven kills, and Koosman tallied 10 kills.

Curtis had 15 assists, and Erica Lotz had 10. Stephanie Tutterow chipped in with two aces for the Clovers.

With the loss, the Clovers bid farewell to seniors Moon, Monnett, Curtis, Arnold and Tutterow.

Cloverdale finished the season at 15-16.

At Mitchell

Mitchell Regional

First Round

Cloverdale 23 25 17 25 13

Mitchell 25 20 25 19 15

Cloverdale finished the season at 15-16.

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