Cloverdale falls to Danville in straight sets

Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Cloverdale junior Lexi Branneman goes up for a kill during the second set of the volleyball match against Danville on Tuesday. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

CLOVERDALE -- The Cloverdale Clovers entered the 2013 volleyball season with high hopes after last year's outstanding season. The Clovers welcomed the Danville Warriors to their home court for the first game of the season and lost 25-17, 25-23, 25-21.

In the first set Cloverdale got off to a fast 10-8 lead and it looked like they could run away with the set. The Warriors fought back and went on a 15-7 run to close out the first set victory.

The second set was the most entertaining of the night. The largest lead by any team was just four points. The Clovers did a good job staying with Danville until the very end where the Warriors pulled away and took a 23-20 lead. The Clovers thought they could get back even but the Warriors were just too much and ended up winning the set 25-23.

"I feel really positive about this group. We only have three returning lettermen so we are quite young. I feel like we are going to get there. This is one of the scrappiest teams I've ever had," Clover coach Kathy Moore said.

Sadly for the Clovers, the third set was much of the same, except this time the Clovers fell behind and couldn't get any real momentum going. They led in the early going 4-2 but just couldn't get it done letting the Warriors go on a 3-12 run to take the lead 7-15.

"I am a stickler of getting rid of mental mistakes. It is the first match, but when the game is close you cannot make those mistakes," Moore said.

The Clovers made a hard push for the set win but fell short 25-21. There were a lot of positives tonight for the team though.

Cloverdale had no serving errors on the night. Senior Lindsay Robson shined getting 10 digs and two points. The new setter, junior Jessica Winders, had 14 set assists and five points.

"Our serving was great. There were no errors at all. I was very pleased," stated Moore.

The Clovers did figure out some things they will have to work on, though, to get to where they want to be at the end of the season. On the night the Clovers only had two blocks.

"I was fairly pleased with our performance," Moore said. "We have some things to work on and we will. I think by the end of the season we will be quite a bit tougher."

Lexi Branneman and Megan Helterbrand jump up to block a spike attempt by the Danville attacker on Tuesday. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)



At Cloverdale
Danville..........25.....25......25
Cloverdale......17.....23......21

Digs: Robson 10, Jordan 7, Helterbrand 4, K. Winders, J. Winders 2, Asbury 1, Branneman 1,
Points: Helterbrand 5, J. Winders 5, Nees 3, Jordan 2, Patterson 2, Asbury 1, Branneman 1, K. Winders 1.
Kills: Branneman 7, Patterson 4, Helterbrand 3, Jordan 3, K. Winders 3.

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