Cloverdale sacks Eagles in four sets

Cloverdale senior Lindsay Robson sends a pass during a match earlier this year. Robson led the Clovers with 20 digs in Thursday's win. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

CLOVERDALE -- The South Putnam volleyball team visited Cloverdale on Thursday night. The Clovers sent the Eagles home with a loss 3-1, (25-19, 25-16, 21-25, 25-15). Both teams had to work hard against the other and it was a tightly contested matchup throughout the night.

Cloverdale (9-10, 2-3 WCC) won sets when it was able to control tempo, CHS coach Kathy Moore said.

"I thought we played pretty sharp first and second sets," she said. "We were kind of flat in the third set, and fourth set we finally played a little more up-tempo which is what we like."

South Putnam (6-11, 0-3 WCC) showed improvements with its communication, but still missed a few chances because of unexpected hits, SPHS coach Deanna Long said.

"We played well, we just did not come out on top," Long said. "We need to work on our serves and get those a little stronger. They were tipping it a lot, we need to be able to make those adjustments."

Cloverdale and South Putnam traded points back and forth in the first set but in the end the Clovers pulled away.

The second set was much of the same with Cloverdale pulling away from the Eagles after being tied 11-11. Cloverdale went on an 8-3 run to take the lead 19-13 and eventually took the game.

The Eagles turned it around in the third set and, after trailing 7-6, went on a 8-3 run and never lost the lead again to cruise to a 25-21 victory.

"I thought our serve reception was not as good as it should have been and our digging was fair," Moore said.

The Clovers got back on track in set four, opening a 9-3 before finishing off the Eagles.

Both teams have had lots of improvements since the start of the year and the coaches had lots of praise for their teams.

"You would not know it from tonight but I think our hitting has gotten a lot better," Moore said. "When we hit good, (it's because) the sets were good.

"There are no quitters out there. I think this is one of the nicest groups of kids we've had," Moore said.

Cloverdale hosts Eminence on Tuesday at 7 p.m. South Putnam hosts Rockville on Monday at 7 p.m.

At Cloverdale
South Putnam..........19 16 25 15
Cloverdale................25 25 21 25