Cloverdale beats South Putnam on the Volleyball court

Friday, October 3, 2014
Lexi Branneman of Cloverdale reaches for a block on Thursday at South Putnam. (Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT)

While waiting on results from elsewhere in the county, Cloverdale's volleyball squad took on South Putnam hoping for some assistance elsewhere in the quest for the WCC title.

The Eagles were in no mood to lend the visitors a helping hand, running the first two sets close before ultimately falling to the Clovers in three sets, 25-23, 25-18 and 25-12.

Cloverdale head coach Kathy Moore said that the team was a little bit slow coming out of the traps Thursday night.

South Putnam's Lillie Stein tips the ball to her Cloverdale opponents. (Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT)

"We were kind of flat when we started out and then we picked up some steam," Moore said. "We made a few errors when we need to play consistent, which is one of those things you have to learn how to do.

"We have to learn to be consistent all the time, keep it up-tempo and play the way you like. We've had a couple of tough matches here in the last week while the flu bug has been going around."

South Putnam head coach Kristin Hendrich, meanwhile, felt her squad put on one of their best performances of the season.

"I was really pleased with how they looked tonight," Hendrich said. "It's the best I've seen them play.

"They moved well, they passed well and they talked a lot. Overall, every area we've been working on showed improvement tonight."

The Clovers started brightly, grabbing a 6-1 lead and pushed the lead out to 11-5 before the Eagles rallied to cut the gap down to 11-9.

Cloverdale ripped off the next eight points, only to give up the next six and saw the lead whittle down to a slender 22-21 advantage in an opening set that might have gone either direction.

The visitors grabbed the next two points, only to hit out on the next two points to leave the lead at 24-23.

A long kill eluded the Eagle defense and allowed Cloverdale to take an early 1-0 lead in the match.

Having been so close to a first-set win, Hendrich said the squad was amped for the second set.

"They were still really fired up," Hendrich said. "They were very positive and one thing I can say about our girls is that they don't ever give up, they fight to the finish and they stay positive throughout.

"I think it was hard for them because we were so close, but it gave them a taste of success and that kept them fighting."

Needing a strong start to settle the nerves, Clover senior Jessica Winders answered the call, rattling off nine straight service points to open the second set.

But just as in the first set, South Putnam charged back quickly, cutting the deficit to 11-9.

Hendrich said the squad was not deterred by the deficit but wished the squad would not fall into such a large hole.

"We always struggle with getting into deep holes like that," Hendrich noted. "We'll make a mistake and have a hard time picking ourselves up.

"We make another one and another one and suddenly we're in a deep hole. We do our best to claw our way back and they do put forth the effort, which we love to see, but it's hard to watch them get in that hole and try to climb out."

Cloverdale responded with 10 of the next 14 points to open up an eight-point gap, only to watch as the hosts took five straight points to cut the lead to 21-18.

The Clovers handled the final few rallies better than in the first set, securing the last four points to ease into a 2-0 lead after a 25-18 second set win.

There was to be no rally from the home squad in the final set after Cloverdale charged out to a 12-5 lead.

The advantage only grew from there as the Clovers extended the lead to 17-7 and 20-9 before Winders finished the game with five more service points to close out the match 25-12.

Moore said the squad zeroed-end to finish the night off.

"The kids were a little more focused in the third set," Moore said. "We got a good run of service points and we were on it in terms of getting the ball up from the back.

"That's the way we like to play the game. We want to play a little bit faster of a ballgame."

Hendrich added that the Eagles started to fade after two close sets.

"We saw on their face that they knew it was close to over," Hendrich said. "They kept fighting but they wore it on their faces that it was not going to be a win for them."

Winders, when not recording a team-high 23 set assists, hammered out 25 set points, including nine aces, along with 11 digs and Moore said her efforts were instrumental in the win.

"Jessica is leading the WCC in aces and is pretty high in Class 2A in that category," Moore noted. "She's having a good season in that way.

"Tonight, she was on. She had a nice, flat ball like we had worked on in practice, while Lindsey Davis had a good night serving as well."

Davis added 13 points to the Clover cause while Bailee Stevens had 11 digs, seven kills and five points, Lexi Branneman had 13 kills, Kimmy Winders had four points, Christa Asbury chipped in five digs, as did Savannah Jones, while Maddy Smith had four digs.

South Putnam got four kills apiece from Katie Hewitt and Lillie Stein while Emily Dobson had three kills and two aces, Mackenzi Myers had three kills and Miranda Bieghler chipped in 13 assists and three aces.

South Putnam moves into the next week with three matches on the docket, including Monday and Tuesday road trips to Rockville and Monrovia while Greencastle awaits on Thursday.

Hendrich said that the end of the season was getting exciting but time was at a premium over the next two weeks.

"It's hard because we have so many games and so little practice time," Hendrich pointed out. "Playing three games-a-week is hard to prepare for.

"You worry about them getting tired and wearing down as the season closes out. We've actually stepped up the intensity at practices and done more conditioning than we did earlier in the season.

"I'm trying to keep them going. We need to stay positive and to keep building up momentum."

Cloverdale, meanwhile, hits the road on to face Eminence on Monday, Riverton Parke on Wednesday and participate at the Cascade Invitational the following Saturday.

Moore said the team would need to be ready for a hard charge to the end of the season.

"Riverton Parke is playing some good ball right now," Moore pointed out. "After the Cascade tournament we turn around and play Southmont and Linton again for our senior night.

"We've got some good matches coming up and that's the way we like it going into sectionals. The draw is coming up pretty quick so we'll know what's coming at us soon."


At South Putnam

Cloverdale 25 25 25

South Putnam 23 18 12

Next Match: Cloverdale (10-9, 3-1 WCC) travels to Eminence while South Putnam (4-16, 0-2 WCC) travels to Rockville Monday.

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