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Cloverdale's volleyball season ends in four
MONROVIA -- Having split two meetings earlier in the season, Cloverdale and Cascade's volleyball teams came into the second night of IHSAA Class 2A Sectional No. 44 play with the confidence that their side could knock the other off Thursday night.
This feeling proved correct for the Cadets, as they knocked the Clovers out in four sets 25-18, 25-15, 10-25 and 25-17.
Cloverdale head coach Kathy Moore said that the girls came out aggressive but could not quite find a way past Cascade for a second time.
"I was hoping that was going to happen tonight but it didn't come to pass," Moore said. "We gave it a good effort and fell short.
"It's do or die time and they didn't want to have any regrets. We gave it our best shot out there because you have to do it right now and I think both teams felt that way at the beginning."
Both teams came out of the traps when the kind of intensity expected to be seen in the final moments of a five-set thriller, a byproduct of the tournament according to Moore.
"There was a lot of energy out there and lots of great saves and volleys from both teams," Moore said. "That's what makes volleyball fun.
"I thought we had our good spurts. Their middle hitter (Jacey Lewis) hit over us a little bit tonight. We did get some blocks and I was pleased with our blocking. The problem is they have that tall girl and we're averaging 5'5".
Cascade briefly held a 12-7 lead in the first set before Cloverdale rallied to move in front 15-13.
As the emotional intensity of the game began to subside, the Cadets were quicker to settle in and overtook the Clovers, scoring 10 of the final 12 points to take the opener 25-18.
"Our passing at times was not as good as it should have been. When you pass the ball close to the net, it creates a problem for the setter.
"Jessica (Winders) will play everything she can but it makes it hard to play and the percentage of hitting goes down when the ball is too close to the net."
Cascade built a six-point advantage to start the second set at 10-4, only to watch Cloverdale rattle off seven straight points to take a brief 11-10 lead.
Much like in the first set, though, the Cadets saved their biggest surge for the final points, taking 13 of the final 16 points to put the Clovers on the brink of being swept out of the tournament.
Cloverdale responded forcefully, grabbing a 10-4 lead of their own to start the third set and never let Cascade into the game, pushing the lead out quickly to 12 points at 21-9 and finishing the set off by taking the final four points.
Moore said that a change in attack paid dividends in the third set.
"We talked about it in a time out after Kimmy was blocked three or four times," Moore said. "She hit one out trying to go around them so I asked her to tip and she did that effectively.
"First, we had to smash the ball to get them back on their heels and then we could change it up and through some tips at them. We could generally get kills that way."
The final set became a carbon copy of the first two sets as Cascade went from a 5-5 tie to a 10-7 lead.
Cloverdale scored the next five points to take a 12-10 lead before the teams traded points up to 14-14.
The Cadets rattled off the next five points and though the Clovers cut the lead to three on two separate occasions, they did not have enough time or points to make up the ground as Cascade advanced to the sectional semi-final.
Moore said the final set came down to very fine margins, margins the Clovers did not quite get right.
"We had three or four missed serves in the final set and that just killed us," Moore noted. "We've talked about that all season and I told the girls that they cannot miss serves during the tournament.
"They needed to put the ball in play and put it on Cascade to make the play. They did not have to do anything if we hit the ball out of bounds or into the net.
"Our serving hampered us but we also had a stretch with some poor passing," Moore added. "That was the game."
Jessica Winders paced the team with 23 assists, 13 points and 10 digs, while fellow seniors Lexi Branneman had nine kills and five digs, Bailee Stevens had 13 digs and four kills, Maddy Smith had nine digs and Christa Asbury had seven digs and four points.
Lindsey Davis added 12 points, nine digs and six kills for the Clovers while Kimmy Winders had 13 digs and six points and Savannah Jones had five digs and four points.
Finishing the season with a 12-15 record, Moore said the squad competed well with a small lineup and was led exceptionally by the five seniors in the group.
"Based on our height, I think we did really well," Moore said. "I think there were some matches this season where we were disappointed to lose or that should have been more our way.
"This is a fine group of young ladies who like each other and they play well together. They gave me their best effort and they never quit on the ball.
"I don't know what more I could ask of them," Moore added. "They've had a good season, I'm proud of them and I'm sad to see my seniors go.
"They're a good bunch who've been with me for eight years, so I'm blessed that I'm one of the few teachers that got to see them in middle school and then turn around and coach them for four years. That's a terrific testament to having a volleyball team that's like an extended family."
With two starters and six other varsity players returning next year, Moore said the squad would have good numbers but would need to get into their stride quickly to compete in the WIC next year.
"It's certainly going to be a rebuilding year," Moore stated. "We have some depth but we're really going to have to improve our skills to match the level of this new conference.
"It's going to take a lot of work for our kids. We'll have some struggles but we'll get better."
At Monrovia
IHSAA Class 2A Sectional No. 44
Cloverdale 18 15 25 17
Cascade 25 25 10 25