PREP ROUNDUP: Clovers top BC, North to improve mark to 14-5

CLOVERDALE — Cloverdale’s volleyball team picked up a pair of wins this week to improve to 14-5 on the season.

On Thursday, the Clovers hosted North Putnam on Grandparents and Pink Out Night, and won 25-7, 27-25 and 25-10.

On Tuesday, the Clovers defeated Brown County 25-21, 25-16 and 26-24 to improve their Western Indiana Conference records in the East Division to 2-1.

“We were able to feed off a great crowd that created a wonderful volleyball atmosphere, and our players really appreciated the support,” Clover coach Jim Spencer said after Thursday’s win. “I was really happy that we found a way to win game two, after North Putnam did a great job of recovering from game one and gave themselves an opportunity to tie the match at one game apiece.”

The transition to playing under Spencer, who took over early in the season, is progressing nicely for the Clovers.

“I was especially pleased that our points of emphasis in practice are beginning to make us better in games,” he said. “We also did a good job this week of following the scouting report and giving ourselves a chance to win a few more points by being in position and paying attention.

“We had a great night and if we have the opportunity to play North Putnam in a conference crossover game or sectional game, this game won’t have much bearing on the next game. We have to keep getting better.”

Clover stats:

Assists — Hannah Rady 2

Digs — Hailey Thomas 14

Blocks — Tori Combs and Kassie Wade combined for 8 blocks.

Points — Kenzie Stoltz 11, Hannah Rady 10

Kills — Tori Combs 17, Kayla Perdue 10 (“a really smart and productive night for Kayla,” coach Spencer said.)

Cloverdale won the junior varsity match 25-14, 10-25, 15-12 and improved to 10-5 on the season.

“It was a match filled with good volleyball and major swings in momentum for both teams,” Spencer said. “We did a good job of finding a way to win in game three.”

Clover stats:

Points — Kacey Shedron 11

Kills — Ashlynn Basore 8

Assists — Kacey Shedron

Digs — Bella Branneman 13, Kacey Shedron 9

The next match for the Clover JV is Parke Heritage on Monday.

Cloverdale’s varsity travels to Martinsville on Saturday for the Artesian Volleyball Classic.

“We are really looking forward to the challenge of playing some bigger schools and preparing ourselves to get better as we close in on the end of the season,” Spencer said. “We are on the road for the next seven games and need to become a better road team.”

On Tuesday, the Clovers swept the 11-3 Eagles.

“This was a really big win for us as we remained in second place in the conference against a really good Brown County team,” Spencer said. “We continued to get better at dealing with adjustments throughout a match. We trailed 19-24 in game three and Hailey Thomas served 6 straight points for a great come from behind win to end the match 26-24.”

Spencer noted that Brown County made some really good adjustments in game three with its rotation and strategy.

“We struggled for most of that game,” he said, “but as game three progressed we continued to adjust and chip away at their lead.”

Clover stats:

Assists: Hannah Rady 32

Digs: Hailey Thomas 17, Hannah Rady 9, Autumn Lewellen and Kenzie Stoltz 8

Points: Morgan Goss 11, Hailey Thomas 9

Kills: Tori Combs had 25 kills on 33 attempts ( a great night)

Brown County won the JV match 25-13, 15-25, 15-9.

Clover stats:

Points — Lindsey Minton 8

Digs — Bella Branneman 10

Kills — Alexa Wynia3

In other volleyball:

• Greencastle 3, Monrovia 0 — The Tiger Cubs swept Monrovia by scores of 25-23, 25-20 and 25-17.

“The Cubs were able to successfully run a fast offense, getting the Bulldogs out of system,” GHS coach Maggie Walters said.

The team was led by Lilly Meyer with 13 kills and 20 digs. Allison Stevens (10 kills), Macy Clark (nine kills) and Jada Amis (seven kills) were also key to the successful offensive play, Walters said.

Jalyn Duff recorded 28 assists and Anna Zellers added 12. Defensively, Mckenzie Woodall and Ivy Wright both had 10 digs.

“The Cubs also did a nice job of serving aggressively,” Walters added.

The JV defeated the Bulldogs 2-1 Both teams play at Owen Valley Saturday morning with a 10 a.m. JV start.

Tennis

• South Putnam 4, Linton-Stockton 1 — The Eagles celebrated Senior Night and finished up the regular season at 12-0.

“Everyone is playing at the top of his game,” South coach Johnny Briones said. “I can’t say enough about my five seniors; they have contributed so much to the program; there will be a lot of big shoes to fill next season. They have shown the underclassmen what it takes to win, and also to be competitive and to display true sportsmanship.”

The sectional draw takes place on Monday, and Briones knows his team will have to continue to play well to defend its title.

“We are looking forward to a very competitive sectional,” he said. “We will definitely have to bring our ‘A’ game.

In other tennis:

• Owen Valley 4, Greencastle 1 — The Patriots defeated the Tiger Cubs on Tuesday, but Cub standout Trent Ross continued to shine at No. 1 singles.

Ross won his eighth-straight match to improve to 12-4 on the season.

Greencastle is now 3-10 in dual matches for the season and will host Danville on Saturday before traveling to Western Boone on Monday for its final dual match.

Owen Valley 4, Greencastle 1

Singles — 1. Trent Ross (G) def. Coy Byerly (OV) 6-3, 6-0; 2. Isaiah Johnson (OV) def. Henry Carter (G) 6-0, 6-1; 3. Reece Heckman (OV) def. Josh Nally (G) 6-1, 6-0.

Doubles — 1. Drew Mander-Keaton Richardson (OV) def. Anthony Conley-Micah Hammond (G) 6-3, 6-1; 2. Logan Headley-Jalen Hodge (OV) def. Eli Hardwick-Holton Miller (G) 6-1, 6-2.

Soccer

• Greencastle 3, Edgewood 0 (boys) — Greencastle continued its run of form with another win against Edgewood.

Ben Parsons continued his scoring spree with his third hat trick in a row, with all three goals coming in the first half.

Hector Lezama had 1.5 assists, while Jacob Baker had one and Jakob Foss had half an assist.

“Greencastle will look to maintain its recent focus and compete with Edgewood again this weekend for the cross over game,” coach J.D. Sims said.

In other soccer:

• Sullivan 3, Greencastle 2 (girls) — The Lady Tiger Cubs hosted Sullivan on Saturday.

“We gained a much-needed time on the pitch, making positive passes and plays,” Greencastle coachAngie Weeks said.

The team gained a PK that ended up in the back of the net by Kennedy Trigg. The second goal was also earned by Trigg with an assist by Catherine Weeks.

Claire Gillen had 10 saves as goalkeeper.

Cross country

• Clovers, Cougars run at Cascade — On Wednesday, Cloverdale and North Putnam ran in the Jon Mitchell Invitational postponed from earlier this month.

North Putnam was second in the girls’ meet and third in the boys’ meet.

Boys

Team scores — Mooresville 46, Speedway 48, North Putnam 92, Decatur Central 96, Clovedale 128, Monrovia 140, Cascade 154.

Winner — Nick Curran (Speedway) 17:22.28.

North Putnam runners — 9. Zach Huff 18:40.11, 11. John Huffman 18:42.57, 18. Kyle Young 19:16.2, 24. Matthew Trotter 19:36.81, 30. Ellis Lyons 20:26.84, 31. Grant Jarboe 20:29.64, 32. Adam Bonebrake 20:47.50, 38. Nic Hensley 21:03.78, 40. Caden Storm 21;20.29, 50. Kenny Knutti 23:38.08, 51. Jacob Farrington 24:02.86.

Cloverdale runners — 14. R ylan Hall 18:59.50, 21. Chase Ashcraft 19:24.69, 26. Nate Nees 19:49.05, 33. Elliott Williamson 20:54.58, 34. Ray Bates 20:54.91, 36. Jjosh Beikman 20:59.05, 48. Nate Monnett 23:17.62.

Girls

Team scores — Mooresville 46, North Putnam 67, Cloverdale 69, Cascade 78, Monrovia 79.

Winner — Courtney Merrill (Speedway) 20:51.19.

North Putnam runners — 6. Anna Haste 22:56.19, 11. Grace Elmore 23:25.88, 16. Jayden Day 24:49.17, 19. Katie Fry 25:24.80, 20. Taylor Hensley 25:33.60, 26. Madison Trotter 27:06.27, 33. Josie Lyons 30:21.03.

Cloverdale runners — 3. Lily Monnett 22:01.77, 4. Chelsie Edwards 22:44.98, 9. Macie Couch 23:10.36, 29. Abigail Bernard 28:30.52, 31. Megan Miller 29:07.87,