SOUTHMONT VOLLEYBALL SECTIONAL: Clover season comes to close at hand of Panthers

NEW MARKET – Cloverdale had the misfortune of drawing Riverton Parke in the IHSAA Volleyball Class 2A Sectional No. 44 opener for both teams.

The Clovers came into the tournament at 0-22 looking for their first win of the season, but the Panthers came in with a sectional-best 23-3 record. The outcome was what you would expect looking at the records. Riverton won in three sets 25-6, 25-9, 25-16.

The Clovers struggled with the service game of the Panthers and committed too many errors to pull off the upset. Riverton Parke had 21 aces on the night, while the Clovers were not consistent with their hitting and could not score enough.

The Panthers will now take on South Putnam in the semifinals on Saturday as the Clovers season ended at 0-23.

“They are a good team. It was pretty rough in the first two games but better in the last game,” Cloverdale head coach Paige Glassburn said.

The Clovers did take a quick 2-0 lead behind aces from Jacie Neese, but the Panthers went on a 9-0 run to take charge. The Clovers struggled with the relentless play of Riverton Parke and the Panthers continued to extend the lead as the Clovers had several errors during another 9-0 run to end the set by Riverton Parke.

“I thought we played better than we did earlier in the season against them. We missed Emily (Mann) tonight. We were hoping to get her back,” Glassburn said.

Riverton Parke methodically extended its lead throughout the second set. The Clovers did rally behind aces by Keely Price and Callee Smith to cut the lead to 11-7 but they were outscored 14-2 for the remainder of the match to lose 25-9 and trail 2-0 in the match.

“We made some good plays, but we also made some errors tonight,” Glassburn said.

The Clovers kept the third set more competitive. They were able to get off to an early 4-1 lead and led 7-6 when the Panthers’ Haylea Mathas served four-straight aces, opening the door for Riverton Parke to cruise ahead 23-11 before the Clovers rallied some as Neese had three points in the final part of the match, but it was not enough as the Panthers prevailed 25-16 to complete the sweep.

“I was proud of the girls, we kept working and were able to be better in the final game. We are still pretty young and excited for the future. We hope to get some more kids out next year,” Glassburn said.