After losing a close game one to visiting Martin County West on Thursday, the C girls lost direction and fell to the Mavericks 2-0.
Off to a flat start, the Clippers allowed MCW three ace serves to start game one. Liviana Lee’s push into an open slot of Maverick floor got the Clippers on the board, 4-1, but they lost the next three points to trail by six.
With her team behind 9-4, Clara Hilfer provided an ace serve. With back-to-back Madison Wollschlager service aces followed by a Hilfer kill, the Clippers were finally open for business, only down by two, 11-9.
From there, the Clippers won eight of the next ten points, including ace pushes off the hands of Sierra Lotspeich and Mattea Grandaw, an Isabel Duron ace serve and a Lee kill, to take an 18-13 lead.
But the Mavericks capitalized on a trio of Clipper flubs to pull within two, 18-16. Lotspeich sent over an ace, and a MCW player got caught in the net, but after four-straight Clipper blunders, the score stalemated at 20.
Down the stretch, Lotspeich uncoiled for a kill as did Cassidy Otto, and Wollschlager scored from the service line for a 24-23 Orange & Black advantage, but the Clippers couldn’t finish, and after a missed Cleveland serve, the Mavericks tipped over an ace before they won the game 26-24 when the Clippers couldn’t prop up a serve into the front court.
Losing the close game must have taken the wind out of the Clippers’ sail in game two because they fell by a landslide, 25-8. Winning overs came from Lotspeich and Lee and an Ava Kluntz ace block.
In a for-practice game three, the score was tied 10-10 when time ran out.
Lotspeich led the offense with seven kills. Lee had four. Hilfer swung for three kills. Duron, Kluntz, Grandaw and Otto each chipped in one kill.
Duron set for 10 points. Lotspeich had to set assists.
Libero Taylor Wolf scooped 16 digs. Hilfer had seven digs. Grandaw had six digs. Duron scraped two digs.
Hilfer and Wollschlager each served three aces. Duron had one ace serve.
The C Clippers will look to up their game when they travel to Madelia on Tuesday.
Above: Sierra Lotspeich follows through on a hit.
