Falling to host Alden-Conger 3-2 by the minimum 2-points in what for all intents and purposes was the Valley Conference championship on Thursday, it’s easy for the Clippers to dwell over a lost point here or there in game five.
But head coach Dave Nixon said the turning point was the game before that, when the Clippers, who had bounced back after losing the first set to lead 2-1, eased up on the attack, sending over uncertain hits the Knights could too easily prop up and return for winners.
“After talking about being aggressive, we were not aggressive enough with our attacking. When we were swinging hard and aggressively, we were getting kills. When we were getting shots and tipping; we were not getting kills. After point-out third set, we talked a lot about stay aggressive, swing, swing, swing. But we were a little tentative, and that helped (the Knights) build their confidence.”
An Ava Hahn kill was the first point of the rubber game, but peppering the Clipper back row with four-straight kills followed by a hit that caromed off the hands of the Clipper front row, the Knights took a 5-1 lead.
The Clippers didn’t roll over though, and will Hahn kills, worked their way back to knot the game 11-11.
On another hit, Alden-Conger got the lead right back, but Hahn hit back-to-back-kills for a 13-12 advantage.
“That was our opportunity,” Nixon said.
The next point set the tone though. While Hahn sent over three hits, the Knights managed to dig them up and then scored on a kill. Hitting out of bounds on the next point, the Clippers trailed 14-13, but the front row couldn’t handle a Hahn hit, and it was even again at 14.
The ensuing Clipper serve crashed into the net before the Knights punctuated the match with a kill.
“Alden-Conger played great,” Nixon said. “Their middle had a heck of a match. She had 22 kills. AT the end, she was getting kills to her right, and we were not adjusting the block enough to take away her go-to shot. And then when we finally did, she countered to hitting from her left to our right back. We couldn’t defend her enough.”
The Knights jumped out to a 4-0 game one lead, mostly on Clipper miss-hits. Melia Sathoff’s kill lit up the Clipper side of the scoreboard, but the Knights responded with a pair of kills and an ace tip for an 8-1 advantage.
The Clippers hung around, but the game ended 25-19 when the Clippers socked the ball into the net.
But game two was a different story as the Clippers bewildered the Knights with the first eight points, which featured three Anika Sathoff kills, a Hahn ace roll and a Savannah Meyer ace serve.
With blocking by Jocelyn Bartell and Taylor McCabe, the Clippers extended their lead. Trailing 24-12, the Knights swung for a couple of kills and sent over a serve the Clippers watch drop to the floor, but the game ended 25-15 when the Knights stuck the ball into the webbing.
Game three swung back and forth. Maya Lasiter’s diagonal kill evened the score 5-5. Melia Sathoff’s hit put the Clippers in front 11-7, but the Knights came up with a pair of ace serves and a kill for an 11-11 tie.
With the Clippers trailing by two, 21-19, Anika Sathoff slapped a kill, and Ava Hahn smacked two winners in a four-point spurt that put the Clippers in front 24-21. From there, the Knights hit for a winner, but Hahn’s kill canceled it for game point Cleveland, but the Knights hit two more winners for a 24-24 stalemate.
But after a kill, Anika Sathoff airmailed a deep serve that rolled up on a Knight defender, and the Clippers took a 2-1 lead with a 26-24 victory, evoking memories of 2022, when the Clippers lost the first match but came back to win the next three.
But trailing 7-6 in game four, the Knights scored eight of the next nine points, mostly with hits, and never looked back. The game ended 25-18 on an ace tip.
“They kept enough balls off the floor to get opportunities,” Nixon said. “We can learn from this to know we’ve got to keep on the gas. In that fourth set, when we have the opportunity to swing, we’ve got to keep swinging and not be afraid of the block.”
Hahn racked up 32 kills, scooped 25 digs and served one ace.
Meyer had 24 digs, five set assists and two ace serves.
Melia Sathoff had 11 kills, two block assists, four digs and one ace serve.
Anika Sathoff had 10 kills, four digs, one set assist and three ace serves.
Sophie Perkins set for 51 points. She also had 16 digs, two kills and four block assists
Maya Lassiter had two block assists, one dig and one ace serve.
Jocelyn Bartell had four block assists, one solo block, one kill and one dig.
Lacey McCabe had four digs.
Luci Blaschko had seven digs.
Taylor McCabe had three kills, two block assists, one set assist and seven digs.
The Knights beat Cleveland in Cleveland last year to also win the Valley Conference. The Clippers travel to Mankato Loyola today (Monday), for a Dig ’n Pink night.
Above: Taylor McCabe readies for a pass. Beside her are Sophie Perkins and Melia Sathoff.
