Coming off a sweep at Alden last Thursday, the JV girls downed host Mankato Loyola on Monday.
The Crusaders hung round game one until the midway point. At the net, Kaitlyn Flowers uncoiled a winner, and Jocelyn Kortuem served an ace to put the Clippers in front 15-11. Solid down the stretch with a 6-point run that included a trio of Amelia Chmiel ace serves, the Clippers won 25-16 on a Flowers kill.
The Crusaders were in front 5-0 early in game two before serving into the net. They extended their lead 9-1 on an ace serve and three Clipper flubs.
But with a pair of Cheyenne Lotspeich ace tips, the Clippers jump started their offense. Anna Lamont running parallel to the net, sent over a kill, and Chmiel served an ace to put the Clippers within four, 13-9.
Later, trailing 18-11, the Clippers rallied with a Maile Meissner ace tip, a Loyola hit into the net and a Kortuem ace serve. With Lamont mixing up hits and tips, Flowers and Lotspeich serving aces, it was pretty much all Clippers from there as they outscored the Crusaders 12-3. The game ended 25-21 when Lotspeich followed a Lamont kill with an ace serve.
The Clippers trailed 9-8 when time ran out of the game three.
With seven kills, Lamont led the offense. Flowers had four kills. Meissner swung for two kills as did Keira Schipper and Liviana Lee. Blaschko added one kill.
Kortuem set for 13 assists. Lamont had a pair of set assists. Chmiel had one set assist.
Valentina Rohlfing scooped eight digs. Chmiel, Kortuem and Flowers each had six digs. Lotspeich scraped four digs. Lamont had two digs, and Blaschko had one dig.
Lee and Kortuem shared a block.
Chmiel served five aces. Flowers and Lotspeich each served four aces. Kortuem dispatched two aces, and Aubrey Blaschko served one ace.
In Alden on Thursday, the Clippers got off to a good start in game one with a pair of Kortuem ace serves and two Knight errors to lead 4-0. But with the Clippers up 6-4 after a Meissner kill followed by a Flowers service ace, the Knights surged for the next five points before Meissner stopped the rally with an ace tip.
The Clippers gave up the next three points before a line infraction and a Lamont kill put them within three, 12-9, but the Knights scored six of the next eight points. After a Flowers ace tip, the Clippers were behind 18-12.
Down the stretch, Lamont tipped over a winner for Cleveland point 15, but the Clipper offense couldn’t produce much else, and the game ended 25-17 when the Clippers tipped the ball into the net,
Game two was all Alden-Conger for the first six points. A Flowers tip got the Clippers on the scoreboard. Meissner, Lamont and Schipper hit for kills, but the Knights led 10-6 and didn’t let up.
Behind 21-10, the Clippers rallied for seven of the next eight points, including ace serves off the hands of Chmiel and Lotspeich, but after a kill, the Knights led 23-17. Meissner slapped down a winner from there, but the Clippers were too far back and fell 25-19 on a hit into the net.
Game three was all Knights, who limited the Clippers to five points, with the only winners coming from ace tips by Liviana Lee and Lotspeich. The gamed ended 15-5 after a Knight kill.
Lammont spiked for five winners. Meissner had five kills, and Flowers totaled three kills. Schipper had two kills. Lee, Kortuem, Lotspeich and Evelyn Keltgen each had one kill.
Lotspeich set up 10 points, and Kortuem set up eight. Rohlfing assisted on two points.
Rohlfing led the defense with a dozen digs. Flowers had 11 digs. Lotspeich had six digs. Chmiel and Lamont each had three digs. Blaschko, Kortuem and Meissner had one dig.
Lotspeich and Kortuem each served two aces. Flowers launched one ace serve.
The Clipper JV girls went on to beat Nicollet on Thursday. (see upcoming story).
Above: Keira Schipper in hand-to-hand combat with a Loyola defender
