Above: Senior Maddy Steen watches her hit glide over the net. Covering it is Taylin Gosch.
Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial led for most of the first game, but the Clipper varsity girls came from behind for the victory and then easily won the next two games to sweep the host Knights 3-0 on Tuesday.
It was the last regular-season game for the Clippers. Section seeding comes out on Wednesday.
Mostly on Clipper errors, the Knights jumped out to an 8-2 start in game one.
“I don’t know what happened there,” said Emily Kern, who ended up tormenting the Knights with a dozen kills, five ace blocks, 17 digs and five service aces. “We weren’t tired, but didn’t expect them to come out like that, so we were kind of shocked.”
Kern’s back-to-back ace serves were the first winners for the Clippers, but LCWM still led 12-6. Ava Hahn’s attack was the first kill for the Clippers and the start of a four-point surge that featured an Emma Sweere service ace and ended on another Hahn kill that pulled the Clippers within three, 14-11.
While the Clippers got their attack going from there, the Knights did an excellent job digging it up. But Hahn managed another pair of kills to keep the Clippers within four. After the Knights sent a serve out of bounds, Kern posted an ace block, and Taylin Gosch scored on a back-row kill to knot the game at 20. With the Kern ace serve that followed, the Clippers took a lead they would never surrender.
Kern hammered down a backwards Gosch set for Clipper point 23. After a Clipper hit into the net, Harley Connor spiked a winner, and the game ended 25-23 when the Knights smashed the ball into the net.
Grayce Kortuem’s ace block was the first point of game two. With the Clippers up 2-1, Hahn slapped down a winner, and Kern followed an ace block with an ace tip and then completed the trifecta with an ace serve that quickly put the Clippers up 6-1.
The Clippers never lost control, and after a Kern kill and a Gosch ace tip, the game ended 25-13 when the Knights dispatched a hit over the boundary stripe.
“Once we started getting up in the second game, I knew we could finish it,” Kern said.
The Knights scored the first two points of game three but then hit into the net. From there, Kern angled a hit to the floor and followed it up with a service ace for a lead the Clippers would retain to the end. A Kortuem kill was Clipper point 23, a Hahn kill was Clipper point 24, and the game and match ended 25-20 after another Kortuem hit.
Hahn pasted nine kills, walled up four ace blocks and gathered four digs. Kortuem and Connor each zapped three kills. Gosch handed off 29 assists and had a pair of ace blocks, five digs and four kills. Sweere lifted a baker’s dozen digs. Greta Hahn scraped nine digs, Savannah Meyer scratched out four digs, and Jordyn Klingel winched up two digs.
Kern is hoping the Clippers will have at least one home game in section play and maybe two.
A LCWM defender got a hand on this Ava Hahn hit, but the freshman was effective with nine kills.
Greta Hahn hoists up an LCWM serve.
Libero Emma Sweere deflects a serve.
Emily Kern gets low for a scoop. Behind her is Emma Sweere.
Jordyn Klingel watches her hit glide over the net. Covering is Savannah Meyer.
Taylin Gosch steps out of her setting role for a hit.