Story and Photos by Rusty Ellis
The Clarkrange Lady Buffaloes took down York Institute in the first-ever volleyball meeting between the two schools on Monday 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-18).
Clarkrange’s experience showed early, as they took an 11-4 lead early in the first set. The Lady Dragons battled back throughout the set however, cutting the deficit down to just a single point multiple times within the frame. CHS closed the deal late however, taking the opening set 25-22.
York opened the second frame just as they did the first by winning the first point, but Clarkrange quickly took control and won the second set by a wide margin of 25-16.
The Lady Dragons battled to the end of the third set, but the Lady Buffaloes took home the victory 25-18 for a 3-0 sweep.
Opening the season with a district win is always a good thing, as CHS head coach Cindy Stowers liked a lot of what she saw from her team to start the year.
“This was a big game for the first one,” Stowers said. “We were a little nervous, so we had to work those jitters out.We just really need to work on minimizing our mistakes, and let the other team make theirs’.”
The game occurred in front of a large crowd, likely one of the biggest that either team will play in front of this year. For a game this early in the year to have a postseason atmosphere, Stowers believes that will help her team get on a roll earlier in the campaign.
“It was a great opportunity for us to play at this intensity,” Stowers said. “For this to be the first team we’ve ever played, this was a great crowd. They’ll be a really tough team to play again later in the year.”
It wasn’t a perfect first match, as Stowers pointed out many things she wants to see this team improve. Most notably, she wants to see better performances in the serving point.
“We can’t keep serving the ball out,” Stowers said. “The adrenaline was pumping, and they just needed to bring it down and play their game. Hopefully, we can do a little bit better with that and with hitting.”
