Eagles Get Knocked Around On Rough Road Trip

Submitted by Max Miess | Photo Credit: Max Miess

The Clark State volleyball team will be back home this Tuesday, September 21 after playing their last four matches on the road, and they will certainly be glad to be back. The road was not kind to the Eagles this past week. They saw a tough schedule and their opponents showed up to play.

Starting off against Hocking College, the girls worked their strengths and played strong volleyball, pulling a 3-1 victory.

Following that, the Eagles opened up their first match against conference rival and volleyball powerhouse Terra State. At this point in the season, Terra State is demolishing all challengers with a 19-2 record. Unfortunately they treated Clark State no differently. Across a 3 match sweep, the Eagles were held under 16 points in each match, and were only able to put up 6 points in the third match. It was a tough match against an incredibly high quality opponent.

The only other team that is in the same stratosphere as Terra State's volleyball club is Owens. And that's exactly who Clark State was set to face next. The Owens Express is 14-5 at this point in the season and are expected to duke it out with Terra State all season for the conference title.

In their first matchup back on September 11, Clark State hung with them, but couldn't quite get over the hump. A three match sweep, but one that saw the Eagles put up 17 points in Match One and 19 points in Match Three. This time around, in Owens' home gym, it was a similar story. Match One saw Clark State hang tough, staying in it down to the wire but ultimately coming up short 19-25. In Match two and Match three, the Eagles stayed tough and certainly didn't roll over, but they couldn't keep pace. They lost those matches 13-25 and 15-25 respectively to complete their second three match sweep at the hands of the top ranked Owens Express.

Saturday was a doubleheader for Clark State, and they had to quickly shake off that loss and get back out on the floor to take on Muskegon Community College. The Jayhawks, traveling all the way from the West coast of Michigan, are enjoying a great season, with only one loss on the books. But when you travel that far, it can be easy to come off the bus flat. That was not the case for Muskegon. They held the Eagles to 25 points total across the first two matches. In Match Three, with their backs against the wall, Clark State fought hard. It came down the wire, but ultimately their efforts came up just short as they lost 22-25.

Head Coach Angie Arthur's team returns to Clark County with a 3-6 record, having lost nine matches in a row and 15 of their last 20. But this is a resilient group of young women with an experienced coach. Their upcoming game on Tuesday vs. Miami University Hamilton is a chance to right the ship. There are still 15 matches left on the schedule including seven conference matchups. We'll just have to see how it all unfolds.