Second Year Veterans Elevate Eagles

Article submitted by Max Miesse | Photo courtesy of Max Miesse

In a two-year athletic program, the turnover rate is incredibly high, and finding reliable leadership within the team can be difficult. This year though, Head Coach Angie Arthur and the Clark State Volleyball team have been lucky. The three sophomores on the team, Chloe Castillo, Alyssa Blanke and Allison DeWitt; have proven themselves to be more than just returning players. They are leaders both among their team and in the box scores.

This week, the Eagles played three matches, and it was a tough slate. Coming back home with a three-match losing streak, Clark State was looking to get right against Miami University Hamilton. Sophomore Allison DeWitt led the team with a stellar 14 point performance, and Chloe Castillo racked up 10 digs on the way to an Eagles' victory in a three-set sweep. Clark State seemed to take out some of their frustration on the Harriers, allowing them to score just seven points in the second game and 41 in the three-set match.

Following that get-right match was a matchup with the Terra State Titans, perhaps the best team in the conference and a top team in the Nation. Their previous matchup ended with a 3-0 Titans victory where the Eagles could only muster up six points in the final set. Progress was made in the re-match, but unfortunately the end result was similar. The home crowd was incredibly lively, and there was an awesome level of intensity throughout the match, but the Titans walked away with another 3-0 victory. This time though the Eagles never scored less than 13, and kept things close throughout much of the match. The Titans' Olivia Materni, who was selected OCCAC Player of The Week earlier in the season, put up 19.5 points in the victory, while Lindsey Brayton led the Eagles with 10 points. Allison DeWitt put up 10 digs, while the team leader in that category, Chloe Castillo contributed seven digs of her own. Following that sweep, the Eagles have either swept or been swept in eight of their 12 matches.

Most recently, Clark State traveled to Lorain County Community College, and played in an absolute nail biter. Unfortunately, we don't have the individual stats, but we do have the game scores. This match consisted of four sets, and none were decided by more than seven, with two of them having less than a four-point gap between the winner and the loser. Set one went to the Eagles by the slimmest of margins, 25-23. The Clark State girls couldn't hold serve and came up short in the second set, but just barely at 20-25. Set three was a similar story, but even more gut-wrenching as the Eagles fell 22-25. Back-to-back 'by a nose' losses will take the wind out of anyone's sails, but Clark State kept fighting all the way to the end. Set four ended 18-25 in favor of Lorain County. The overall score of the match was 85-98, and Lorain County won three sets to one.

Losses like that can often stick with you more than the blowouts, but the Eagles will have a chance to avenge themselves this coming Wednesday against Edison State Community College. In their only other matchup this season, Edison won 3-1. Clark State now sits at 4-8 overall with 12 games remaining. Their next game, the re-match with Edison, is set for tonight, September 29 at 6 p.m. in the Clark State gymnasium. All are welcome to attend!