Eagles Volleyball Team Proves Hard to Beat
Article and Photo submitted by Max Miesso
Twelve matches into the season, the Clark State Eagles Volleyball team is proving hard to beat. Sitting at 8-4 on the season, Coach Angie Arthur's team is full of energy and is fun to watch. They are also pretty good, too!
They opened their season at 3-0, beating Hocking College, Boyce College, and Kent State Tuscarawas all in straight sets. The Eagles held their opponents to an average of 14 points per set during this dominant stretch. Led by freshman Laney Mills, who had 39 digs across the first three matches, the Eagles welcomed Terra State to their gym to try to remain undefeated. The first set was a nail-biter, but the Eagles were defeated 25-22 to end their streak of nine consecutive won sets. The second set played out similarly, very close, but the Eagles went down 2-0 after losing the second set 25-21. Clark State's #7 Hannah Walls led the team with 7 points and six kills, but the Eagles lost the third set 25-14, and suffered their first defeat of the season.
They finished their brief road trip with a double-header against UC Clermont. After opening the season with three straight wins and victories in nine consecutive sets, the Eagles lost the first game of the doubleheader 3-0. Despite a great effort in the second set that ended in a 24-26, the Eagles had now lost six sets in a row. In game, two of the doubleheader, Madyson Brittingham and the rest of the Eagles showed incredible resiliency. It was a highly contested battle throughout. Brittingham led the team with 12 kills and an impressive .400 kill percentage. Allison DeWitt also put up a fantastic effort worth 10.5 points. The Eagles stopped their losing streak by winning the first set 25-22, and then reversed the result of game 1's second set, winning this time 26-24. Up 2-0, the Eagles just needed to win the third set to win the match and get back on the right track. It was an incredible back and forth battle that saw momentum swing to either side of the net multiple times, but the Eagles were able to pull out an amazing victory, 29-27. That sealed up a win for them and pushed their record on the season to 4-2.
Following that, the ladies swept through the Magic Volleyball club in three sets, never giving up more than 15 points, and took care of business in a back and forth matchup with Hocking College. The Eagles won that game 3-1, benefitting from a standout performance from Chloe Castillo with15 digs to go with three aces. Allison DeWitt and Kate Kennedy put together stellar efforts as well, earning 13 kills and 10 kills respectively.
The Eagles then faced the Terra State Titans in back to back games and were decisively swept in both games. Laney Mills did very well in those two games, with 28 digs and Madyson Brittingham earned 13 points. However, the Eagles were held under 18 points in four of the six sets, and fell to 0-3 against Terra State, without a single set win against the Titans.
Trinity Cline and her teammates looked to right the ship against UC Clermont, and were given something of a rude introduction. They lost the first set 25-16, then dropped the second set 25-22. Down 0-2 and in danger of losing a third straight game for the first time all season, the Eagles turned things around. Set 3 was a close one, the lead switched hands often and neither team could pull away. But Trinity Cline, who had eight kills on the day, helped seal it and the Eagles won set 3 25-22. Set 4 was a similar story, but the Eagles stayed focused and were able to find the perfect balance of aggressive and fundamentally sound. They won set 4 25-21, and with that, forced a winner-take-all 5th set to 15. Laney Mills put up 19 more digs throughout the game, and Hannah Walls put down 13 more kills. In the end the Eagles put together a fantastic and memorable come-from-behind effort to win set five and with it the match. Down 0-2, Coach Arthur's team played near perfect volleyball to win three straight sets.
Riding the momentum from that well-earned victory, Clark State breezed through the Magic Volleyball Club once more to push their record to 8-4 (set record 24-15).
Next up on the schedule is a team that has proven to be the Eagles' kryptonite. Through three matches with Terra State, the Lady Eagles are 0-3, not having won a single set. Nevertheless, the girls have shown remarkable resilience, and there is no reason to believe that they cannot play with Terra State. Come find out on Wednesday, March 10 at 5:30 p.m. in Clark State's gym!