Lions defeat Bulldogs

(Above) Jaden Ainley returns a hit during the Hampton-Dumont meet .  Also pictured is Sara Faber.  -Photo courtesy of Kristi Nixon, Mid-America Publishing

by Marianne Gasaway

Clear Lake notched a North Central Conference victory on the volleyball court Tuesday night.  The Lions topped Hampton-Dumont in four games, 27-25, 25-14, 20-25 and 25-16.  Clear Lake is now 7-12 overall and 1-4 in the NCC.

“We showed up ready to play on Tuesday,” said Coach Richie Ellis.  “Our offense was really clicking and it showed with 44 kills on the night.”

Delaney Eden and Julia Merfeld were an unstoppable team, with Merfeld setting up Eden for 20 kills.   

“It was fun to see them play well together and having fun,” added the coach.

Merfeld finished with 25 assists and 14 digs and went 26/28 at the service line with four aces.

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Twenty was a popular number in the match, as Sara Faber had 20 digs to go with her eight kills and 8/9 serving.  Sophie Ollenburg also had 20 digs.  Kaitlyn Vanderploeg also had eight kills and was a perfect 12/12 serving.

Eden and Vanderploeg led the team in blocks with three and two respectively.

C-G-D 3, CL 0

Clarion-Goldfield-Dows showed why they are leading the conference when they hosted the Lions Thursday, Sept. 26.  The Cowgirls hog-tied Clear Lake, 25-14, 25-11, 25-15.

“Clarion is a top notch team with a Division 1 player on their team,” said Coach Ellis.  “We were not at our best this night.”

The Cowgirls successfully kept the Lions on defense with outstanding serves.

“Our serve receive was not the best, which had us scrambling for points and sending free balls back to their potent offense,” said Ellis.  “Against teams of this caliber, we can not get aced 16 times to be able to compete.”

Meanwhile the Lions struggled at the service line, putting in 90 percent of their attempts.  Sara Faber and Kennedy Kallenbach were the exceptions, going 8/8 and 6/6.  The Lions got aces from Delaney Eden, Julia Merfeld and Kaitlyn Vanderploeg.  Eden also recorded two blocks.

Eden and Vanderploeg each had four kills for their team.  Merfeld was credited with 16 assists and eight digs.

“We have a lighter schedule down the stretch here, so hopefully we can take the extra practice time to fine tune some things,” said Coach Ellis.

Lions fans have a chance to cheer on their team this week, as Clear Lake will host Forest City on Thursday, Oct. 3.  They resume NCC play on Thursday, Oct. 10, when Iowa Falls-Alden comes to town.

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