Lions face tough competition on the court

[caption id="attachment_12736" align="alignleft" width="270"] JESSICA FABER[/caption]

Charles City and Mason City provided some stiff competition for the Clear Lake volleyball team Thursday.Perennial power Charles City, currently ranked eighth in Class 4A, blanked the Lions, 3-0, but the team played a much closer match with Mason City before falling, 2-3.

“It was a rough night for us,” said Coach Keith Sears.  “It was a great challenge to start the night facing a strong Charles City team that forced us to work a bit quicker than we’ve been used to.  It was an eye opener for our girls as to the speed and sense of urgency that we need entering into games.”

In the first match at Charles City the home team won by scores of 25-13, 25-11 and 25-11.  The Comettes went on to also shut out the Mohawks, 3-0 (25-11, 25-9, 25-14).

Against Mason City, the Lions fought back in the first set to capture the win, 26-24.  The battle was close in the second game as well, with the Lions coming away with a 25-22 win.

[caption id="attachment_12737" align="alignleft" width="270"] CHLOE MUELLER[/caption]

“In the third and fourth sets we started off with poor serve receptions and dug ourselves into a hole that we couldn’t quite climb out of,” said Coach Sears.  The Mohawks evened the games with wins of 25-13, 25-13.

In the rubber match the Lions pulled out the victory, 15-11.

Statistical leaders for the Lions in the triangular included Jessica Faber, who was an amazing 27/27 from the service line.   Emily Snelling led the team with three kills and Chloe Mueller topped the Lions with 33 digs.

“The girls worked hard and battled throughout the night.  It was a good learning experience for us and challenged us to pick up our pace a little earlier than we were used to,” added Coach Sears.