Lions fall to FC in Class 3A Regional play

CL ends season with 10-19 record

by Marianne Gasaway

Forest City (21-9) ended the Lions’ volleyball season in three hotly contested sets Wednesday night.  The Indians advanced in Class 3A Regional play Monday night, Oct. 19, by scores of 25-20, 25-15, 25-21.

“While the outcome wasn’t what we wanted, I felt like we battled hard.  At the end of the day, that is all I expect as a coach,” said Heather Johnson, wrapping up her initial season. “My whole goal at the beginning of the year was getting 1 percent better every day and I believe we did that this season.”

The Lions showed their improvement in several aspects of the game.  Notably, the Lion defense recorded nine blocks in the match.  Katelyn VanderPloeg had two solo blocks and three assists, while Delaney Eden made two block assists to go with her two solo stops.

Clear Lake also served well as a team with 98.5 percent success.  Jaden Ainley was a leader at the service line, going 12/12.  Ashlyn Fread and Chelsey Holck were each 11/11 in the match.  Ainley also paced the team in digs with 11, while Fread had 10 assists.

Offensively, Xada Johnson put down 11 kills for the Lions.  Emily Theiss, Eden and Holck each had two.

“I want to thank the seniors, in particular, for helping build the foundation of our progress this year.  They will be missed next year, but we will see the impact they have made for years to come,” added the coach.

The program says goodbye to seven seniors: Sophia Ollenburg, Ali Maulsby, Delaney Eden, Chelsey Holck, Kaitlyn VanderPloeg, Dani Mennenga, Kaley Meyer and manager Zoe Fasbender.

Clear Lake ended its season with a record of 10-19.