Struggles continue for Clear Lake volleyball team

(Above) Senior Kaitlyn VanderPloeg was a team leader in several catergories Tuesday night.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

by Michelle Watson

The Clear Lake volleyball team struggled through the week with a disappointing loss to Webster City followed by a tournament at Mason City where they were unable to win even one set.

Webster City 3, Clear Lake 2

The Lions had their moments when Webster City (11-12) came to town on Tuesday, Oct. 6, but unfortunately the Lynx pulled out the 3-2 victory.

“It was a very tough loss in five sets for us,” said Coach Heather Johnson.  “We came out on fire for Senior Night and just couldn’t sustain it.”

Things were looking bright for Clear Lake as they won the first set, 25-13.  Webster City rallied and took the next two sets, 25-14 and 25-17.  The Lions stayed alive with a 25-21 win in the fourth set, before the Lynx ended it with a 15-7 victory.

“I was happy that we fought back and brought the match into a fifth set, but it was disappointed with the outcome.  I was expecting to win that match because I believe in this team, but I can still see some doubt in my players,” said Johnson.

Kaitlyn VanderPloeg had a huge night on both offense and defense.  She recorded 21 kills and four blocked shots.  Also having a stellar night was Delaney Eden with 12 kills and Ashlyn Fread had 28 assists and she was 21/22 from the service line with three aces.  Ali Maulsby led the defense with 14 digs, while Sophie Ollenburg had 12.  Ollenburg was 14/14 from the service line with one ace, while Maulsby was 14/15 with one ace.

“While the result wasn’t what we wanted, I feel extremely lucky to have this group of seniors.  They were my first group to coach at the seventh grade level here at Clear Lake and it’s not a coincidence that they are my first varsity group to coach.  I have loved seeing them grow throughout the years both on and off the court,” said Johnson.

Seniors on the team include Ollenburg, Maulsby, Eden, Chelsey Holck, VanderPloeg, Dani Mennenga and Kaley Meyer.

Mason City Tournament

The Lions traveled to a tournament in Mason City on Saturday, Oct. 10.

The team opened the day against Cen

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tral Springs (13-9).  The Panthers topped the Lions with scores of 21-9 and 21-11.   

“We really struggled in our first match of the day and unfortunately we just couldn’t get ourselves out of it,” said Coach Heather Johnson.

Next up was a talented Osage team (23-2), who topped the Lions, 21-15 and 21-5.  The Lions faced another tough foe in Humboldt (29-1).  The Wildcats won with scores of 21-5 and 21-18.  The Lions had a fighting chance against Mason City (4-14), but still fell, 21-18 and 21-14.    The last game was against Waverly-Shell Rock (30-8) who won with scores of 21-9 and 21-10.

“I feel like we learned a lot and we had times of playing great throughout the day,” said Johnson.  “Our challenge is to find our level of flow and maintain our communication at all times, because that is something that we completely have control of.”

Highlights of the tournament were Chelsey Holck serving 100 percent on the day.  Ali Maulsby had over 25 assists on the day and Jaden Ainley had over 20 digs and averaged just under five digs per game.  Delaney Eden averaged three kills per match.

Coach Johnson said the team has been struggling with their lineup, after having a few athletes just returning after two weeks of COVID quarantine.  Kaitlyn VanderPloeg suffered an ankle injury during the tournament.

“Line-up changes has been a theme this year.  We are trying really hard to reframe all the injuries and COVID related stuff as a challenge instead of a burden.  We still have lots of volleyball to play this season with two matches and a tournament left.  I know we learned something over the weekend and we can translate that into the next match,” said Johnson.

The team kicks off the Class 3A - Region 5 volleyball tournament on Monday, Oct. 19.  The Lions face Forest City (15-7) at Forest City at 7 p.m.

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