BATTLING THE BEST: State-ranked West hands Lady Cubs defeat
GRANDVIEW – Forced to face two of the best Class 3A teams in the state back-to-back, the Clifton Lady Cubs found out where they want to be as the 12th-ranked West Lady Trojans prevailed in straight sets in a District 17-3A clash Tuesday at Clifton High School Gymnasium.
“West was a very good team defensively and offensively,” said Clifton volleyball’s head coach Paige Poth with the Lady Cubs coming off a hard-fought loss to eighth-ranked Maypearl last week. “As a team, we kept our errors to a minimum. But we needed to put a ball away offensively, and put up more block defensively.
After West (4-0 in district, 28-4 overall) posted a dominating 25-5 victory in the first set, the Lady Cubs (2-2, 15-14) bounced back and battled before falling 25-17 in the second set. The Lady Trojans took control in the third set to put Clifton away, 25-12.
“We had a number of good rallies that we ended up winning, and I was happy with the girls finishing those plays and winning them. We just have to come out very strong and fight to the finish.”
Now, the Lady Cubs will attempt to halt their two-game skid when they travel to Grandview today to take on the Lady Zebras (1-3, 14-11) at 4:30 p.m.
“As for Grandview, we have to again refocus and make this game a priority over any other as of right now,” Poth said. “Practice has to be the place we fix what needs to be fixed and move forward and get out there and play our best game.”
The power-packed District 17-3A will also feature a showdown between co-leaders as West visits eighth-ranked Maypearl (4-0 in district, 25-6 overall). In other district action, Keene (1-3, 3-13) plays at Whitney (3-1, 24-10), and Harmony Science Academy (0-4) travels to Rio Vista (1-3, 11-12).
“I honestly believe that the district will be a fight to the finish,” Poth said. “I think every team will match up and put up a good fight. We have to keep the mentality that the next game, whoever our opponent is, is the most important game.”
Photos by SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS
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