Posting first postseason win in 20 years, Class 3A Clifton Lady Cubs slams past Palmer in Bi-District match after advancing to the playoffs for the third straight season
Carrying confidence and momentum into the Class 3A volleyball state postseason tournament, the Clifton Lady Cubs accomplished something that hadn’t been achieved in 20 years – win a playoff game.
Led by senior Brianna Gonzalez and Kate Humphreys along with freshman Brystel Wise, the Lady Cubs surged to an impressive four-set victory over the Palmer Lady Bulldogs, 25-23, 18-25, 25-16, 25-13, in a Bi-District playoff showdown Oct. 30 in Hillsboro. Despite earning a playoff berth for the third straight season, Clifton won its first postseason match since advancing to the Regional Semifinals in 2003.
“I was so pleased with our performance against Palmer, and I’m so happy for all the girls, especially our seniors,” Clifton volleyball head coach Joy Holzmann said. “We have worked all year long to get to this championship. This is one of the goals that we set at the beginning of the year. We wanted to be Bi-District champions, and I’m so glad this team got to experience the championship.”
Against Palmer (18-17), Gonzalez led the Lady Cubs (25-16) with 12 kills, followed by Wise with 10, and Humphreys with nine, while junior Brylee Heim added five kills, and junior Camy Barsh contributed four. With freshman Madison Otter spreading out the offense, senior Laylah Gaona finished with a 2.2 passing along with 11 digs.
With little time to celebrate the history-making playoff win, the Lady Cubs advanced to the Area round where the Troy Lady Trojans eliminated Clifton in straight sets, 25-9, 26-24, 25-17, Nov. 2 in China Spring.
“For the Troy match, we just couldn’t get anything going offensively,” Holzmann said. “Troy served us very aggressively, and that kept us from passing the ball consistently to get our offense going.
“I was very proud of our seniors, because they all had a great match. Another difference in the match is Troy had experience of playing at that level for an Area Championship, and we haven’t had the same experience unfortunately. It’s coming though.”
Winning four of their last five matches and building some momentum heading into the Class 3A Texas high school volleyball postseason tournament, Clifton knocked off the Class 4A playoff-bound Gatesville Lady Hornets in a playoff warm-up match Oct. 27. Giving the Lady Cubs confidence going into the postseason, Clifton went on the road to test their mettle and came home with a hard-fought, yet convincing four-set victory over Gatesville, 26-24, 15-25, 25-14, 25-20.
With Otter spreading out the Lady Cub offense, Wise smashed a team-high 11 kills, followed by Humphreys with nine, junior Brylee Heim with six and Barsh with four kills, while Gaona delivered five service aces along with leading the defense, sophomore Addison Martin filled in admirably for the injured Gonzalez.
“We did a great job against Gatesville on Friday,” Holzmann said. “I was very pleased with our overall performance. The girls came out ready to play with a lot of intensity at the start of the match, and it continued throughout all four sets. Winning this match is a great way to go into Monday’s Bi-District match against Palmer.”
As the standard-raising season came to an end, Holzmann said goodbye to her four seniors– Kate Humphreys, Layla Gaona, Brianna Gonzalez and Alyssa Santillan – who each played an instrumental part of restoring the Clifton volleyball program to its winning ways.
“We will be losing four great players with a lot of experience and leadership,” Holzmann said. “As I mentioned before, I wish I could have coached them all four years because they are very talented and are great in the classroom. I’m so, so proud of all of them for all their hard work and accomplishments this year.”
After spending the last 14 years coaching at Irving Nimitz, Holzmann returned to Clifton for her second stint as the Lady Cub head coach this season.
“I think the season this year was great,” Holzmann said. “We started a little slow just getting to know the girls and the girls developing a chemistry. We kept getting better and better as the year went along. We made several goals for the season and we accomplished almost all of them.
“I’m super proud of winning 25 matches, which is not easy to do. And I’m super proud of the dedication, determination and hard work of all the girls. Of course, breaking the 20-year drought by winning a Bi-District Championship is also a great accomplishment for these young ladies. I’m super proud of everything that they have accomplished this year.”
Photos by SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS
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