FACING THE TROJAN HORSE

In shocking District 17-3A upset, 25th-ranked Clifton Lady Cubs fall in heartbreaking five-set thriller at Troy to snap eight-match win streak; host McGregor on Senior Night Tuesday

Facing the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season, the Class 3A Clifton Lady Cubs lost a heartbreaking five-set match on the road to the Troy Lady Trojans in a key District 17-3A matchup last Friday evening.

After dropping the first two sets, the Lady Cubs rallied for force a fifth-set tiebreaker, but it proved to be too little, too late as Troy upset Class 3A’s 25th-ranked Clifton, 25-13, 25-21, 21-25, 20-25, 15-12, to snap an eight-match winning streak.

“In the match against Troy, we came in very flat and struggled early in the match,” Clifton volleyball head coach Joy Holzmann said. “We had good practices on Wednesday and Thursday, so I’m not sure why we started so late on Friday. I was proud of us coming back and taking Troy to five sets. But we should have finished the match, and we didn’t.”

Still having won 17 of their last 19 matches, the Lady Cubs need to refocus and regroup for two more district matches to wrap up the first round as Clifton (2-1 in district, 23-12 overall) hosts McGregor (2-1, 15-10) at 6 p.m. Tuesday before traveling to take on Harmony at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

In other district action Tuesday, Troy (2-1, 18-15) visits Whitney (1-2, 6-17), while Harmony Science Academy (0-3, 0-12) hosts West (2-1, 23-11) in Waco. When the Lady Cubs visit Harmony Friday, Whitney visits West and McGregor hosts Troy to wrap up the first round of district play.

After earning a playoff berth for the third straight season in 2023, Clifton won its first postseason match since advancing to the Regional Semifinals in 2003 by surging 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 in Hillsboro.

With little time to celebrate the history-making playoff win, the Lady Cubs advanced to the 2023 Area round where the Troy Lady Trojans eliminated Clifton in straight sets, 25-9, 26-24, 25-17 in China Spring.

With Clifton and Troy now playing in the same district, sophomore Brystel Wise led the Lady Cubs in the losing effort with 13 kills, 16 digs and 17 service receptions, senior Camy Barsh smashed eight kills, four blocks and came up with 16 service receptions, while sophomore Madison Otter provided a team-high 35 assists and four blocks.

Senior Brylee Heim contributed six kills and 10 digs, freshman Scarlett Kennedy delivered a team-high three service aces along with 12 digs and 33 serve receptions, while junior Addison Martin served the Lady Cubs to a team-high 18 points and came up with 19 digs, and freshman Taliyha Davenport nailed six kills.

“As I told the girls, we shouldn’t have put ourselves in that situation from the start,” Holzmann said. “It’s tough playing on the road, and you have to be mentally and physically ready to go. And we were not ready in the first two sets, unfortunately.”

Staying at home for their second straight district match last Tuesday, the Lady Cubs kept rolling against the Whitney Lady Wildcats with a dominating three-set sweep, 25-7, 25-23, 25-17. Wise led Clifton with 19 kills, eight digs and 13 service receptions, Heim smashed 13 kills and two blocks, Davenport soared to five blocks. Otter provided 37 assists and five digs, Kennedy came up with 12 digs and eight service receptions, while Martin added nine digs, two service aces and 10 points off serve.

“I told the girls we need to learn from what happened on Friday and move on,” Holzmann said. “The good news is this upset happened early and not during the playoffs. We will need to focus on McGregor first this week and continue to get better each practice and game. We still have to take it one game at a time, and the rest will take care of itself. One game at a time.”