The Clarkrange Lady Buffaloes weren’t going to let poor performances against Jackson County and Clay County last week set the tone for the remainder of their volleyball season.
Instead, the Lady Buffs rallied Monday night to take down Monterey High School in a five-set thriller at MHS.
“I mean, the first set wasn’t the best for us. We made it close,” said Clarkrange standout Peyton Young. “We could have played better, I think, but we really came alive after the second set.
“So, after that, we were playing a lot better, and we really made Monterey work for the sets that they won.”
Clarkrange won the first set of the match by a close 25-23 decision. Monterey came back to win the second one 25-17, but Clarkrange made it 2-1 when it took down the Lady Wildcats 25-22 in the third set. Monterey, in thrilling fashion, answered to win the fourth set by a score of 27-25. However, Clarkrange closed out the match with a 15-12 win in set 5.
“We got off to a slow start,” said Young. “However, we really played well at the net and got up for blocks. I thought we also played really good defense and we’ve been working on that all season.”
The first set went back and forth with neither team really taking much of an advantage. CHS won a close one, thanks in part to the play of Young and Sophie Sitton. Monterey, with a solid defense at the net, came roaring back to win the second set.
The two teams split the next two sets. Clarkrange caught the win in the third, getting good production from Haylee Smith and Callie Upchurch. But CHS watched the match move to a 2-2 tie when Monterey rallied to take the fourth set. The Lady Buffs came back in the fifth set to close out the match.
A lot of players contributed to the Clarkrange win, including Sitton, Young, Upchurch, Isabella Rojas, Rosalyn Atkinson, Piper Conley, and Stella and Averi Beyers.
“I think I played OK against Monterey,” Young said about her individual game. “The first set was rough, but my serves are doing a lot better than they were earlier this season. I am hitting the ball better and I thought I did that well last night.”
But Young said the Lady Buffaloes have some work to do if they want to make a serious run in the postseason. She highlighted the development the team’s serves, as well as Clarkrange’s offensive firepower.
Now as the Lady Buffaloes get ready to make a push for the postseason, Young said Clarkrange needs to spend the rest of the regular campaign fine tuning a few things. The district tournament is scheduled for the first week of October.
“We have some work to do most definitely, but I do think we are a good team,” said Young. “We could make a run in the postseason. That would be awesome.”