BLACKSVILLE, W.Va. — For the Clay-Battelle High volleyball team Thursday, it was a case of “what might have been,” as slow starts, a few missed opportunities and some tough luck resulted in a 3-1 loss to Madonna on Senior Night.
The first set began poorly for the Cee-Bees (8-11), and the Blue Dons (4-12-3) took full advantage, jumping out to a quick 10-3 lead. Unforced errors plagued C-B throughout the set as Madonna slowly built its advantage and closed it out, 25-10.
The second set started with the Dons up 6-1. There was little evidence the Cee-Bees were going to raise their energy and efficiency to competitive levels, but behind the solid serving of juniors Alisha Tate and Lauren Rose, and spurred on by the partisan crowd, the Cee-Bees finally woke up.
C-B took the lead at 8-7, and the set bounced back and forth — until Rose’s booming jump serves forged a 21-16 lead. However, just when it appeared the match would soon be tied, a few missed kills, passing errors and some scrappy play from Madonna knotted the game at 22-all. Each team saved two set points, but a tape-tipped service ace gave the Dons a fortunate set clincher at 28-26.
Finally, it was Clay-Battelle’s turn to jet out to an strong 6-0 start in the third set — eventually cruising to an easy 25-14 win to edge closer at 2-1.
Another sluggish start came back to haunt C-B, though, in the fourth set. Madonna strung together two 9-point runs to roar out in front 23-4. A mini comeback wasn’t nearly enough, as the Dons finished with a 25-8 win to take the final set and the match.
“It’s been an issue for us all year,” C-B coach Casey Rollins said. “We’re slow to jump, slow to get ourselves up and into matches, and it’s tough to win sets when you always are fighting from behind. I loved the way we played for most of the second set, and if we could’ve just put one more ball down, I think the match might’ve gone differently. The third set was by far the best we played all night. They were hitting to spots well and just had their timing down. A few lucky points didn’t go our way in the fourth and it got away from us.”
Still, Rollins has been pleased with the program’s direction and the growth of the team throughout the year.
“It’s great to see them getting it, learning how to slow the game down and put it all together at times,” she said. “Our seniors (Evelyn Rush, Lily Currence and Harley Tennant) have done a great job of setting the bar high for the team, making sure everyone’s working hard on the court and in the weight room. But they’ve also been very supportive and positive with the younger players, and the fact that we’ve grown our numbers from 12 to 18 says a lot about the future. I’m proud of the seniors, and of the whole team.”
