Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

TIFFIN – When the calendar flipped to October it seemed to flip a switch for the Clear Creek Amana volleyball team.

Class 4A eighth-ranked Clear Creek Amana has won 12 of 14 matches in October with the lone two losses coming to the second and third-ranked teams in 4A.

The Clippers need to make it 13 out of 15 matches to keep its season going to the last day of the month.

Clear Creek Amana (31-10) advanced to the Class 4A Region 7 title game with a 25-17, 25-13, 25-22 sweep of Independence (16-25) on Thursday in a regional semifinal in Tiffin.

Clear Creek Amana will travel to Manchester on Tuesday to face Sixth-ranked West Delaware (29-14) for a spot in the 4A state tournament that opens on October 31.

“We’ve used the tournaments this month, the conference tournament the Prairie tournament to build and to get one step better than we were before,” Clear Creek Amana coach Jackie Clubb said. “Tonight was one step better than we were before and we are going to try to keep doing that.”

A focus Clubb said of the Clippers over the last several weeks has been getting players to step up around junior standout Bliss Beck.

In its postseason opener on Thursday the Clippers got contributions from across the lineup.

Freshman Averie Lower had a match-high seven kills to lead a group of five players with at least five kills for the Clippers.

“We’ve been working a lot of having other players step up and help support Bliss so she doesn’t have to feel like she has to do it all on her own,” Clubb said. “That has been helpful just trying to help other players get a little more comfortable stepping up.”

Every player that took swings for the Clippers looked comfortable.

Beck, a 6-foot-2 enforcer at the net had six kills and five ace blocks but had plenty of help on Thursday as Clear Creek Amana enjoyed a 33-20 over Independence in kills.

Junior Addison Gisleson had six kills, and junior Sam Schrage and senior Silvana Kabolo each had five kills.

“I know what the girls on this team are all capable of and today just showed that we have a lot of girls that can step up,” Kabolo said. “We know any of those girls can step up.”

Clear Creek Amana led 13-12 midway through the opening set but scored 13 of the next 15 points to take control.

Three different Clippers had a kill, Beck had an ace block and junior libero Meg Berkland an ace serve during the 13-2 burst.

“I think we realized earlier in the year that we were putting as much effort into it as we needed and now we have more effort,” Berkland said. “We aren’t letting the ball drop.”

Clear Creek Amana never trailed in a 25-13 win in the second set and used a late surge to fend on the Mustangs in the third.

Clear Creek Amana scored four of the final five points to break a 21-all tie in the third set.

Beck and Lower each had kills in the final 4-1 run.

“I’ve seen all of the girls improve this season,” Berkland said. “We’ve seen it throughout the year, even last year Silvana has showed what she could do and she has continued to improve and Averie has stepped into her spot really well.”

Clear Creek Amana will be seeking its first appearance at the state tournament since 2014 when it faces West Delaware on Tuesday.

“We know what is ahead of us,” Berkland said. “We just have to keep focusing on each day as it comes.”

Clear Creek Amana              25  25  25

Independence                        17  13  22

Clear Creek Amana (Kills-aces-blocks)

Meg Berkland 1-2-0, Bliss Beck 6-0-5, Emily Henderson 1-0-0, Kenadi Wood 2-1-0, Silvana Kabolo 5-0-1, Sam Schrage 5-0-3, Addison Gisleson 5-0-0, Averie Lower 7-0-0, Totals 33-3-9.

Assists – Emily Henderson 13, Kenadi Wood 12

Independence (Kills-aces-blocks)

Dakota Whitman 1-0-0, Marie Gorman 5-0-0, Grace Hearn 2-0-1, Leah House 1-0-0, Madyson Ristvedt 3-0-0, Morgan Ristvedt 3-0-0, Keely Post 5-0-0, Totals 20-0-1.

Assists – Leah House 8, Sarah Greiner 7

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