Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

CORALVILLE – A year ago Clear Creek Amana entered the state tournament as underdogs.

This season the Clippers returned top-ranked, unbeaten and the favorites in Class 4A.

On Monday the Clippers played like it.

Clear Creek Amana got a match-high 21 kills from senior Bliss Beck and improved to 46-0 on the season with an emphatic 25-13, 25-14, 25-20 sweep of No. 10 Norwalk in a Class 4A state quarterfinal at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

“We want to take it one game at a time and not get ahead and focus on the moment,” Clear Creek Amana coach Jackie Clubb said. “We are trying not to be overwhelmed with what the long-term goal is but being in the moment and they did a good job of that but it’s good to get the first one done.”

Clear Creek Amana was the sixth seed last season when it reached the state title game for the first time in program history.

The Clippers haven’t lost since last year’s 4A title game and returned to Xtream Arena no-longer the underdogs.

Now armed with state tournament experience the Clippers were impressive in Monday’s quarterfinal.

Beck led three Clippers with at least five kills as Clear Creek Amana finished with a 42-23 edge in kills while limiting Norwalk (26-15) to .007 hitting.

“The experience from last year helps, the noise and the environment we were used to it,” Clear Creek Amana senior Sam Schrage said. “We knew we had to come in and drown out all the noise and just take care of business.”

Clear Creek Amana will meet fourth-ranked North Scott (27-4) in a 4A semifinal on Wednesday at Noon.

North Scott advanced to the semifinals with a four-set win over fifth-ranked ADM on Monday.

“Last year we had the puppy dog eyes and were kind of in awe,” Clear Creek Amana senior Meg Berkland said. “This year we more just had the attitude of ‘let’s get going’.”

Clear Creek Amana and Beck got going early in Monday’s quarterfinal.

Norwalk took a 6-4 lead early in the opening set but Clear Creek Amana responded with a 7-1 run and never trailed again.

“We were a little bit nervous just because we know we have eyes on us and there is some pressure,” Schrage said. “I think that we handled it well.”

Beck had four kills in the opening set but took over in the final two.

The 6-foot-2 all-stater had 10 kills in the second set including five during an 8-1 Clipper run that turned a 9-6 deficit into a 14-10 lead the Clippers would never give up.

“I was less nervous than I was last year, it’s not all new now, it’s not overwhelming,” Beck said. “I think we kind of calmed down and when we got our legs under us and got composed we got back to our game.”

Beck had six kills in the third set as Clear Creek Amana put the match away.

The senior middle finished with a hitting efficiency of .447 and added four blocks.

“We had great passes,” Beck said. “You can’t set the middle without an in-system pass and Meg (Berkland) does an amazing job and Addison (Gisleson) and our setters do an amazing job as well.”

Sophomore Averie Lower added eight kills and Schrage had five kills and a block.

Berkland had 20 digs and Gisleson had 12 digs for the Clippers.

“We were talking in the locker room that there will be a lot of momentum changes and we just have to make the most of it when we have the momentum,” Schrage said. “I think we did a good job of that.”

Noelle Sutcliffe and Ava Johnson each had seven kills for Norwalk.

Clear Creek Amana              25  25  25 

Norwalk                                    13  14  20

Clear Creek Amana (Kills-aces-blocks)

Meg Berkland 0-1-0, Bliss Beck 21-0-4, Emily Henderson 4-0-2, Kenadi Wood 0-2-0, Sariah Sherman 1-0-1, Sam Schrage 5-1-1, Addison Gisleson 3-0-0, Averie Lower 8-1-0, Totals 42-5-8.

Assists – Emily Henderson 19, Kenadi Wood 12, Meg Berkland 2, Sam Schrage 1, Addison Gisleson 1

Norwalk (Kills-aces-blocks)

Katie Larson 0-0-0, Dakota Poen 0-1-0, Grace Dehmer 0-0-0, Ava Johnson 7-0-0, Hadley Michael 0-0-0, Ava McKay 1-0-0, Emmory Toppenberg 5-0-0, Adeleine Fisher 3-0-0, Noelle Sutcliffe 7-2-0, Totals 23-3-0.

Assists – Hadley Michael 21, Ava Johnson 1, Grace Dehmer 1

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