Susan Harman

Your Prep Sports

TIFFIN – This is getting to be an annual affair, and fans were dressed for a party.

With both student sections decked out in costumes fit for Halloween, Clear Creek Amana’s third-ranked volleyball team swept Burlington 25-13, 25-10, 25-12 Tuesday night to earn its fifth consecutive trip to the state volleyball tournament.

The Clippers will play Sioux Center (22-9) on Monday at the State Volleyball Tournament in Coralville’s Xtreme Arena.

“This is the best we’ve played,” Clippers coach Jackie Clubb said. “We played really well in our last tournaments.”

“I think we practiced a lot for this moment, and it really worked,” junior hitter Delaney Vaske said.

It’s hard to imagine the Clippers could have been any better.

Their tall front line was dominant.

Their serving put the Grayhounds in a defensive posture and resulted in returns that the Clippers were able to turn into booming kills from Vaske, Julia Schlarbaum and Bailey Simpson.

“It’s like a big wall up there,” setter Payton Curtin said. “They do a great job.”

“All of our passers, all of our setters, all of our hitters are in this together,” Schlarbaum said.

“We worked on it all week,” Clubb said of the CCA attack. “Making sure our go-to hitters are comfortable because we have to rely on them, and we have to make sure they are ready.”

The Clippers were prepared for a boisterous, high-decibel crowd, and they got one.

“We’ve been trying to work on getting better at home,” Clubb said.

To overcome any nerves at home and manage a lit crowd at a regional final the team practiced with music and other noise in the gym.

The student sections complied and provided the noise Tuesday, and CCA had no trouble mastering the moment.

Clear Creek Amana put together several long scoring stretches.

Just when Burlington might have felt a little more confidence with CCA star junior Schlarbaum moving to the back row, the thought was extinguished.

The Clippers broke open the second set early.

Schlarbaum’s kill gave the Clippers a 5-3 lead, and then she served nine points in a row.

The first set saw a similar run started with a sideout after a Schlarbaum kill. She then served six points in a row.

Burlington was never really in the final set.

Schlarbaum tipped her hat to teammates who enabled the booming kills from the corners and the middle.

“They set the ball so well and our passes are so good,” she said.

CCA improved to 33-6; Burlington finished its season 28-13.

As successful as Clear Creek Amana has been in this sport every year is different.

There’s no complacency. It’s a party every single season.

“It’s always something new and it’s always so much fun,” Curtin said.

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