STRATTANVILLE, Pa. (EYT/D9) — It didn’t take long for Clarion-Limestone volleyball coach Ryan Troupe to realize he had a team this season that could do some very special things.
“Before the season started,” Troupe said. “Coming into the season, my expectations were higher than they’ve been in any of the previous years that I’ve been coaching. This group, to me, had the highest ceiling. They take the most risks. They are fully in it. So, before the season, I already felt like this group has it — whatever it is.”
The Lions have not disappointed their coach.
(Pictured above, Clarion-Limestone players celebrate after a win over Clarion)
Clarion-Limestone is 15-0 heading into its final match of the regular season at Karns City on Thursday night.
Success has come in a myriad of ways.
Aggression and relentlessness at the net? Check.
Polished setter? Check.
Solid defense getting up passes. Check.
Adept from the service line? Check there, too.
Clarion-Limestone Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
There isn’t one dominant star on the roster, just a collection of players who on any given night can take over a set or match.
On Tuesday against Keystone it was Jenna Dunn, who put down 14 kills and also unleashed a deadly float serve on the Gremlins.
Dunn, a junior outside hitter, has been one of the mainstays in the C-L lineup the last few seasons.
(Jenna Dunn had a huge night against Keystone on Tuesday with 14 kills to keep Clarion-Limestone unbeaten. The junior is just one cog in a wheel of standout players for the Lions who have steamrolled opponents this season)
“Jenna does a little bit of everything,” Troupe said. “She was on (Tuesday night). It was probably one of her better matches of the season. I think all around our girls just needed a good, fun match where we were just kind of well-oiled and moving through everything.”
It’s hard to be perfect and that’s not necessarily what the Lions are striving for.
“Whenever we talked goals and expectations at the beginning of the season, the one thing that we all agreed on is we’re aiming to win every single individual day,” Troupe said. “So our motto is just win the day. It doesn’t matter if it’s a practice day or a match day.”
That thinking has kept the team focused a year after injuries and circumstances made for a long, uneven season. The Lions did go 9-9 and won a first-round District 9 Class A playoff game over Port Allegany, but fell in the second round to Oswayo Valley.
The team was determined to fare much better this campaign.
“We worked really hard all summer long and all offseason,” Dunn said. “We just wanted to push ourselves and be the best that we could be. I think we’ve exceeded our expectations in a way. I think we thought we were going to be good and have a good season, but I didn’t think it was gonna be 15-0. That’s crazy. This is really crazy for us and we just want to keep playing our best and having good energy and being there for each other.”
Dunn said the secret has been how close the team has become, both on and off the court.
“I feel like it really just clicked for us, how well we all work together,” Dunn said. “We just bonded together.”
With so much talent on the court, just about everyone has had a chance to shine.
One night it may be Dunn. Another, hitters Alyssa Wiant, Hannah Beggs, Ansley Burke and Maddy Greeley. Abby Knapp-Greeley always seems to excel as the libero and setter Kaylee Smith has excelled at dishing out assists to that bevy and tall, long and powerful swingers.
The Lions can come at team from so many different ways. Opponents can’t counter all of it.
And haven’t.
Clarion-Limestone has 11 sweeps in its 15 wins — including one against rival Clarion on Sept. 27 that was the Bobcats’ first Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference loss in 64 matches.
Lion players had no idea. They also weren’t aware that it had been 17 years since C-L had toppled Clarion on the volleyball court.
Didn’t matter. Didn’t matter who was the star, either. All that mattered was the W.
“If one person’s not having their best game, another one usually is and we’re all picking each other up,” Dunn said. “We all do a pretty good job working as a team.”
But a regular-season KSAC title means little. C-L will play for a conference tournament championship next week at PennWest Clarion’s Tippin Gymnasium and then set off on a quest to win a D9 crown.
They’ll carry with them that “It Factor,” even if Troupe and his team aren’t exactly sure what “It” is.
“Yeah, we don’t know what it is, but it kind of goes with the looking at every day as important. Every match is important. Their chemistry is great. They train year round with each other all the time. They trust themselves. They thrust their training. They’re just a good group. They like each other and that makes it more enjoyable to them.”
Clarion-Limestone Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
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