KNOX, Pa. (EYT/D9) — An aggressive Lion is a dangerous Lion.
And there were plenty of aggressive Lions on the volleyball court at Keystone High School on Tuesday night.
Using a relentless attack from every angle and precision serving, the Clarion-Limestone volleyball team remained perfect with a 25-20, 25-13, 25-11 sweep of Keystone.
(Pictured above, Clarion-Limestone coach Ryan Troupe talks with his team before the match against Keystone on Tuesday night)
“We had a game plan that we focused on from scouting, and the girls executed it very, very well from start to finish,” said C-L coach Ryan Troupe. “We wanted to be aggressive and we did that. We got them out of system so Keystone didn’t really have many opportunities to put the ball away on their side. They had fun the entire match and you could just see the energy was here tonight, which is something I don’t feel like we’ve had a lot over the last few matches.”
It’s a long season. These are the dog days of October in volleyball circles and that grind had somewhat caught up to the Lions recently.
But the wins still came.
Clarion-Limestone Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
Clarion-Limestone (15-0) looked rejuvenated and razor sharp against the Panthers, a team that had won nine of 11 heading into the night.
The Lions trailed just once — 1-0 at the start of the second set. The closest Keystone got to a lead mid-to-late game was in the first set, trailing 15-14.
The response from C-L was assertive, winning the next five points to lead comfortably again.
“It can be a long season — they’re playing pretty much year round,” Troupe said. “They’re starting off from January and going all the way through and the energy in the gym tonight was good. It was a good student section. It was a good crowd. There was noise and our girls love to play in noise — it energized them and makes them have more fun.”
C-L certainly enjoyed this win, and like it has been all season, just about everyone had a hand in it.
Jenna Dunn had a big night with 14 kills — nine coming in the second set alone. Maddy Greeley had nine kills, Ansley Burke five and setter — yes, setter — Kaylee Smith also had five kills to go with her 24 assists.
Greeley also had five aces and Abby Knapp-Greeley had 10 digs.
“All of our players can do a little bit of everything,” Troupe said. “There’s not a player on the court that can’t play multiple positions.”
That makes it supremely difficult for opponents.
(Keystone coach Bryan Mong talks with his team during a timeout)
Keystone saw that up close on Tuesday.
The Panthers played well in the first set, but struggled in the next two getting into system. That left very few attack opportunities for the likes of Ava Patrick, Audrey Burrows and Katherine Burrows.
“The first game, I was happy,” said Keystone coach Bryan Mong. “But there’s a reason they’re the top team. They don’t make mistakes. Their defense is solid and they get the ball up and they attack, so we were constantly scrambling all night to try to get into system.”
With the constant fire, Keystone libero Gwyn Manno had a strong night with 15 digs.
“She saw a lot tonight with the way they were hitting and she kept getting them up,” Mong said. “I mean, without her back there, we’re a different team. No doubt.”
Patrick had four kills to go with five blocks and Audrey Burrows had three aces and four kills for Keystone (10-8).
It was the second loss in consecutive days for the Panthers, but the message is still the same.
“When we met afterwards I told them we still have two games left. We can still make it a great week,” Mong said. “Don’t give up on this because of how far we’ve come. We can still make an impression. The best thing about the playoffs is once you get there, all the records are the same. You want to get there and hopefully peak at the right time.”
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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