ST. MARYS — The Clearfield and St. Marys volleyball teams duked it out in a four-set battle in the District 9 Class 3A semifinals for the second year in a row in St. Marys Thursday night.
The Lady Dutch were looking to get some revenge after being upended by the Lady Bison last season, and that’s just what they got as they pulled out a hard-fought 27-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23 victory that was eerily similar to the one Clearfield got a year ago.
The key to the St. Marys win was that first set victory, one that saw them trail by as many as seven early on (11-7) and then five points late (22-17) before rallying for the two-point win. The Lady Dutch’s first lead in the game came at 26-25 before finishing things off.
The teams then split the next two games, with St. Marys grabbing a 2-1 lead going into the fourth set. Clearfield also led that set most of the way and looked like it might force a fifth and deciding game as it held an 18-12 lead.
However, St. Marys stormed back behind the serving of Jianna Gerg and Rylee Nicklas. Gerg ripped off five straight points, a run that featured kills by Nicklas and Alexis Whitesell, to pull even at 18-18.
Clearfield countered with a sideout and an ace by Anna Twigg to go back up 20-18, but St. Marys responded with five more points by Nicklas to put itself on the verge of winning the match at 24-20.
Twigg led all players with 19 service points, while Gerg paced Lady Dutch with 14 points. Nicklas added 13 points and five kills, while teammate Lindsey Reiter had 10 points (7 aces) and a team-high nine kills.
The Lady Bison didn’t go away quietly though, using a sideout and back-to-back points by Samantha Campolong to get back within one at 24-23. St. Marys promptly took a timeout to regroup, the move paid off as St. Marys earned a sideout on the ensuing point, which was a long rally.
Clearfield’s Hannah Glunt made a great save near the bleachers to get the ball back into the middle of the court, but a group of Lady Bison watched as it fell to the floor to give the Lady Dutch match point.
“It definitely feels good,” said St. Marys coach Missy Nicklas of getting some revenge on the Lady Bison. “It was a nice win for the girls. We played tough, but we shoot ourselves in the foot all the time. We make too many unforced errors and get down, then we dig a hole.
“But, our setters (Nicklas, Reiter) pulled us through tonight. Ours serves were good and we made some big runs there, and our front row was aggressive. Everybody played their position and did what they needed to do.”
Clearfield (6-14)jumped out to the quick 11-4 lead in the opening set thanks in large part to a five-point run by Twigg. St. Marys slowly fought back into the game though, getting two points by Ava Johnson and Reiter to make it 13-12.
The Lady Dutch (7-10) later pulled even at 17-17, but a sideout out four more points by Twigg quickly put the Lady Bison up 22-17. St. Marys again clawed its way back as Johnson notched two more points and Kara Hanslovan and Reiter one each to knot things at 24-24.
The teams then traded sideouts before a Nicklas kill on Danielle Rolley’s serve gave the Lady Dutch their first lead at 26-25. Olivia Smith then finished off the set for St. Marys with a big block.
The second set proved to be a tight battle, with the teams trading mini-runs. St. Marys proved to be the team to create some breathing room late as a three-point spurt by Gerg put the Lady Dutch up 20-15. St. Marys went on to win by that five-point margin (25-20).
Trailing 2-1, Clearfield came out in the third fired up and grabbed a quick 7-3 lead behind two points by Glunt and three by Ruiz. Twigg then made it 13-6 with three more points of her own as the Lady Bison maintained the lead the rest of the way for a 25-20 win to force a fourth set.
Ruiz had nine points and seven kills for Clearfield, while Glunt had six points. Campolong added six points and a team-high nine kills.
Clearfield then looked to be in control of the third set before St. Marys rallied late for a second time in the match to finish off the four-set win.
St. Marys will now play DuBois for the D-9 Class 3A title on Monday at a site to be determined.
