Clyde outlasts Bellevue in 5 sets

GIBSONBURG — Keep your chin up. Clyde easily could have fallen apart early in Set 5 when Bellevue scored five of the first six points. But that would be unlike anything branded the Fliers. Instead, second-seeded Clyde got back in the set and pulled away midway though, topping third-seeded Bellevue, 25-13, 23-25, 25-12, 13-25, 15-11, in a Division IV district semifinal at Gibsonburg High School on Monday. "They really came with a lot of heart," Clyde coach Shelley Rogers said. "They wanted to fight. I think they came in with one mission and that's what it was. They finished it." The Fliers improved to 17-7 and will face top-seeded Lake (18-6) at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the district final. "Ultimately, Lake always has a great program," Rogers said. "Having the opportunity to be on the same court as them will be great. The girls are super pumped. They were watching them and scouting them out. They just said in the huddle they were ready to go." The Lady Red (12-11) got off to the fast start in Set 5. Finley LaPata smacked three straight kills as Bellevue raced out to a 5-1 lead. A block by Lily Ball and kill from Brooklyn Hemminger got Clyde back into the set. Still down 6-3, the Fliers took over. Hemminger lined another kill and served up an ace as Clyde knotted the set at 7. After Lila Krall tallied a block for the Lady Red, the Fliers won four straight points to surge ahead 11-7 and finish off the 8-1 run. Bellevue kept it close, staying within 12-10 after a kill by Brooke Brown, but a hitting error by the Lady Red was followed by a kill from Hemminger. Bellevue stayed alive with a kill from Hailie McCarthy, but Hemminger won it with yet another kill to give Clyde the win. "We just took ourselves out of the set," Bellevue coach Liana Petitti said. "We just had four unforced errors in that stretch... Too many unforced hitting errors. That's our fault. That's just us not being disciplined in what we should be doing. That's the result." The Lady Red triumphed over Clyde twice already this season, winning 25-18, 22-25, 25-22, 32-30 on Sept. 5 at Clyde, and 25-18, 25-18, 25-21 on Oct. 1 at Bellevue. It was Clyde that looked to be in smooth sailing form early, dominating Set 1. The Fliers raced out to a 7-3 lead after a kill and pushed it to 15-7 after winning four consecutive points. The Lady Red really never got settled in the set and Clyde took advantage. The Fliers kept pouring it on and won it on a kill from Lily Ball. "I liked the communication and the energy, hands down," Rogers said. "I think we did a very good job of executing the ball. Everything we touched we put down or did something smart with. High energy games like this, it gets harder as the sets go on to keep that energy and keep it going." Bellevue bounced back in Set 2. The Lady Red opened a 10-5 lead after a block by Krall. Clyde was able to fight back, using a string of seven straight points to go up 14-11 later. The Fliers maintained at least a small lead until late in the set. The set was tied at 20, 21, 22 and 23 before a kill by LaPata and error on Clyde knotted the match at a set apiece. "They reminded themselves of who we are and had confidence on our side of the net," Petitti said. "We played our volleyball instead of being worried about the other side." The Fliers answered back in a big way in Set 3. Clyde stormed out to a 10-2 lead and faced little to no resistance from the Lady Red. Clyde was ahead just 13-9 when it ripped off the next nine points, capped on consecutive kills from Hemminger. A kill from Lauren Harrah put the Fliers up 2-1. Bellevue went far from quietly, dominating Set 4 from the start. The Lady Red won points in bunches, first opening a lead of 7-2 and pushing it to 14-7 after an ace from Emma Krall. Clyde never found its footing in the set as Bellevue played with a bigger sense of urgency. Kate Baptista served up an ace and Brown bludgeoned a kill to even the match at two sets apiece. "I feel like some of our serve receive balls weren't there," Rogers said. "When we did get the opportunity to put the ball down, we didn't really execute right off the rip." Kaitlyn Turinsky led Bellevue with 13 kills while LaPata (17 digs) and Brown each lined nine kills. Peyton Hicks registered 23 assists and Kate Baptista topped the Lady Red defense with 22 digs. Bellevue's seniors are Claire Freitag, Brown, Lila Krall, Morgan Ray, Hicks, and Audrey Turner. "They are amazing group of girls, not only on the court, but off the court," Petitti said. "We are definitely going to miss their leadership for sure and their non-stop grind and hustle. It's going to be hard to replace them." Hemminger finished with 22 kills while Harrah added 16 kills. Miley Glass paced the defense with 29 digs, Lucy Glass tallied 21 digs, Kelsey Ray nabbed 10 digs and Mallory Eastby registered eight digs. DeLani Durst ran the offense to the tune of 47 assists while also grabbing 11 digs defensively. "We kind of slumped down and got a little relaxed for a second and the energy died," Rogers said. "But then they came right back. We knew coming in that communication and energy was what we were going to need."