During the match the Knight’s Nicole Rathman put on a clinic on how to dominate the net, and helped Lahser best Clarkston 3-1.
?(Rathman) is just tough to defend. There’s not much you can do about it,? said Clarkston Coach Kelly Avenall. ‘Watching my team defensively, they started trying to cheat and make some defensive moves because of her, and then that left some big holes.?
Rathman had 24 kills over the course of the match, 10 alone in the fourth and final game.
‘I’m not going to take anything away from Lahser, they are a great team. We’ve lost to teams this year that I don’t think we should have, but that’s a tough team to beat. It was excellent that we beat them so bad the first game. I thought that would help us confidence wise in the second game,? said Avenall
The parents? night celebration, which honored the freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams? parents before the game, filled the CHS gym with positive energy. Buoyed by the crowd, the Wolves rushed to a 25-9 victory in the first game.
‘The first game everybody was on, nobody was off. Everybody was hitting, finding holes, the setter was on, our passing was on. When everything is on you look so good,? said Avenall.
After Clarkston’s hot start, however, Lahser answered the call, and won the next three games 25-9, 25-12 and 25-12.
?(In) the second game, everything started falling apart, passes started breaking down, the setter started losing confidence in the passers. Then we stopped being so aggressive at the net and started being a little more tentative. Then they start getting down on themselves. It was kind of the same old story,? said Avenall.
Midway through the final game, Rathman seemed to have even psyched out the crowd, as all chitter chatter would immediately ceased when the ball was set in her direction. With the Wolves expecting another of her tremendous blasts, she displayed some guile, softly laying the ball off into empty portions of the front court.
‘Clarkston did a very good job on defense. They worked hard, it’s just that we played great those last three games,? said Lahser Coach Limin Jin.
The Knights ability to hold serve, or the Wolves inability to get a side out, also hurt Clarkston over the last three games.
‘It was equal passing and hitting. We had passes that weren’t hit and sometimes the hitters are on and passers are not,? said senior Kim Vincent.
Vincent was a bright spot for the Wolves recording five aces. Senior Stepanie Parkin and junior Laura Kupe also recorded 12 and eight kills respectively.
This week, Clarkston’s volleyball team will travel to Seaholm on Feb. 10. Seaholm, like the Wolves, is not having the best year, but the league game will be important to both schools.