Knights fall to Sidney in Corner championship

FARRAGUT - The second time was not the charm for the Fremont-Mills volleyball team against Sidney in the finals of the Corner Conference Volleyball Tournament.

The Knights opened the match strong but couldn’t hold back a strong Sidney attack as the Cowgirls recorded their second straight sweep of the Knights 24-26, 13-25, 13-25 en route to their first conference tournament crown in 20 years.

“In preparing for the finals, we had gone over different scenarios and different situations that we would need to be ready for Sidney,” said Fremont-Mills coach Tracy Malcom.  “Our team came out great during the first match and just could not ‘close the door’ when we needed to unfortunately.  Some mental mistakes on our part at key times were really tough to bounce back from.   That was a tough one to lose, especially when you are so close to finishing things off.”

In game one, the Knights led by as many as eight at 19-11 before the Cowgirls rallied, scoring eight straight, and pulling out a come-from-behind 26-24 victory in the opening game.

The rally seemed to deflate the Knights and certainly swing the momentum to Sidney.

“I give Sidney credit for not giving up and coming on strong when they needed to,” Malcom said. “The next two matches, we just couldn’t get things flowing smoothly at all.  Our passing was all over the place and you can’t run the type of offense we like to run without a good pass.”

For most of the match, the Knights struggled with their offense, finishing with 17 kills and a .101 hitting percentage. Sidney’s attack, on the other hand, was dominant at times. Sophie Phillips led the way with six kills.

“Our serving was tough like it usually is but we missed too many serves at key times and didn’t seem as focused as we normally are,” Malcom said. “It is the little things that matter when the game is close. We have come so far from the start of our season and continue to work hard day in and day out. Congratulations to Sidney on their Corner Conference tournament  championship.”

The Cowgirls hit .216 as a team and recorded 41 kills. Lexy Larsen had a game-high 21 kills and Camryn McClintock added eight kills.

Fremont-Mills 25-25-25
Essex 15-22-23

The Fremont-Mills volleyball team cruised into the Corner Conference Volleyball Tournament finals with a 25-15, 25-11, 25-23 semifinal victory over Essex last Tuesday in Sidney.

The Knights (16-7 overall, 5-1 in the conference)

Fremont-Mills coach Tracy Malcom said she was very pleased with her team’s play in a big semifinal victory.

“We had talked about staying focused on every play and really playing smart volleyball and that is what we did,” Malcom said. “We came out strong and did not slow down all night long.  I was pleased with the entire team and it was truly a team effort in capturing the win.”

The Rams, who won last year’s conference title and finished the season one victory short of the state tournament, faced heavy losses to graduation entering this season. Most in the conference, Malcom admits, probably didn’t give her team much of a shot to be in the conference championship match again this year.

“Preseason I’m not sure that people would have picked us to be where we are again, and I could not be happier,” she said. “It just shows what hard work and determination will get you, oh and a little bit of proving people wrong never hurts either.”  

Clara Schaaf led the Knights with eight kills and added five digs.
Marianna Gutta recorded 18 assists and a team-high seven aces.

Fremont-Mills 25-25-25
Clarinda Academy 12-10-5

Sophie Phillips and Clara Schaaf combined for 23 kills for Fremont-Mills in a 25-12, 25-10, 25-5 victory over Clarinda Academy in the opening round of the Corner Conference Tournament last Monday in Tabor.

The No. 2 seeded Knights hit a blistering .482 as a team with 33 kills. Schaaf led the way with 13 kills and Phillips added 10.

Marianna Gutta keyed the offense with 19 set assists and added six aces.

Stanton 26-21-20-18
East Mills 24-25-25-25

Stanton smacked 49 kills and once again rallied back from a first game loss to East Mills to knock the Wolverines out of the Corner Conference Tournament last Monday in Malvern.

The Wolverines (14-12 overall, 4-3 in the conference), who lost a match four days earlier to the Bluejays after a close win in the opening game, dropped a 26-24, 21-25, 20-25, 18-25 decision in the conference tournament opening round.

“We played much better against Stanton than last Thursday but we still dug ourselves a hole every set,” said East Mills coach Connie Blank. “The outcome boiled down to Stanton having more kills than us and they played better defense keeping the ball in play.  Our blocking was outstanding with a total 34 team block assists, definitely a school record.  Overall, our girls battled every play and gave a great team effort.”

Stanton hit .150 as a team and recorded 11 aces in the their second win in three matches against the Wolverines. Chelsea Weis led the way with 20 kills and Ally Focht added 12.

The Wolverines recorded 34 kills of their own but hit just .063. Emmy Duysen led the way with 17 kills. Rachel Schafer had 19 set assists and Duysen 11 assists. Zoey Courtier finished with 23 digs and Zena Courtier 17.