Clarkson/Leigh tops Mead and Pender

The Clarkson/Leigh Patriots downed Mead 3-0 at home last Thursday night, and Pender 3-0 on the road Monday night to end the regular season.

The Patriots beat the Raiders 25-16 in set one, 25-14 in set two, and 26-24 in set three.

Hannah Kasik had 12 kills while Beth Wiese notched 8. Shelby Paprocki totaled 7 kills and 16 digs while Halee Steffensmeier registered 24. Kaegan Held recorded 15 digs and 29 set assists with Sara McEvoy and Cully Cerv posting 9 and 8 digs, respectively.

The Patriots took set one over the Pendragons 25-11, set two 25-20, and set three 25-21.

Paprocki put down 17 kills and had 14 digs while Kasik registered 8 kills 8 digs. Steffensmeier and McEvoy compiled 12 and 11 digs, respectively, while Held had 7 digs and 30 set assists.

Head Coach Rebecca Schneider's girls only had four service errors.

"Yeah we definitely limited our errors so I mean when we limit our errors we play great volleyball, and we just go after it."

Clarkson/Leigh (16-14) battles the Pendragons (10-19) again Monday night in the first round of Sub Districts at Wisner-Pilger.

The Patriots also defeated Pender 2-1 at the Clarkson/Leigh Tournament on October 1st so it will be the third matchup of the season for Clarkson/Leigh and Pender.

It's never easy to beat a team three times in a season, but given the way the Pendragons have performed lately, a third win over Pender is a very real possibility.

The Pendragons have lost 9 out of their last 10, but this is still a veteran team, and I expect Pender to play well on Monday.

I think the Patriots are going to have their hands full on Monday. This is a veteran and talented Pender team, and I fully expect the Pendragons to play much better Monday than they have here at the end of the regular season.

The road to Lincoln appears to run through GACC, and beating the Bluejays in the sub district final will be no easy task for whoever plays them, but I feel Clarkson/Leigh has the best chance of all the teams in the sub district to give GACC a match.

I feel the Patriots have quite a bit of talent, perhaps even more talent than Pender.

The difference between Clarkson/Leigh and Pender though is the Patriots have a bunch of talented sophomores, and the Pendragons have talented seniors.

Experience normally beats youth, but that hasn't been the case this year when these two teams have met.

We will find out if Clarkson/Leigh can get the job done for a third time, or if the third time is the charm for Pender.

I could see the Patriots sweeping the Pendragons or the match going five sets. It really all depends on which Pender team shows up, in my opinion.

Clarkson/Leigh has been consistent so you know what to expect from them, but it's hard telling how the Pendragons will come out and play.

The winner of Monday's match gets either GACC, Walthill, or Emerson-Hubbard in the sub district final on Tuesday.

First serve between the two teams is set for 6:30 p.m.