High school volleyball: Holcomb, Clarkton play match for the ages

CARDWELL — The Holcomb High School volleyball team pushed Clarkton to five sets in a Tri-County Conference tournament semifinal Thursday.

Emma Bader connected on a near-improbable dig and Landynn Hodges followed with a thunderous kill (one of her nine during the match) which gave the Hornets the fourth set.

Clarkton’s Bree Winchester responded with a powerful kill of her own to open the fifth set. That one kill ultimately set the tone for the entire salvo.

Clarkton�s Riley Plunkett (25) sends a cross-court kill past Holcomb�s Maleigh Lemings (4) and Landynn Hodges (22) during a Tri-County Conference Tournament semifinal dated Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at Lewis �Tink� Richardson Gymnasium in Cardwell. The Hornets pushed the Reindeer to five sets, but Clarkton prevailed. (Photo by Eric Viccaro, staff)

“She had to get that first kill for us,” Clarkton head coach Amy Cowart said. “We needed her to set the pace for us with aggressiveness.”

In the end, the Reindeer defeated the Hornets by scores of 25-12, 16-25, 25-19, 21-25, 15-7 — moving on to face Gideon in the tournament championship Friday evening.

This marked the second straight season Clarkton and Gideon would play for the title.

Clarkton libero Lexi Elizondo is congratulated by head coach Amy Cowart during a timeout in a Tri-County Conference volleyball tournament semifinal match dated Thursday, Oct. 12, in Cardwell. (Photo by Eric Viccaro, staff)

Look for a recap on that match in the Tuesday, Oct. 17, edition of the Delta Dunklin Democrat.

Winchester had four of her 24 kills during the fifth and deciding set. She finished with a hitting percentage of .214, a metric designed to measure attack efficiency, plus 17 digs and four ace serves.

Teammate Angel Johnson had kills on two of the final three points of the match, finishing with 26 kills (.290). Johnson also had 15 digs as part of a stout performance.

Clarkton's Alana Crowder hits the ball over the net during a Tri-County Conference volleyball tournament semifinal match dated Tuesday, Oct. 12. (Photo by Eric Viccaro, staff)

Meanwhile, Holcomb head coach Matt Casper was pleased with how his team played despite the loss.

“We played well together as a team,” Casper said. He said extending a talented, established team like Clarkton to five sets was “a big step for us so late in the season.”

Maleigh Lemings paced Holcomb with 29 digs, and she also had seven kills. Setter Ava Gurley was a dynamo (22 assists, 21 digs). Chloe Hendrix added six kills, 22 digs, 10 assists and two ace serves. Zilliah Privett had a team-leading 13 kills and 24 digs. Hodges was tops in ace blocks with three.

Holcomb's Ava Gurley (1) jumps to hit the ball during a Tri-County Conference volleyball tournament semifinal match on Thursday, Oct. 12, in Cardwell. (Photo by Eric Viccaro, staff)

Johnson clinched the first set for Clarkton with a cross-court kill. Holcomb (18-9-2) responded by taking the second, punctuated by a Privett ace.

Clarkton (24-6-1) took a 2-1 lead in sets as Holcomb committed a serving error on the final point of the third set.

It appeared as if the Reindeer were going to coast in the fourth set, rolling to a 9-0 lead at the start. A clever tip from Gurley deadlocked the score at 11-all. From there, it was a dramatic race to 25 points, with the Hornets winning it by four.

Holcomb's Landynn Hodges bumps the ball while teammates Zilliah Privett (8) and Gabi Harmon (3) watch during a Tri-County Conference volleyball tournament semifinal dated Thursday, Oct. 12, in Cardwell. The Hornets pushed Clarkton to five sets before falling short.(Photo by Eric Viccaro, staff)

“Holcomb played great team defense,” noted Cowart, who said the Reindeer’s own defense bogged down in the fourth set. “They were scrappy. We had to pick up our play, and raise our own defense.”

Setter Brinley Cowart, running the Clarkton offense, had a whopping 57 assists in 187 assist chances. She also had 16 digs.

Alana Crowder collected 10 digs and had three kills. Nayely Rivera scooped up 23 digs to go with eight kills. Libero Lexi Elizondo had a team-best 27 digs.

Holcomb's Chloe Hendrix reacts after her dig is called good during a Tri-County Conference volleyball tournament semifinal match on Thursday, Oct. 12, in Cardwell. (Photo by Eric Viccaro, staff)

And statistics piled up like a plate of benefit-breakfast pancakes for both squads.

Clarkton will play Campbell twice next week, including in the opening round of the Class 1 District 2 Tournament in Gideon on Friday, Oct. 20. Holcomb has drawn a first-round bye for the Class 1 District 1 tournament at South Pemiscot High School in Steele.