The Clippers are rolling. Posting five wins last week, the Malcolm volleyball team is riding a 14-match win streak into this week’s conference tournament.
In a pair of challenging road tests, No. 4 Malcolm needed four sets in each match to get past both Wahoo and North Bend Central.
After dropping the first set to the Warriors in their Sep. 26 battle, the Clippers stormed back to win 19-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-20. Halle Dolliver led the team with 26 kills and 15 digs. Callie Schroeder had ten kills while Laurel Johnson blocked three balls and had three service aces. Jenna Schweitzer dropped in four aces while McKenna Powell shared 35 assists.
Two nights later, North Bend stole the second set from Malcolm before the Clippers rallied to put the Tigers away, 25-17, 21-25, 25-23, 25-21. Dolliver had 29 kills while Johnson led the team with six aces. Powell had 46 assists.
“There’s a lot of volleyball tradition at those two schools,” Malcolm coach Amber Dolliver said. “It’s never easy to go up there and win.
“We were a little sluggish in those two matches. But, both teams brought their A-game against us.”
Malcolm spent its Saturday competing in the Columbus Classic at Lakeview High School. After opening with a 25-15, 25-16 sweep of Blair, the Clippers took down Beatrice 25-16, 28-26 in the semifinal match.
The championship match paired the Clippers against a scrappy Lakeview squad. Malcolm needed three sets to prevail, 25-18, 24-26, 25-13.
On the day, Dolliver racked up a total of 52 kills in the three matches along with 20 digs while Powell dished out 78 assists.
“I was pleased with whole team’s performance at Lakeview,” Coach Dolliver said. “We defended really well. On our side of the net, I liked how we moved the ball.
“I’ve liked how the girls have come back after we drop a set. They come back very focused and determined.”
Malcolm (20-2) is the top seed in this week’s Trailblazer Conference Tournament. The defending conference champions open at home Tuesday against Nebraska City (2-15). A win on Tuesday would have Malcolm facing the winner of Beatrice (12-9) and Ashland-Greenwood (7-12) on Thursday night. Platteview (15-7) is the No. 2 seed.
The championship match will be played Saturday afternoon and will be hosted by the highest seeded team in the match.
