Just not their day.
When the No. 4 Malcolm volleyball team stepped on the north court at Pinnacle Bank Arena to open the Class C1 state tournament on Nov. 2, it was an experience and atmosphere unfamiliar to most on the team. The result was an early exit as the Clippers fell to No. 5 Gothenburg 25-21, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20.
“It’s a big stage on which to perform,” Malcolm head coach Amber Dolliver said. “Some of the girls handled it well, and others were nervous. You can’t play scared and, at times, we did. We never got into a groove.”
The Swedes set the tone early by jumping out to a 5-2 lead in the opening set. While Malcolm fought hard to tie it at 6-6 and, even took a two point lead a few times in the set, Gothenburg always had an answer and pulled away by scoring five of the final six points of the frame.
“They were aggressive and did things right,” Dolliver said. “We didn’t serve aggressive enough, nor did we pass well.”
The second set felt much like the first as the two teams traded punches until Gothenburg opened up a six-point lead midway through the frame. While the Clippers closed the gap to two points at 23-21, the hill proved to be too tall to climb.
“They placed the ball well on their attacks and used a variety of swings to keep us off balance,” Dolliver said. “We struggled to get to balls, which got us out of system, making it tough to put up strong swings.”
The Clippers found a way in a hard-fought third set. After falling behind, 14-10, Malcolm went on a 10-3 run and then held on to send the match to a fourth set.
“I hoped winning that set would get us clicking, but I don’t feel like it did,” Dolliver said. “We were still a step late and struggled with passing in the fourth set. It wasn’t a lack of effort. We just couldn’t get things rolling.”
Halle Dolliver led Malcolm in the match with 24 kills. The freshman, who is second in the state in kills per match, also showed her defensive prowess by leading the team with 19 digs. Dolliver had the second most kills amongst the 24 teams competing on day one of the tournament.
Diamond Sedlak closed out her high school career with 16 kills and 10 digs while her classmate, Lauryn England, offered up 39 set-assists while hitting the floor for 12 digs.
“These seniors have played a huge part the last four years,” Dolliver said. “They are great young women and they’ve left their mark on this program. They set the stage for future teams.”
Malcolm finished the season with a 31-3 record. The win total is the second most in school history. The 2016 state runner-up team that featured Jaela Zimmerman and Hayley Densberger went 34-1.
“It was a great season,” Dolliver said. “We had 26 amazing girls who worked hard in practice every day and were able to accomplish much because of their desire to compete and their will to get better.”
