JFK drops district semi to Clippers
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CORTLAND -- The Warren JFK volleyball team gave everything it had at Lakeview High School.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, it wasn't enough to get past Columbiana.
The Clippers topped Warren JFK 3-1 on Tuesday in a Division V district semifinal. It brought the Eagles season to an end after going 18-3 in Nia Grant's first year leading the program.
"Honestly, I don't think the expectations were there to even make it this far," Grant said. "We worked really hard as a team, I just think Columbiana played great. They exposed some things that we've been talking about all season, and unfortunately, some of those lessons you have to learn to change them at the worst times."
The Clippers led 1-0 after the first set. But the Eagles looked to be in control early in the second.
Kennedy jumped out to a 12-3 lead. However, the Clippers cut the deficit to 12-7, forcing an Eagles timeout.
The break did the Eagles some good. They held off Columbiana and tied the match at 1 with a 25-16 win in the second set.
Each team led once as the score was tied at 10 in the third. And it remained tied at 21, but a kill by Ava Marks gave the Clippers a 2-1 match lead with a 25-22 victory in the frame.
"So much of volleyball is mental," Grant said. "You can practice all you want, but if you're not sound up here, in your mind, it will be difficult. And I think that's something all season that we struggled with. Just to manage our inner environment so we can handle our exterior environment. That's something we'll work more on going into next season."
And the Clippers did, in fact, carry some energy into the fourth.
Columbiana began the fourth with an 8-3 lead. The lead grew to 18-9, and five straight points had the Clippers ahead 24-11.
A kill by Marks gave the Clippers the set 25-12 and clinched their trip to the district finals..
The Eagles will have to part ways with three seniors from this season's roster. The senior class consisted of Nadia Williams, Kaelyn Fletcher and Madilyn Marsh.
"This senior class was very selfless in the sense that seniors are 'I have to play. I have to do this,'" Grant said. "But my seniors were down to do whatever the team needed, even if they weren't playing that much at a point.
"And I'm really thankful for that, because me being in my first year, it helped that culture build for next year. They really rubbed off on the younger girls."